Whether you are a fan of the micro-budget horror films of Blumhouse Productions (PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, THE PURGE, etc), you have to admit that they have found a business model that works. So, as they branch out into other genres and markets, we shouldn’t be surprised to see them try some new things. Sticking with the horror genre, Jason Blum’s shingle will try something they have not done before: a family friendly scary movie.
The Hollywood Reporter says Blumhouse has selected THE KARATE KID director Harald Zwart to helm the as yet untitled film which comes from NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM screenwriter Robert Ben Garant who has worked in horror before having scripted JESSABELLE and the upcoming Jessica Alba movie THE VEIL. There is no plot description released for the film.
Family friendly horror has been in limited supply in recent years with only MONSTER HOUSE coming to mind. Back in the 1980s, we had THE MONSTER SQUAD and SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES but aside from that the only movie I can think of is the upcoming GOOSEBUMPS movie. Hopefully this is not just a cheap ploy to get kids into theaters as there has been a lacking number of live action movies for kids that are not painfully bad.
Stay tuned for more details as this develops.