Andrew Kevin Walker’s Psycho Killer finds financing

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

The road to production has been a long one for PSYCHO KILLER, the latest genre project from Andrew Kevin Walker, screenwriter of SEVEN, Tim Burton's SLEEPY HOLLOW, and 2010's THE WOLFMAN, among others. The "nail-biting thriller" first hit the news back in early 2009, when Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst was set to direct. Durst had moved on by late 2010, by which time Eli Roth was planning to produce it with Eric Newman, his co-producer on THE LAST EXORCISM. They eventually moved on as well.

Things have been pretty quiet on the PSYCHO KILLER front in recent years, but now K5 International have made a deal to finance and produce it alongside Matt Berenson and executive producer Howard Kaplan.

Gavin Polone, producer of ZOMBIELAND and the Walker-scripted 8MM, signed on to direct the film while Roth and Newman were involved and has held on to the helm ever since. When he first came on board, Polone didn't have any directing credits to his name, but over the last few years he has added multiple TV episodes to his filmography. He'll be making his feature directorial debut with PSYCHO KILLER, which

follows a nameless murderer, wearing a nightmarish mask, who stalks his way across the US, leaving a long trail of random victims left in bloody tribute to Satan. 

A chance encounter with a highway patrolman on a Kansas highway ends tragically, but this time there is a witness; the patrolman’s wife, Jane, a fellow police officer. Jane, who has just discovered she is pregnant, sets out to seek vengeance.  

K5's Oliver Simon and Daniel Baur had this to say:

“Delivering a disturbing and powerful punch, Psycho Killer recalls the great villains of our nightmares, from Hannibal Lecter to Jason but also compels and gives us a sense of awe at his sheer power. We’ve no doubt that Gavin will deliver a truly exceptional thriller.” 

I've been following PSYCHO KILLER news with great interest for over six years now and have heard very positive things about Walker's screenplay. In some ways, it sounds sort of like a gory, Satanic take on THE HITCHER. I can't wait to finally see this story I've been hearing about for so long finally reach the screen.

Amy Hargreaves from the underrated, Walker-written BRAINSCAN