Modern Horrors Presents: Where Are They Now – Vol. 1

Tomas Alfredson was born on April 1, 1965 in Lidingö, Stockholms län, Sweden. He turned in one of the greatest vampire films of all time with Let the Right One In…then he sort of vanished.

Rumor has it that Alfredson is set to direct an adaption of Jo Nesbo‘s crime thriller The Snowman. In case you’re worried that this guy isn’t getting the credit he deserves, keep in mind that the legendary Martin Scorsese is also on board as an executive producer.

I have a feeling we’re all about to hear a lot more about Tomas Alfredson in the next couple of years.

Scott Glosserman was born on November 21, 1976 in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. In 2006, Glosserman took us behind the scenes with a serial killer in Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.

BTM is considered far and wide to be a modern horror classic, so it was fantastic news when Glosserman and friends announced a crowdfunding campaign for B4TM. Which I assume would stand for Before the Mask. The campaign garnered upwards of $185,000 dollars. For most low-budget genre films, that would be considered a home run. Unfortunately, the team was seeking a whopping $450,000 and fell flat as a result. They didn’t see a dime.

It’s unclear where the project stands at this point. 3 years have passed since the “failed” Kickstarter run. Glosserman himself doesn’t seem to refer to the film anymore on social media channels unless it’s in the past-tense. That seems like a bad sign for the Leslie Vernon fans out there.

Scott Glosserman has no other reported projects in the works.

Marcus Dunstan is a writer and director from Macomb, IL USA. Not only did this guy write all 3 Feast movies and the last 4 Saw films, but Dunstan also co-wrote and directed both The Collector and The Collection. Dunstan accomplished what many have only attempted – he created a modern horror icon with the character of The Collector. So where does he go from here? Well, he tackles perhaps the greatest horror icon of all time.

In June of 2015, Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton were revealed to be working on a direct sequel to John Carpenter’s 1981 film Halloween 2. The film is titled Halloween Returns and is scheduled to begin production this year.

How fucking exciting is that?!?

James DeMonaco was born in 1969 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. It’s safe to say that DeMonaco captured the imagination of the horror community with 2012’s The Purge. Regardless of how you personally feel about the film, there’s no denying that it’s an awesome concept. After the success of the first film, DeMonaco was brought back in for the sequel – The Purge: Anarchy. So what does this director do after two Purge movies in a row?

Another Purge movie… duh.

The Purge 3 centers around the very first purge to commence. So I have a feeling we’ll be getting back to the horror roots of the franchise as opposed to following street-savvy gangs of assassins and secret societies.

Before you rag on the guy for 3 Purge movies in a row – keep in mind that this dude wrote Samual L Jackson’s The Negotiator and Robin Williams’ Jack. DeMonaco has earned the right to slum it with us horror nerds for a while – and I for one, am glad to have him.

Even after two less than stellar follow-ups, Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury are considered to be modern horror royalty by most (myself included). What they were able to accomplish in the their 2007 debut Inside has rightfully cemented their place in the history books. After 3 French language films in a row, the duo has decided to make their English language debut in a rather ballsy way – by reimagining an icon.

In October of 2014, it was announced that Bustillo and Maury would be directing Leatherface; an origin tale of sorts to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. While it’s a bit odd to have two prequels in a franchise, I believe the brutality these guys bring to the table will feel right at home in the TCM universe.

Srdjan Spasojevic was born in 1976 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. I dunno how things work in Yugoslavia, but they must teach their youth the importance of first impressions. Spasojevic waited until the ripe age of 34 before making his feature film debut, but goddamn did he come out swinging.

A Serbian Film is a worldwide phenomenon of sorts. It has become the modern generation’s entry point for “hardcore” cinema. 5 years has passed since A Serbian Film was all the rage – so what’s next? Well, details are shaky, but we’ll know a lot more at the end of the month.

All we have at the moment is the title Whereout. Spasojevic could go one of two ways here. Either he can try to exceed the name he has made for himself in hardcore circles, or he can use this next film as an opportunity to pivot into a more ….acceptable… avenue of filmmaking. Say what you will about A Serbian Film, but it looked great. Spasojevic has skills.

More information on Whereout will be made available after Spasojevic’s showing at the Frontières International Co-production Market on July 23-26.

Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman have an interesting claim to fame. They are the only set of directors to work on multiple Paranormal Activity films. Joost and Schulman took the lead on the franchise’s 3rd and 4th installments. I wouldn’t blame you for not knowing that since everyone acts as if Oren Peli is still the guy churning these things out. So what are these guys up to now?

Unlike most Paranormal Activity directors, these guys are surprisingly active. In fact, they have two projects in the works at this moment. One in post-production and the other in filming. Both Nerve and Viral have sci-fi elements. Nerve follows a high school senior that finds herself immersed in an online game of truth of dare, where her every move starts to become manipulated by an anonymous community of “watchers” , while Viral takes yet another stab at post apocalyptic and zombie existence.

Time will tell how successful these fellas become. We’ll definitely keep our eye on them.

Gens impressed back in 2007 with Frontier(s). This could be due in part to the explosion of French horror at that time, but nope. His follow up was the dreaded “video game movie” project – Hitman. Turns out Hitman was really good too. As far as video game movies go, it may be the best I’ve ever seen. Xavier’s 3rd feature release was The Divide. Gens leaned a little more towards the Sci Fi end of the spectrum, but The Divide was an excellently shot film with some deeply disturbing moments and concepts. You may have noticed… I’m pretty damn high on Mr. Gens.

The good news is that Xavier Gens is gearing up for a return to Horror with Peter Safran (The Conjuring). The bad news is that Crucifixion is yet another demonic possession flick. The film concerns a priest who is jailed for the murder of a nun on whom he was performing an exorcism. An investigative journalist strives to determine whether he in fact murdered a mentally ill person, or if he lost the battle with a demonic presence.