Mandate Signs Sam Raimi to Oversee Refuge

By The Woman In Black
September 23rd, 2009

It's always nice to see someone giving back to the community that gave him a start, and that's exactly what Sam Raimi is doing for up-and-coming British director Corin Hardy and his project entitled Refuge. Raimi, along with Jason Blum, Nathan Kahane, and Steven Schneider, will produce the film for Mandate Pictures, where Raimi's Ghost House Pictures has a deal.

As THR describes it, Refuge [is] a supernatural horror pic [that] centers on a remote town terrorized by a Yeti, the mythological creature native to the mountains of the Himalayas. Hardy will direct from a script by fellow British writer Tom De Ville.

Genre auteurs are increasingly taking on projects from young directors and shepherding them through the indie and studio system as both producers and mentors. Raimi is involved in a number of projects as a producer, including the vampire comic book adaptation Priest at Screen Gems.

Meanwhile, Blum's Blumhouse Prods. will finance a short film with the same premise as the Refuge feature. Hardy and De Ville will work on that as well. The idea is to offer a teaser that can help Hardy refine his vision even as the script is being developed.

Sounds promising. Keep it here for more on Refuge as it comes.

- Debi Moore