It was announced a couple weeks ago that director Brannon Braga and executive producer Seth MacFarlane are working to bring an anthology film inspired by Clive Barker's BOOKS OF BLOOD to the Hulu streaming service. The announcement included the information that Anna Friel, Britt Robertson, Rafi Gavron, and Yul Vasquez will be starring in the film, and gave details on the characters they will be playing:
Friel will play Mary, a brilliant, beautiful psychologist who has gained fame as a skeptic that debunks all theories or beliefs that are not solely scientifically based. She loses her 7-year-old son to leukemia and then meets Simon (Gavron) who becomes her lover and convinces her that he speaks for her dead child.
Robertson will portray Jenna, a hypersensitive girl who suffers from “misphonia” — an abhorrence of sound. As she learns her mother is about to send her back to the “Farm,” she steals her mother’s cash and sets out for Los Angeles.
Gavron’s Simon is a handsome, charismatic young man who says that he is a “ghost whisperer” who speaks for her dead child.
Vazquez will play Bennett, a professional killer who’s latest “hit” clues him in on a priceless book that may allow him and his wife to permanently retire. On his search for the tome, his quest leads him straight into supernatural territory.
Now BOOKS OF BLOOD has added three more cast members – Andy McQueen, Freda Foh Shen, and Nicholas Campbell. They will be playing the following characters:
McQueen plays Steve, a dim hit man who’s partnered with Vazquez’s Bennett.
Shen plays Ellie, a retired RN who “radiates warmth and efficiency.” An avid gardener who lives with her husband Sam (Campbell) in a cozy home where all are welcome, she greets Jenna (Robertson) as if she’s her own daughter.
Campbell’s Sam is a builder and contractor, a sturdy, outgoing man whose good humor and seemingly good heart perfectly balance his wife’s warmth.
Braga wrote the screenplay for the film with Adam Simon. They both serve as executive producers alongside MacFarlane, Erica Huggins, Alana Kleiman, Brian Witten, Jeff Kwatinetz, Josh Barry, and Barker. Mark Miller is co-executive producing, with Joe Micucci, Jason Clark, and Michael Mahoney producing.
Honestly, I'm not familiar with most of the actors in this cast, but there is one cast member who sells me on this project immediately. Anna Friel. I've recently watched her in the first two seasons of the TV series Marcella, and now I'd be willing to watch anything she's in. Especially if it's a horror anthology movie.
BOOKS OF BLOOD is expected to reach Hulu in the fall of 2020.