CANNES: Marcus Nispel Boards Horror-Thriller ‘Stowaway’

In a pre-Cannes move, “Friday the 13th” director Marcus Nispel has come on board “Stowaway,” a horror-thriller based on Nordic mythology about an avenging sea creature.

Blue Box International, a subsidiary of Red Granite International, is handling foreign sales on the project and will introduce it to buyers in Cannes.

The film will be produced by White Sands Pictures and is slated to start production in the fall. Nispel will produce alongside Stefan Brunner, with Juergen J. Straub exec producing.

“Stowaway” is based on a story by Nispel and Juhani Nurmi and written by Scott Sandler, Connor Colebrook and Nurmi. It’s set on a yacht where a newly engaged woman discovers a family secret at the bottom of the ocean. Mike Elizade of SpectralMotion will handle f/x.

“Having revived major franchises like ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ and ‘Friday the 13th,’ I intend to create the beginning of a new horror franchise with ‘Stowaway,'” Nispel said.

“There has not been an edgy and original R-rated monster movie in a long time; a monster that is humanoid and strikes from below dark waters is so innately scary that it will stand shoulder to shoulder with other iconic brands, and at the same time reinvent claustrophobic and maritime horror, thus appealing to a whole new generation of audiences,” he added.

Nispel is repped by Paradigm.

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