Past Life: Emile Hirsch to star in psychological serial killer thriller

Emile Hirsch (Dig) has signed on to star in the psychological serial killer thriller Past Life, a new entry in the “seeing murders through the killer’s eyes” sub-genre that also includes the likes of Eyes of Laura Mars and Malignant. In this one, Hirsch will be taking on the role of

Jason Frey, an investigative reporter who reluctantly agrees to attend a hypnotism event with his pregnant wife Claira. Under hypnosis, Jason witnesses a murder through the eyes of a killer. Haunted by what he has seen, Jason uses past live regression techniques to investigate a series of unsolved murders from the eighties while unwittingly reawakening a psychopath’s killer tendencies.

Set to start filming in March of next year, Past Life will be directed by Simeon Halligan (White Settlers) – who also happens to be the head of Grimmfest, Manchester’s International Festival of Fantastic Film – from a screenplay by Dean Lines and Ray Bogdanovich (The Banishing).

The film is being produced by Rachel Richardson-Jones of Grimmfest Films, Pierre Romain and Susan Michels of SWE, and Michael Laundon of M2 Productions. M2’s Michael Bassick serves as an executive producer with Sarada McDermott, Angus Finney, Jason Piette, and Disrupting Influence’s Glenn Kendrick Ackermann and Ewan Dunbar. Ackermann provided the following statement to Deadline: “We are absolutely thrilled to be working with Emile on Past Life, a superb actor who has proved his versatility and breadth in an array of movies. His depth as a performer will bring nuance to Jason’s complex character. We can’t think of a better actor to play the role in this brilliantly conceived thriller.“

I like the “seeing murders through the killer’s eyes” set-up, and Past Life sounds to me like it will be an interesting version of this type of story. How does Past Life sound to you? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.