Spectrum Studios has revealed that Nick Simon’s upcoming project, Untitled Horror Movie, has completed its principal photography with the entire writing, pre-production and filming process taking place remotely during global quarantine.
RELATED: Relic Clip: These Moldy Walls House Dark Secrets
Co-written and directed by Simon (The Girl in the Photographs), the film is set on computer screens and filmed in found footage style and will explore the behind-the-scenes lives of moderately famous actors who will do anything to save their careers and keep sharing their craft with the world. With their hit TV show on the brink of cancellation, six actors decide to film their own horror movie. In their search for a plot, they unintentionally summon a spirit with an affinity for violence, who starts picking them off one vapid actor at a time.
“I’ve always believed that film should be a collaborative art form, and I don’t think there’s a truer example than with this picture,” Simon said in a statement. “The actors did everything from lighting themselves — guided by our incredible DP, Kevin Duggin — to recording their own sound and doing their own hair and makeup. As crazy as that could have been, it was easily one of the most enjoyable experiences in my professional life. It was one of those once in a lifetime moments when everything aligns at the exact right time.”
The script for the project was co-written by Simon and Luka Baines (Under the Silver Lake), who also stars in the project alongside Claire Holt (The Vampire Diaries), Darren Barnet (Agents of SHIELD), Emmy Raver-Lampman (The Umbrella Academy), Katherine McNamara (Arrow), Timothy Granaderos (13 Reasons Why), Kal Penn (Designated Survivor), Kevin Daniels (Sirens) and Sohm Kapila (911). The film marks a reunion between the Harold & Kumar vet and Simon after The Girl in the Photographs.
RELATED: Shudder Unveils Trailer for Cosmic Body Horror The Beach House
“There’s a joke in the film that says: ‘The only people who say there’s creative freedom from making their own stuff are the ones who can’t get a studio to finance their movie,’” Baines said in a statement. “I want to publicly contradict myself and say I’ve never had more fun or felt this amount of space to take risks and make mistakes, although I do wholeheartedly miss having a full crew. I think I speak for the rest of the actors when I say we’ve never had more respect for each and every department.”
Untitled Horror Movie is produced by Bronwyn Cornelius (Clemency) and Marina Stabile (Beatriz at Dinner), with Randy Singuefield’s Spectrum Studios financing the picture and currently selling it to distributors for potential acquisition with post-production expected to wrap by September.
(Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)