Emily Carey of House of the Dragon, Claes Bang of the recent Dracula mini-series, and Suki Waterhouse of Daisy Jones & the Six have signed on to star in the psychological thriller Walk With Me, which will pit them against “a nightmarish creature from Celtic mythology”. According to Deadline, this is a European co-production with a European cast and will be filming in Europe sometime in early 2024 – so it’s not being made under a SAG contract and will be able to go into production if the Screen Actors Guild strike is still going on by then.
Jonny Blair (River City) will be directing Walk With Me from a screenplay by Benjamin Farry (Cosmos Within Us). Here’s the synopsis: Teenager Ellie (Carey) struggles to connect with her emotionally distant father Simon (Bang) who has raised her alone since her mother died in childbirth. When he announces their move to a remote rural cottage, to live with his new younger girlfriend Fiona (Waterhouse), Ellie is filled with anxiety. Almost as soon as they arrive, Ellie sees a version of her father that she doesn’t recognise – he’s playful and loving in his interactions with Fiona and it devastates her, reinforcing everything she fears about herself. Unsettled, Ellie is plagued by recurring visions of a terrifying creature, which her new local friend identifies as the Washerwoman – a figure from Celtic mythology, descended from women who die in childbirth. According to the legend, the creature appears to those who are about to die themselves. Ellie is increasingly certain that Fiona intends to murder her, the emotional gulf with her father only growing as she realises Fiona is pregnant. As her reality becomes a nightmare, Ellie is sent down a violent path, one that will overturn all of our preconceptions and ask what lengths we would go to in order to win back the ones we love.
Claudia Bluemhuber of Silver Reel is producing the film, while Silver Reel’s Alexander Jooss and Florian Dargel serve as executive producers. Silver Reel’s Jona Thompson and Jimmy Campbell-Smith are co-producers. Kristyan Mallett from KM Effects is handling the practical effects and creature design.
HanWay Films will be presenting Walk With Me to potential distributors at the upcoming American Film Market. The company’s CEO Gabrielle Stewart provided the following statement: “Walk With Me brilliantly exploits, twists and turns all the emotional upheaval and neurosis triggered by a new stepmother figure in a teenage girl’s life, heightened by the darkness of a scary mythological creature. We are delighted to be working with our talented friends at Silver Reel on Jonny Blair’s psychological thriller debut!“
Silver Reel added, “From the moment we read Walk With Me, we were immediately captured by the combination of a nerve-racking and strikingly original story, with beautifully realistic, complex characters. It was a real win to attach young talent like Jonny to bring the script to life. The world of our story is one he relates to so closely, and has already proven his ability to recreate it on screen in gripping, viscerally emotive ways. That world-class talent of the likes of Claes, Suki and Emily have attached to the film is a powerful show of faith in Ben’s script and Jonny’s directorial vision for it.“
Walk With Me sounds interesting to me, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it’s going to turn out… and to seeing what the Washerwoman looks like.
Does Walk With Me sound like a movie you’d like to see? What do you think of Emily Carey, Claes Bang, and Suki Waterhouse leading the cast? Let us know by leaving a comment below.