Blumhouse is doing what Blumhouse does best. The production company that has been one of the most profitable outfits at the box office has made a name for itself as the producers that will take a horror idea, spend $5 million on it, and make $100 million in return. And if you throw a previously known IP into the mix, even better. Blumhouse is hoping to continue this trend in December with the release of their new remake of the cult horror classic “Black Christmas.”
According to the production company, Blumhouse has signed Sophia Takal to co-write and direct a new version of “Black Christmas” that is set to debut in December, naturally. The film will star Imogen Poots, who is probably best known for her roles in films like “Knight of Cups,” “Frank & Lola,” and “Green Room.” She’s also the star of the upcoming films “Vivarium” and “The Art of Self-Defense.”
For those not steeped in your schlocky horror films of yesteryear, “Black Christmas” tells the story of a group of sorority sisters that are stalked by a maniac over Christmas break. The 1974 original never reached the heights of other early slasher films like “Halloween” (which was also recently relaunched to great success courtesy of Blumhouse), but holds a special place in the hearts of horror nerds that are willing to go back to the early ‘70s for their quality genre work.
As mentioned, Takal is co-writing and directing. The filmmaker recently directed the Blumhouse film “New Year, New You,” which premiered on Hulu as part of the horror anthology series, “Into the Dark.” She’s co-writing “Black Christmas” alongside April Wolfe. This is especially exciting considering the news from last year, where Jason Blum, of Blumhouse, commented on why he hadn’t hired a female director for a horror film yet. His response was terrible, and got him in hot water. But it appears he learned his lesson. And he did well by choosing Takal, who is great.
Joining Poots in the cast are relatively unknown actors Aleyse Shannon, Brittany O’Grady, Lily Donoghue, and Caleb Eberhardt.
The film is set to begin production soon, and will be fast-tracked so that it can make the expected release date of December 13. And yes, that date is on a Friday.
Here’s the teaser poster:
