Julie Benz will play a down-on-her-luck scream queen in Horrified.
Julie Benz, Busy Philipps, Ron Perlman and Jim Rash are to star in horror-comedy Horrified.
The movie is the feature debut of Major Crimes writer Michael Zara, who has written the script and will also direct the picture, and it will see Dexter star Julie play a down-on-her-luck scream queen, who returns to the horror film fan convention circuit as a way to make money fast.
But the actress soon finds the pig-masked killer from the franchise she was famous for has weaponised her cult legacy against her fans and her loved ones, forcing her to confront her past as she fights for survival in a slasher showdown.
The movie will start filming this summer.
Michael said of the movie: “The idea for Horrified came to me over twelve years ago while I was attending a Midwest horror convention, so finally seeing it become a reality with a killer (pun intended) cast and producing team is truly thrilling.”
The filmmaker will also produce via his company Ghost Bunni alongside Randy Wayne and Talia Bella of Rebellium Films, in association with arts charity Art of Elysium, EB Studios, and producer Daniel Hall.
Julie, Busy, Ron and Tom Biolchini are all executive producers, while co-producers are Carl Reid and Enrico Natale of Redbird Entertainment.
Crank’s Adam Biddle is the cinematographer and casting directors are Helen Geier and Kendra Shay Clark.
While Julie previously appeared in shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Hawaii Five-O, she previously admitted her favourite role was as Robin Gallagher in Desperate Housewives.
She told NickiSwift.com: “I will tell you and people kind of laugh whenever I say this, but my all time favourite was Desperate Housewives.
“Just because I was a huge fan of the show. I was a huge fan of all of the women on the show and their work. They do such incredible acting on that show.
“And so, I remember my very first day on Wisteria Lane and getting out of the van. I was with Teri Hatcher, and I was trying to play it cool and not be this fangirl, and I couldn’t help myself.
“I started running up and down the Wisteria Lane, going, ‘Oh my God, there’s Susan’s house.’
And I remember Teri just looking at me and then laughing. And she’s like, ‘It’s so charming to see somebody who’s so excited to be here.’ I was like, ‘You have no idea. You have no idea how excited I am to be here and to be working with all of you.’
“And there would be moments where we would be doing big group scenes together. And I would literally be watching, and I would feel like I was at home on my couch watching them act, even though I was in the scene and I would forget my line. Just be like, ‘Oh wait, sorry. I’m actually here.’ “
Julie Benz leads cast of horror comedy Horrified
