HEADSPACE director/producer Andrew van den Houten and producer/co-writer/cinematographer William M. Miller gave Fango the news that their movie has been picked up for U.S. distribution by up-and-coming Freestyle Home Entertainment, which also plans some big-screen play. “We’re going to have a limited theatrical release in January and February,” van de Houten says, “and we’ve got all kinds of goodies on the DVD, which will be out in March.” Those supplements, accompanying a widescreen transfer with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, include:
• Audio commentary by van den Houten and Miller
• Audio commentary by editor Elwaldo Baptiste, composer Ryan Shore and special makeup FX creator Jamie Kelman
• Fractured Skulls: The Making of HEADSPACE featurette
• Deleted, extended and alternate scenes
• Poster art concepts and photo gallery
• Theatrical trailer
• Talent bios
• Easter egg
HEADSPACE is about a young man (Christopher Denham) who finds himself experiencing a bizarre boost of his intelligence as well as horrific nightmares, while a demon begins slaughtering people around him, and co-stars Olivia Hussey, William Atherton, Sean Young, Larry Fessenden, Dee Wallace Stone and Udo Kier; you can see the official website here. Van den Houten and Miller also revealed to Fango that they’re about to get the long-mooted film version of a notorious horror novel off the ground. “The next project we’re doing with our Modern Ciné company is an adaptation of Jack Ketchum’s THE GIRL NEXT DOOR,” van den Houten says. “William and myself are producing, and it’s slated for production next summer. The script was written by Phil Nutman and Daniel Farrands, and the director has not been set yet; we’re taking meetings with a number of people right now.” (Stuart Gordon had been attached to the project in the past.)
Ketchum’s book, a ’50s-set tale of the horrible abuse suffered by a young teenaged girl at the hands of her own aunt and cousins, is an ultra-extreme and disturbing modern horror novel (first published by Warner in 1989, it was reissued this past year by Leisure). “It’s one of the most riveting, darkest and most dramatic pieces ever written, and the movie version will be one of the truest adaptations ever done of any horror novel,” van den Houten promises. “We believe that this is the best and most appropriate time to be telling this story on film, given the fact that so much terrible stuff happens behind closed doors; this is a great way for people to open up and have discussions about this kind of subject matter. It’s a film that will not be forgotten by anyone who sees it.”
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.