Bret Easton Ellis is an interesting person. First, he’s the author of an iconic novel (a personal favorite of this writer), “American Psycho.” He also wrote other notable books like “Less Than Zero” and “The Rules of Attraction.” But he’s not just an author nowadays. No, lately, he’s been more known as a podcaster, political commentator, and all around social media personality. And that’s where things get a little dicey and people have very strong opinions about Ellis. Well, now we get to see how he transitions into the role of filmmaker, as he is ready to make his directorial debut with the upcoming film, “Relapse.”
According to Variety, Bret Easton Ellis is set to write and direct a new horror film titled “Relapse.” If that wasn’t enough to get you intrigued, we also know that Joseph Quinn (of “Stranger Things” fame) is set to star in the film. Here’s the synopsis:
Fueled by his unstable personality and the invading power of social media, Matt’s paranoia grows, messing up with his rehabilitation program. As he starts using again, a mysterious presence starts growing around Matt, and a monster that has been haunting him since he was a teenager reveals itself. His therapist tries to help, convinced that the monster is actually in Matt’s head.
If you know anything about Bret Easton Ellis, as an author and more recently as a social media personality, this film seems right up his alley. There are the tell-tale BEE themes of addiction and mental illness, but also a healthy dose of modern issues like social media. Many can probably fill in the blanks about what we can expect.
This isn’t the first time Ellis has ventured into the world of Hollywood. Obviously, he has seen his novels get big-budget adaptations. But he also has done a fair bit of screenwriting, penning scripts for films such as “The Informers,” “The Canyons,” and “The Curse of Downers Grove.” His most recent script was for a horror film, “Smiley Face Killers.” No, he hasn’t had a ton of massive success with those films.
But now he’s directing, and he has Joseph Quinn attached (who was just announced as starring in “The Fantastic Four”). This is definitely the biggest film project he’s bee part of, so it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out.
No release date has been announced, as the film doesn’t quite yet have distribution.
