Given that it was developed by The Walking Dead's Gale Anne Hurd, you might have thought that horror thriller Hellfest would have a relatively swift trip to the screen. Instead, it has lingered for years, but now seems on track with Jennifer Chambers Lynch aboard to direct.
Originally brain-spawned by Ben Roberts, an executive at Hurd's Valhalla Entertainment, Hellfest was turned into script form by William Penick and Chris Sey. The movie is set at a Halloween theme park. The patrons all think they’re there to enjoy a safe but scary time, only to discover that one of the costumed characters is bent on slaughtering them. Demon in disguise? Disgruntled worker gone mad? We’ll have to wait and see.
“We have loved the concept of Hellfest since Gale brought it to us and we have been waiting for exactly the right director,” says CBS Films boss Terry Press. “Jennifer came to us with both the passion and the vision necessary to make Hellfest a terrifying Halloween tradition.” So it looks like they're hoping this one will run and run a la the Saw franchise.
Neil Marshall was at one point attached, but has since moved on. Lynch, the daughter of director David Lynch, has the likes of Boxing Helena, Hiss and Chained on her CV and has been working on an entry for female-focused horror anthology XX.