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THE BLOOD LIST Names Top 13 Unproduced Horror Screenplays

This Halloween marked the sixth anniversary of The Blood List, which was created and curated by Kailey Marsh, the industry list of the 13 best unproduced horror screenplays. Sitting atop that list was a script titled Bird Box, a sci-fi thriller centering around a woman trying to “lead her children to safety after the world is invaded by monsters who turn you insane upon sight… and captures a horrific and gripping snapshot of a world unraveling.”

About half of the feature films on the list feature female protagonists and a few of them we’ve reported on before. “Horror Happenings,” Nerdist’s weekly horror round up told you last week that Leatherface, the prequel to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre written by Seth M. Sherwood, announced its directors. The French duo behind Inside and Livide will be taking the directorial reigns of the script that was ranked at #9 by the list.

At #7 on the list is The Bringing written by Brandon and Phillip Murphy, which Drive director Nicolas Winding Refen was in intense talks to direct earlier this year, but unfortunately he and Sony could not come to an agreement and the deal fell apart. TV director Jeremy Loverling will now bring the script to life. The story is based on the horrifying true events that took place in downtown Los Angeles a few years ago at the infamous Cecil Hotel.

I’ve also heard very good things about Scarecrow, written by Mike Scanneli, which is “set at a remote lake house [and] revolves around a mother and her two young daughters who must fight for survival after falling into a terrifying and bizarre nightmare conceived by a psychopath.” Scarecrow is set to be produced by The Strangers director Bryan Bertino and Adrienne Biddle of Bertino’s Unbroken Pictures.

The full 13 scripts are below. Looks like the future of horror is looking good!

The Blood List Top 13 – 2014


1. BIRD BOX by Eric Heisserer
Logline: A woman tries to lead her children to safety after the world is invaded by monsters who turn you insane upon sight. The tale has echoes of Stephen King’s THE STAND and captures a horrific and gripping snapshot of a world unraveling.
Genre:Sci-fi thriller
Agent(s): Rich Cook, Lindsay Dunn, Jason Spitz, & Cori Wellins (WME)
Manager(s): Julie Bloom (Art/Work Entertainment)
Status: Set up at Universal, with Bluegrass Films attached to produce.

2. THE GARDENER by Alyssa Jefferson
Logline: In the 1950s, a neurotic florist’s strict routine is derailed after stumbling upon a murder and finding himself at the center of a conspiracy.
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Agent(s): N/A
Manager(s):  Lee Stobby (Silent R)
Status: Available.

3. TAU by Noga Landau
Logline: A woman held captive in the futuristic smart house of a serial kidnapper realizes that her only hope of escape lies in turning the house’s sentient computer against its creator.
Genre: Thriller
Agent(s): Dana Harris, Ryan Feldman, Meyash Prabhu
Manager(s): Adam Marshall (Caliber)
Status: Russell Ackerman is attached to produce

4. INTO THE DEEP by Tony Jazwinski
Logline: A young woman who has recently lost her mother is surfing in an isolated area when she gets stranded on a buoy, and a gigantic great white shark is between her and the shore.
Reps: David Boxerbaum, Chris Licata, Valarie Phillips (Paradigm)
Manager(s): Ashley Berns & Lawrence Mattis (Circle of Confusion)
Genre: Dark Drama
Status: Set up at Columbia pictures.

5. POSSESSION: A LOVE STORY by Jack Stanley
Logline: Edward and Bethany Martin are young, beautiful, rich, and in love.  But their enviable lifestyle is upended when Bethany begins exhibiting strange and alarming behavior.  As her condition worsens and doctors grow increasingly baffled, it seems as if something supernatural might be responsible.  But the truth is far more shocking…and will force Edward to confront a terrifying choice in the name of love.
Genre: Psychological Horror
Agent(s): Jay Baker, Jon Cassir, John Garvey (CAA)
Manager(s): Jewerl Ross (Silent R)
Status: Russell Ackerman, Jewerl Ross, &  John Schoenfelder are attached to produce.

6. SCARECROW by Mike Scanneli
Logline: Set at a remote lake house, revolves around a mother and her two young daughters who must fight for survival after falling into a terrifying and bizarre nightmare conceived by a psychopath.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Agent(s): Geoff Morley
Manager(s): N/A
Status: Set up at Screen Gems with Bryan Bertino & Adrienne Biddle (Unbroken) attached to produce
7. THE BRINGING by Brandon Murphy & Phillip Murphy
Logline:  In the vein of THE SHINING and THE CONJURING – based on true events, a private investigator is hired to investigate a mysterious murder at a downtown Los Angeles hotel and uncovers it’s dark supernatural history.
Genre: Horror
Agent(s): Rich Cook, Solco Schuit & Theresa Kang (WME)
Manager(s): Langley Perer (Mosaic Media)
Status: Set up at Sony with Matt Tolmach & Daniela Cretu attached to produce

8. BULLIES by Michael Grebb
Logline: An outcast teenager’s revenge plot against high school bullies quickly spins out of control, blurring the lines between bully and victim as his obsession sets off a deadly chain reaction.
Genre: Revenge Thriller
Agent(s): N/A
Manager(s): Portnoy (Heretic Literary Management)
Status: Available
9. LEATHERFACE by Seth M. Sherwood
Genre: Horror
Agent(s): Charles Ferraro & Peter Dodd (UTA)
Manager(s): Kailey Marsh (Kailey Marsh Management)

10. DEAD ANIMALS by Sawyer Perry
Logline:  When a young woman’s estranged uncle comes back into her hometown, she finds herself strangely attracted to him while at the same time suspicious that he might be involved with a series of grisly murders.
Genre: Horror
Agent(s): N/A
Manager(s): Sarah Smith (Fake Dare Productions)
Status: Ross Putman is attached to produce.

11. UNSETTLED by Jesse Wheeler
Logline:  Cole Tanner, one of the millions buried in debt they’ll never be able to pay off, is used to harassment by collection agencies.  But nothing has prepared Cole for his new debt collector, Ray Loomis, a man dead set on getting what he’s owed – one way or another.
Genre: Thriller
Agent(s): N/A
Manager(s): Marc Manus  (Manus Entertainment)
Status: Available

12. A MAN CALLED DEATH by Matthew Kennedy
Logline: A reclusive author is visited to a stranded motorist, only to find the two are world renown killers, seeking revenge from each other.
Genre: Contained thriller
Agent(s): Solco Schuit (WME)
Manager(s): Brooklyn Weaver (Energy Entertainment)
Status: Set up at Addictive Pictures

13. THE WILDNESS by Evan Dickson
Logline: A hard partying ski instructor finally gets his dream job in Aspen only to find the town threatened by a malevolent force that must be tamed.
Genre: Horror/Action
Agent(s): N/A
Manager(s): N/A
Status: Available

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