Remake of Full Moon’s Castle Freak is in the works

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

In just a few days, PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH, a reboot of the PUPPET MASTER franchise that was directed by Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund from a screenplay by BONE TOMAHAWK writer S. Craig Zahler, will be making its world premiere at the Overlook Film Festival in New Orleans. Unlike the previous PUPPET MASTER films, this one was not a Full Moon production – Full Moon founder Charles Band has given di Bonaventura Pictures and Cinestate, the entertainment company that is now reviving Fangoria magazine, the right to make their own PUPPET MASTER movies separate from the continuity of the ongoing Full Moon series.

Yesterday, THE LITTLEST REICH was the subject of a panel at the Monsterpalooza convention, and during that panel, Cinestate announced that they are now reteaming with Band to produce a remake of the 1995 Full Moon feature CASTLE FREAK.

Inspired by the H.P. Lovecraft story The Outsider, CASTLE FREAK was directed by Stuart Gordon and had the following synopsis:

In an ancient castle in Italy, the old Duchess Orsini has died and left behind a mysterious, living legacy. The sole heir is her American nephew, John Reilly, who arrives in Italy with his wife Susan and their blind teenage daughter Rebecca to settle the estate. When the Reillys move in, Rebecca hears strange scratching noises coming from the long dark corridors and senses another presence living in the castle. The castle's cook Agnese tells John that the castle is haunted.

As a string of unexplainable events occur within the castle walls, tensions grow. With some encouragement from Agnese, John begins to believe the ghost stories and to unearth the horrific truth… that there is a freak of human nature inhabiting the deepest dungeons of the castle. When the unknown creature frees himself and roams the dust filled corridors, the beautiful Rebecca becomes the object of his obsession, and everyone who stands in his way is apt to meet a gruesome end. Will John uncover his family's darkest secret in time to save his own wife and daughter?

The CASTLE FREAK remake is set to be directed by special effects artist Tate Steinsiek, with Dallas Sonnier, Amanda Presmyk, Charles Band, and original CASTLE FREAK star Barbara Crampton (she played Susan) producing. The search is now on for a screenwriter.

I'm not as fond of CASTLE FREAK as I am of other Gordon/Lovecraft projects like RE-ANIMATOR and FROM BEYOND, so I'm open to seeing the story retold, hopefully in a way that I'll enjoy more than I enjoy the '95 version.

There are no distribution details currently available for PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH, but it has been said that there's the possibility of a theatrical release in August. If you're going to be in New Orleans later this month, you can pick up tickets to the Overlook screenings at THIS LINK.