Sophie Cookson to star in Xavier Gens’ The Crucifixion

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE co-star Sophie Cookson has landed the lead role in the supernatural thriller THE CRUCIFIXION, which is being directed by Xavier Gens from a screenplay by THE CONJURING's Chad and Carey Hayes.

This project re-teams the writers with THE CONJURING producer Peter Safran, who was also behind that film's spin-off ANNABELLE.

Like THE CONJURING and ANNABELLE, THE CRUCIFIXION comes with a "based on true events" tag, in this case the "true story" being told is:

When a priest is jailed for the murder of a nun on whom he was performing an exorcism, an investigative journalist strives to determine whether he in fact murdered a mentally ill person, or if he lost the battle with a demonic presence.

In addition to THE CONJURING, the Hayes brothers have scripted THE REAPING and the 2005 version of HOUSE OF WAX, while Xavier Gens has directed FRONTIER(S), THE DIVIDE, and the "X Is for XXL" segment of THE ABCs OF DEATH, so the team behind this one has some solid genre cred. The story sounds a bit familiar, but demonic possession films always have a chance of being creepy if they're pulled off well.

Safran and the Hayes brothers are producing THE CRUCIFIXION with Bill Johnson, Jim Seibel, and Ara Keshishian of Lotus Entertainment and Leon Clarance of Motion Picture Capital. Executive producers are Laure Vaysse, Jo Monk, and DJ Gugenheim.

Fully financed by Motion Picture Capital, THE CRUCIFIXION is currently filming in Romania.