Six years after making his feature debut with the horror mockumentary THE CONSPIRACY, director Christopher MacBride is set to start filming his second feature this summer. Titled THE EDUCATION OF FREDRICK FITZELL, the project has secured its stars, both of whom have experience with genre work.
Taking the leads in MacBride's EDUCATION are Dylan O'Brien, co-star of the Teen Wolf MTV series, and Maika Monroe, who won over a lot of horror fans with her performances in IT FOLLOWS and THE GUEST (pictured).
The story centers on O'Brien's character,
a man who begins to unravel a long hidden mystery about a missing girl, a drug called Mercury, and a terrifying creature that has followed him into adulthood.
ICM Partners and Endeavor Content are representing the film in North America. Protagonist will be presenting the project to potential international buyers at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.
Lee Kim is producing THE EDUCATION OF FREDRICK FITZELL for Resolute Films, with Russell Ackerman and John Schoenfelder of Addictive Pictures serving as executive producers.
Kim, who also worked with MacBride on THE CONSPIRACY, had this to say about EDUCATION:
The script is unlike anything I’ve read. Chris has crafted a unique, brilliant story – one that transcends genre and provides a surreal snapshot of a man on the brink of collapse. It’s a testament to his writing, vision and characters that we have such an amazing cast lined up. I’m excited to help bring this to life.”
MacBride has a couple more directorial projects lined up beyond EDUCATION. He's attached to direct a thriller called ECHO for 20th Century Fox and 21 Laps, and has the comic book adaptation SCOUT set up with Studio 8 and producer Braden Aftergood.
I haven't seen THE CONSPIRACY, but THE EDUCATION OF FREDRICK FITZELL has my attention (despite the title), as anything that has Maika Monroe in the cast and mention of a terrifying creature in the synopsis would.