Stephen Moyer just can’t escape the lure of scary creatures. You’d think playing a vampire on True Blood would make him want focus his cinematic career around romantic comedies or movies where laughing children play with puppies, but no… He’s now signed on to deal with legendary creature the Jersey Devil in The Barrens.
Darren Lynn Bousman, who launched his horror career with Saw and has since gone on to the likes of Mother’s Day and the upcoming 11-11-11, is behind the new pic, which will see Moyer as a man who takes his family on a fateful camping trip into the New Jersey forest area called Pine Barrens. Sopranos fans might recognise it as a favourite place for Tony and co to murderlise and hide the bodies of those they wipe out.
But according to legend, the acres of dense woodland are also a favourite hideout of the fiend, a misshapen chimera-style East Coast equivalent of Bigfoot who is almost as famous in crypto zoological circles. So you can guess what happens to Moyer and the rest…
According to Bousman, he’s looking to try something different from typical depictions of the beast: “I don't want to turn it into a cheesy creature feature. It's about the characters for me, and having watched Stephen for years on True Blood, I have no doubt he's the right leading man," he tells Variety.
Having written the script shortly after making Saw II then shelving it until now, Bousman will kick off directing later this month in Toronto.