Sean Byrne’s Next: Serial Killer Thriller ‘The Mannequin’, Starring Melissa Leo!
I’ve been a Sean Byrne fan since day one. I was absolutely obsessed with him as a filmmaker after his indie darling, The Loved Ones, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In fact, I courted him several times to direct a segment of our V/H/S franchise, but he was always busy working on something else. As you can see, the time and energy he puts into his work has delivered some phenomenal films beyond The Loved Ones.
The Devil’s Candy is a huge favorite among horror fans and delivered that full-blown heavy metal, punk rock horror energy. After that, we took a fairly long break between films, but it was worth it when we finally got Dangerous Animals, one of the most underrated films of last year. It’s a serial killer thriller with a shark as the device, so you get a little bit of both worlds in there. Phenomenal film.
Thankfully, we won’t have to wait too long for his next project, and StudioCanal is getting behind him through their new label, Sixth Dimension. Here are the details.
Academy Award winner Melissa Leo (Prisoners, I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore) is set to star in Byrne’s serial killer thriller The Mannequin, reports THR.
Byrne will direct from his own script. Production is due to begin this summer on the “serial killer procedural,” described as “an original, violent and blistering high-stakes thriller.”
“There have been other serial killer procedurals, but this is its own thrillingly deranged beast — twisted, intense, propulsive, and anchored by a fearless performance from Melissa Leo, building to a shocking twist you won’t see coming,” hyped Byrne. “It’ll put you on the edge of your seat and keep you there.”
Studiocanal is launching worldwide sales this week in Cannes. The company will release the film theatrically in its own territories, including the U.K., France, Germany, Benelux, Poland, Australia, and New Zealand. Elevation Pictures will distribute the film in Canada.
Producing The Mannequin are William Woods, Maddy Falle, and Kristian Moliere.
Executive producers include Steven Schneider (Late Night with the Devil, Strange Darling), Phil Hunt (Talk to Me), Compton Ross (Fall), Charlie Kemball (The Strangers: Chapter 1), and Jed Benedict (Dangerous Animals). The project was packaged by Head Gear Films with Schneider’s Room 101.
Added Jed Benedict, head of the genre division at Studiocanal: “Nostalgia exists for the best serial killer movies of the noughties for good reason; not only are they brilliantly scary and tense, but they’re meticulously written. With The Mannequin, Sean Byrne has gifted us two unforgettable characters in Charley and Sadie and then thrown them into a fast-escalating nightmare. With the extraordinary Melissa Leo set to star, and a stellar creative team, we at Sixth Dimension can’t wait for audiences to discover Sean’s terrifying manhunt thriller.”
Studiocanal’s Sixth Dimension is a genre label dedicated to “high-concept storytelling across horror, thriller, action and sci-fi,” with the company stating that the label “gives creators a new dimension in which to surprise, shock and entertain.”
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