Naturally, the river of fate has deposited us at a point in pop culture history at which Mickey Rourke will perform Cryptkeeper-esque duties for a horror anthology. Produced by Mick Garris, Nightmare Cinema will feature Rourke as The Projectionist, “a mysterious, ghostly figure who holds the nightmarish futures of all who attend his screenings.” It will also feature a diverse slew of veteran and modern horror talent, with shorts from Joe Dante, David Slade, Ryuhei Kitamura, Alejandro Brugues, and, of course, Garris himself.
It feels like a bite-sized reboot of Garris’Â Master of Horror, where some notable names are given the space of a traditional anthology to play in the bloody sandbox instead of delivering hourlong narratives. And those names are definitely notable.
The ’80s and ’90s flair comes from Dante and Garris while Slade provides the WTF aspect of Hannibal and American Gods, Brugues brings the fun intensity of Juan of the Dead, and Kitamura offers the intense pedigree of Midnight Meat Train. I mean, it probably wouldn’t have killed them to get Mary Lambert or Roxanne Benjamin on the phone (come on, dudes), but otherwise the lineup is encouraging in the same way news of your local drive-in theater reopening might be.
The anthology will feature a series of poor souls who take shelter in the creepy Rialto theater where they’ll confront deep personal fears courtesy of The Projectionist. According to the official synopsis, “once the ticket is torn, their fate is sealed,” which is just cheesy enough to fit this band of weirdos.
No word yet on what release date they’re aiming for (maybe October 2018?), and there’s no info on what each director will be scaring us with, but Nightmare Cinema promises to deliver a varied list of different perspectives on fear.
Image: Cinelou
Want more in horror?
- Watch the new trailer for high school slasher Tragedy Girls
- The who, what, where, when, and why of American Horror Story: Cult
- Introducing a new horror series from The Walking Dead‘s Greg Nicotero
