Wes Craven Introducing a New 'Signature Villain' in 25/8

February 13, 2008
Source: Variety
by Alex Billington

Wes Craven isn't done with horror yet! The Nightmare on Elm Street, Hills Have Eyes, and Scream creator is working on a new thriller titled 25/8. The project is Craven's first original horror script since 1994 when he wrote New Nightmare. The first Scream (from 1996) was actually written by Kevin Williamson and since '94 he hasn't directed any of his own original work. Craven says that 25/8 features a new "signature villain" in the same vein as Freddy Krueger or Scream's ghost mask killer. As much as I'm excited to see Craven return again with some quality horror, I'm not expecting too much with 25/8.

Rogue Pictures, the horror subsidiary of Univeral Pictures, is developing the film with Iya Labunka as producer. Production begins in April with an unannounced cast as of yet. Given Craven's current status in Hollywood, I expect he'll get a fairly solid cast set for 25/8.

The film unveils a new signature villain, a serial killer who turns up 15 years after his purported death, to kill the seven children born on that fateful night. Craven explains that "it's more a thriller than slasher film, and revolves around a young kid with a very dark past involving his family and his father." I'm very interested to see what this new signature villain is like and determine whether he (or it) lives up to the likes of Freddy and Jason. We really need another new iconic horror villain in this day and age that isn't Jigsaw from the Saw series, because too many people hate him and that entire torture-horror genre.

While everything sounds great so far, the problem lies with Rogue Pictures. The studio previously released the box office duds Seed of Chucky, Assault on Precinct 13 (remake), Cry_Wolf, The Return, The Hitcher (remake), and Balls of Fury. Upcoming they have The People Under the Stairs 2, The Last House on the Left (remake), The Strangers, Doomsday and Castlevania. Rogue is really not a strong studio when it comes to horror, and they seem to struggle with marketing and with getting a firm grasp on the horror community. This could be the year (or maybe next) when they finally become a solid studio, but for now I'm not too confident in them.

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