Ruth Ware’s Haunted House Thriller THE TURN OF THE KEY Optioned By Working Title

In a day filled with all kinds of great horror news, another gem has surfaced. Working Title Films has optioned the rights to author Ruth Ware’s fifth novel, haunted house thriller The Turn of the Key.

Turn of the Key US Cover

The Turn of the Key is the story of a young woman who accepts a live-in nanny position for a picture-perfect family in a high-tech smart home. Despite the fully modern luxuries and high salary, some things are just too good to be true. Her life becomes a nightmare as the illusions come tumbling down.

Max Minghella [featured image, Spiral] and Jamie Bell will write the adaptation of The Turn of the Key. Minghella and Bell have worked together in the past; Bell was the executive producer for Minghella’s directorial debut Teen Spirit.

Minghella starred in The Social Network, and not only is he co-writing The Turn of the Key; he is hard at work on Hulu’s Emmy-Award winning series The Handmaid’s Tale as well as Damien Chazelle’s Babylon; he also wrote Alexandre Aja’s The 9th Life of Louis Drax, which was based on the novel by Liz Jensen.

Bell, the BAFTA-winning star of Billy Elliot also has a full plate; he is about to start working on Fred and Ginger for Amazon and Automatik, which he will both star in and co-produce, and Minghella is executive producing under his company Blank Tape, teaming up these two powerhouses yet again. Bell is currently starring in Apple’s The Shining Girls with Elizabeth Moss. and has just wrapped production on Surrounded. The Turn of the Key will be his screenwriting debut.

Ware, called “the Agatha Christie of our time,” also has had three other titles optioned for screen adaptations in addition to The Turn of the Key: In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, and The Lying Game. All of these titles are currently in development stages.

Have you read The Turn of the Key? Are you looking forward to this adaptation? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter @bone_angelique. Dread Central is now on Google News!

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