US author Bret Easton Ellis is no stranger to Hollywood or to the world of cinema at large, with most of his novels set in and around his native Los Angeles, many of them adapted for the big screen, and several of his own screenplays turned into films and series. Relapse, which he also wrote, will however be his first time stepping behind the camera as a director. The project, Variety reports, will star British actor Joseph Quinn (famous for Stranger Things, more recently seen in Venice premiere Hoard [+leggi anche:
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The synopsis sees Quinn play Matt Cullen, who checks into rehab after witnessing a horrific death during a drugged-up party. Three months later, he is set to get his life back together, staying at his parent’s mansion in the hills of Los Angeles. But things have changed around Matt and everything seems off balance.

The synopsis further reads: “Fueled by his unstable personality and the invading power of social media, Matt’s paranoia grows, messing up with his rehabilitation program. As he starts using again, a mysterious presence starts growing around Matt, and a monster that has been haunting him since he was a teenager reveals itself. His therapist tries to help, convinced that the monster is actually in Matt’s head.” The creature will be designed by DDT SFX, the Oscar-nominated VFX banner behind Crimson Peak and, more recently, Society of the Snow [+leggi anche:
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Producing the project are Nicolas Rolland from Paris-based company SND as well as Adrian Guerra from Spain’s Nostromo and Simon Wallon of LA-based company Kiss & Kill. SND will handle French distribution and worldwide sales on the title, which it will tease at the European Film Market in Berlin with a new sizzle reel.

Many of Ellis’ novels include horror elements, as do their adaptations. Mary Harron’s American Psycho, starring Christian Bale as a young businessman who fantasises about murder and may or may not act on his desires, was a gory adaptation that was nevertheless a lot less graphic than the source material. Ellis’ latest novel The Shards, centred on a young fictionalised Ellis living in Los Angeles while a serial killer stalks his prey in the city, is set to be turned into a mini-series by HBO.