From the illustrious 2009 Black List, Hollywood's informal collection of the best unproduced scripts, comes Dark Was The Night, a monster-centered thriller penned by Tyler Hisel and directed by Jack Heller. Set in a remote woodland community, this feature focuses on the havoc that is unleashed when a local logging company's greedy encroachment into the surrounding forests unleashes an unknown evil upon the town. Only the noble sheriff and his dedicated deputy are fit to face down this mysterious monster and save the townsfolk from annihilation.
With production on the film set to begin this Sunday, THR reveals that Kevin Durand and Lukas Haas have signed on to star in Dark Was The Night, joining a cast that includes Sabina Gadecki of the upcoming crime-thriller Freaky Deaky, Heath Freeman, the bright spot of the smug drama Skateland, and Nick Damici of the vampire horror flick Stake Land.
Though not stated directly, it's strongly implied that Durand, who recently appeared in Real Steel, will play the sheriff, with Hass (Brick) playing his deputy. There's no word on what roles the rest of the aforementioned cast members will play or what kind of monsters they will face, but as Hisel's script was formerly titled The Trees, I'm expecting this "new" twist on a monster genre is going Tolkein-styled old-school. I think we're talking Ents.
Ents, as any Lord of the Rings devotee will tell you, are a race of walking and talking trees said to be inspired by old-world folklore. Of course, in the Tolkein's Middle-earth, these anthropomorphic trees were generally friendly. However, with all the talk of "evil" it seems that the tree beasts of Dark Was The Night will have more in common with the fantastical trees seen in Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm or the Czech offering Little Otik. But as both of those strange and gruesome features are a lot of fun, I'm on board for some ent-inspired horror. How about you?
