Almost exactly two years have gone by since it was announced that the Incredible Hulk himself, Lou Ferrigno, had signed on to star in the horror film The Hermit, a project that will see him taking on the role of a cannibalistic pig farmer who makes and sells jerky made of human flesh. Now, thanks to Variety, a couple images of Ferrigno’s character have made their way online, and you can check them out in this article!
Scatena & Rosner Films has acquired the worldwide rights to The Hermit, which is currently in post-production, and will be launching distribution sales at the Cannes Film Market.
Described as a “horror film with an undercurrent of quirky irony,” The Hermit was directed and produced by Salvatore Sclafani, who previously directed the 2019 Italian drama A Gifted Man (Il talento) and this year’s Dutch II: Angel’s Revenge, which is a sequel to the 2020 crime thriller Dutch. The Hermit tells the following story: Dragged on a vacation to the woods, two self-absorbed teens named Lisa and Eric, venture off trail, stumble across a farm, go in, see animal heads hanging from the wall and fight for their lives against an unstoppable cannibal pig farmer.
Lisa and Eric are played by Malina Weissman (A Series of Unfortunate Events) and Anthony Turpel (Bloody Bridget). We’ve seen something along these lines play out in classics like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Motel Hell, but we’ve never seen it with Lou Ferrigno as the cannibal.
When his association with the project was first announced, Ferrigno provided this statement: “Most people are surprised that I’ve never really entered the horror space before now. When I was a kid I was fascinated with the monsters of the time like Dracula and Frankenstein. So I am really excited and honored to be working with such a great team on something that will for sure excite fans. The character I am playing is unique and will give an updated twist to those monsters I grew up with.“
Scatena & Rosner co-founder Jordan Rosner told Variety, “I’ve been a fan of Lou’s since childhood, and seeing him bring such a compelling performance to the horror genre is very exciting.“
Sclafani is producing The Hermit through his company First Child Productions, alongside Gerry Pass of Chrome Entertainment. Pass explained to Variety that “The Hermit’s story is that he’s been a loner. His mother protected him; kept him in the forest. He doesn’t speak well, because they are kind of feral people. Once, after being attacked, the Hermit kills his attacker. Since the family business is making jerky, the mother ends up cooking this person into the jerky with the pigs. Then, after the mother dies, trapping people, killing them and making them into jerky becomes a recurrent act on the Hermit’s part.“
Does The Hermit sound interesting to you? Check out the images, then share your thoughts on this project by leaving a comment below.