Corbin Bernsen, a.k.a. The Dentist himself, has signed on to star in the summer camp-set sci-fi horror film Marshmallow, Deadline reports. Bernsen is joined in the cast by child actors Kue Lawrence (The Amityville Murders), Kai Cech (Dear Santa), and Max Malas (New Amsterdam).
Daniel DelPurgatorio, who co-directed the Tales of the Black Freighter animated short for Zack Snyder, will be directing Marshmallow from a screenplay by Black Friday writer Andy Greskoviak. As mentioned, this one will be set “at a secluded summer camp” and centers on Morgan (Lawrence), a timid and introverted 12-year-old who is thrust into a waking nightmare when a once-fabled campfire tale becomes real. As a mysterious figure descends upon the camp, Morgan and his newfound friends must embark on a treacherous journey and uncover a sinister reality buried beneath the surface. Little do they know that the truth harbors a secret that will test their resilience and unravel the very fabric of their reality.
The film is being produced by Warner Davis, Todd Friedman, and Hemlock Circle Productions. Robert Kurtzman, formerly the K of the FX team KNB, is overseeing the special effects. Filming is expected to begin in a couple weeks.
My fandom of the Friday the 13th franchise ensures that any kind of horror story set at a summer camp will instantly have my attention, so I look forward to seeing how Marshmallow is going to turn out. (And to finding out exactly why it’s called Marshmallow.) I would be more interested if the lead characters were older, like the counselors in a Friday the 13th movie, rather than a 12-year-old camper and his pals, but I’ll give the movie a chance and see how it goes.
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In addition to Tales of the Black Freighter, DelPurgatorio has also directed multiple short films and an episode of the TV series Fear Haus. Deadline notes that he’s working on a TV series remake of director L.Q. Jones’ 1975 cult classic A Boy and His Dog, based on a post-apocalyptic novel by Harlan Ellison.