Screenwriter Matt Venne told Fango about his work on a second-season episode of MASTERS OF HORROR, and today he shares his enthusiasm about his first feature to roll, Rogue Pictures/Gold Circle’s WHITE NOISE 2: THE LIGHT. “I was beyond thrilled when they asked me to be a part of the WHITE NOISE franchise after the incredible success of the first film,” Venne tells Fango. “I mean, Jeff Gelb mentioned the movie in his intro to DARK DELICACIES, his and Del Howison’s incredible collection of horror fiction by today’s master authors—talk about something with cool pop-cultural impact! WHITE NOISE 2: THE LIGHT is a really dark horror-thriller, full of harrowing twists and turns. Being a lifelong fan of the films and novels in that genre—everything from De Palma to Roeg to Hitchcock to Polanski to Stephen King and his Bachman Books—I believe WHITE NOISE 2 is going to deliver the goods!”
He also confirms the rumor we reported a while back that he worked on the latest sequel to one of the most popular horror franchises. “Yes, I wrote a draft of HALLOWEEN 9, entitled HALLOWEEN: ASYLUM. It was a very strong premise, but the Dimension split from Disney really threw a lot of projects into a type of limbo, and I’m not sure exactly what the status of that project is. My fingers are certainly crossed, though! Whatever happens on H9, it was an awesome experience for two reasons. The first is that I finally got to work for Dimension and Bob Weinstein—a man who is behind some of my favorite modern genre films. FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, MIMIC, SCREAM and SIN CITY are all topnotch in my book.
“But more importantly, writing H9 gave me a chance to meet Moustapha Akkad, whose passing is still mind-bogglingly sad,” Venne continues. “Mr. Akkad is the man whose name I have known for as long as I can remember, written in huge orange letters, accompanied by John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN theme. I only met with him three times, but he was ultimately the man who gave me the go-ahead to write the script. I’ll never forget how larger-than-life he was—so regal and wise behind his gigantic desk. He had such an endless well of experience gained from a lifetime of making movies and so much more. Yet amidst all of that knowledge and power and wisdom, there was constantly a mischievous little twinkle in his eyes—a spark of life and playfulness that will live on forever in the minds of anyone who had the privilege to meet him.
“Finally, it’s one of those rumors you wish were true, simply because the director is so talented, but alas, Sion [SUICIDE CLUB] Sono was never attached to direct HALLOWEEN 9,” Venne reveals. “I think that story started because at one point, Sono was going to direct something I wrote [a screenplay called SECOND SIGHT] that Clive Barker was going to produce. But, man—hot damn!—what I wouldn’t give to see Sion Sono’s take on Michael Myers!”
For over 20 years the Horror Asylum has continued to bring you the very best genre news, reviews, giveaways and interviews in the horror world.