From 1764 to 1767, the former province of Gévaudan in south-central France was terrorized by some kind of man-eating beast or beasts that killed many people. Twenty years ago, this story inspired a very cool movie called Brotherhood of the Wolf (pick up a copy HERE), and now Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter is teaming with Blumhouse and Netflix to bring a new version of the story to the screen.
Sutter is writing, producing, and will make his feature directorial debut with This Beast, which moves the setting of the story from France to England. Here's the synopsis:
An 18th century English village is besieged by a mysterious and elusive beast. Dozens of innocents are slaughtered and the mayhem is driven to puritanical heights by religious fanaticism. The impossible task of killing the beast falls to a lowly trapper who promises he can stop the carnage. But for him this hunt is not a professional mission, it’s a deeply personal one.
Blumhouse's Jason Blum and Paper Pictures' Carla Hacken are producing This Beast with Sutter. Blumhouse Television's Chris McCumber and Jeremy Gold serve as executive producers.
Sutter had this to say about the project:
Bringing my disturbing, familial story sensibility into the Blumhouse world just seemed like something that had to happen. And This Beast is the perfect project for that marriage. And Netflix is the perfect venue for that bloody ceremony."
Blum added:
We've long been fans of Kurt and his unparalleled storytelling – that's both visceral and packs an emotional punch. We're excited that Blumhouse is producing his first feature for Netflix."
The story of the Beast of Gévaudan is an interesting one, so I look forward to seeing Sutter's take on it. Even if this doesn't turn out well, at least we'll always have Brotherhood of the Wolf.