It's only been five years since director Ben Wheatley caught my attention with his film KILL LIST (his second feature, following the 2009 crime drama DOWN TERRACE), but in that time he has knocked out several more features (like SIGHTSEERS and A FIELD IN ENGLAND), contributed a segment to THE ABCs OF DEATH, and helmed a couple episodes of Doctor Who. His J.G. Ballard adaptation HIGH-RISE came out last year, his '70s shoot 'em up FREE FIRE is set for release on March 31st in the UK (the US release will follow on April 21st), and he's already gearing up to start directing his next film in August.
The next Wheatley project is a "cops vs. monsters" story called FREAKSHIFT, described as
an all-guns-blazing action thriller about a band of misfits who hunt down and kill nocturnal underground monsters.
"All-guns-blazing" mixed with monsters sounds like a winning combination to me, and it could get even better from there, as Swedish actress Alicia Vikander is currently in talks to star in the film. The deal has not yet been closed, but an August shoot for FREAKSHIFT would fit into Vikander's schedule.
Vikander had a breakthrough role in EX MACHINA a couple years back and has gone on to cross paths with JASON BOURNE and replace Angelina Jolie as TOMB RAIDER Lara Croft. It would be cool to see her fight monsters for Wheatley.
Wheatley has written the FREAKSHIFT script with Amy Jump. The film will be financed by Riverstone Pictures and Film4, with Wheatley's producer Andrew Starke producing through their company Rook Films. IMR will handle international sales.
Check out the trailer for Wheatley's FREE FIRE below, then imagine the director doing something similar but with monsters added in.