Anna Flaherty
Earlier today the news broke that Studiocanal are working with Rob Savage (writer and director of Host) and Jed Shepherd (writer and executive of Host) to create a brand new, female-led horror. Savage will be the main writer, but the production process will go through Studiocanal to complete the collaboration.
The film Host became a massive hit during lockdown as people sought to fill their brains with horrors other than the real ones around them. It gained popularity and now has strong critical and audience reviews across the board. It is available on Shudder and follows a group of friends who are also in lockdown. It becomes dark very quickly as an evil spirit starts invading their homes after they attempt to hold a séance over Zoom. The film is less than an hour in total, so great for those of us who have been struggling to find the focus to watch new films at this time.
In an article with Rolling Stone, Savage describes Host not as a pandemic movie but as an isolation one. He is keen to get back to work on a new project. As well as the collaboration with Studiocanal, Savage is working on a sequel film to Host that is likely to be available on Shudder once it is made. This new film won’t be a straightforward follow-up film in the way that sequels usually are, but rather more of a film about the world re-opening, which happens to follow on sequentially.
The success of Host has inspired these creators into this new movie, and the collaboration with Studiocanal, and it is looking promising. Savage’s debut in film was a movie called Strings which he released when he was just 17 years old. Now, at 25, he has already made a name for himself in the horror universe.
At this stage we have little information about what this new Studiocanal film might look like, but we do know it will be lead by a female cast. Savage seems keen to push boundaries. Not only are we getting a rapid turnaround film about a situation that is happening all over the world as we speak, but we are also getting a film in the horror genre that represents female characters as protagonists. The story will follow a group of women attempting to make an escape. The film will touch upon claustrophobia, escapes, complex character backstories, and a fear of the world. It will be interesting to see where this new collaboration goes. There is also some discussion surrounding whether this film will take place in the US or the UK, as Host was. This has the potential to be something fresh and exciting.
Similarly to Host, this new project will be low-budget, and Savage will have a lot of creative control over the final outcome. This being said, it will be his highest budgeted film so far in his career–teaming up with Studiocanal making this possible. It is not yet known where and when it will be released, but Savage says he wants to start filming in early 2021. This would help the film’s popularity as the momentum for Host is still going strong.
