Coming off a particularly notable couple years for the genre, The Invisible Man has been the only horror hit so far in 2020. We’re still in the early months of the year, but five others of its kind have also come out. Leigh Whannell’s new take on the classic movie monster for Blumhouse Productions looks to be inspiring another modern take on a familiar character, and this time he’s got fangs.
Sink your teeth into this: Blumhouse is producing a Karyn Kusama-directed Dracula movie. The filmmaker was behind 2015’s slow-burn horror flick The Invitation, Nicole Kidman’s startling transformation in 2018’s Destroyer, 2005’s Aeon Flux and modern cult classic Jennifer’s Body. The project moves forward just as The Invisible Man has crossed $100 million at the global box office.
This version of Dracula is described as another monster movie set in modern times and with a contemporary spin on an old tale. Karyn Kusama’s frequent collaborators, Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay, are attached to the script. The pair have written many of her directorial projects, along with the Ride Along movies, 2010’s Clash of the Titans and 2013’s R.I.P.D. Universal is not part of the project at this time in its development, but THR finds it “highly unlikely” the studio wouldn’t want to house another one of its monsters.
Universal’s interconnected Dark Universe may be dead after 2017’s The Mummy failed to critically and commercially impress, but The Invisible Man is certainly influencing Blumhouse to establish a string of standalone films driven by filmmakers’ visions. The studio is using a “best idea wins” approach for monster movies after a failed experiment to connect these movies together like the MCU.
Universal is reportedly working with filmmakers like Paul Feig, Elizabeh Banks and A Quiet Place’s John Krasinski to come up with many takes on movie monsters. There are “multiple irons in the fire,” according to an agent in the loop with Universal’s plans. James Wan signed on to develop a monsters movie with Universal just last week that has “shades of Disturbia.”
Jason Blum also shared his interest in remaking Frankenstein in a similar vein to what his studio was able to achieve with The Invisible Man. Leigh Whannell’s approach brought a relevant and modern element to the long-told story that has rubbed off well with moviegoers. The Invisible Man has an impressive 91% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ on Cinemascore.
The Invisible Man was made on a cheap budget of $7 million, allowing for its commercial success to come quite easy. However, it has certainly exceeded expectations with its numbers thus far. Now the question is how this Dracula will spin this classic story? Universal’s last attempt was Dracula Untold in 2014 with Luke Evans – a vastly disliked retelling.
Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more news on Blumhouse’s upcoming monster movies.
