Joey Magidson
The Sunday Scaries are upon us once again! Yes, as the weekend concludes, most of us feel an oncoming sense of anticipatory dread about the week ahead. Anxiety about work manifests itself into a feeling that’s known as the Sunday Scaries. However, we at Awards Radar are here to combat that, by taking back the name. Now, we want you think about a horror-centric piece on the site when you hear the term. So, let us continue on with another installment of the Awards Radar Sunday Scaries! Today,
Recently, it was announced that the team at Radio Silence Productions (or just Radio Silence, for short) would be getting to make a monster movie for Universal. What that might be is still just speculation, but I’ll address that below. Mostly, as a fan of these filmmakers, I think this is a very enticing proposition. A classic property with these creative forces is a really appetizing recipe for success.
Radio Silence consists of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett as directors, with Chad Villella their main producer (Justin Martinez was another founder, originally). With the Scream pictures they helmed, as well as this upcoming one, William Sherak, Paul Neinstein, and James Vanderbilt of Project X Entertainment are producers (Vanderbilt having written both Scream sequels the collective did). The write for the new flick is Stephen Sheilds, with revisions by Guy Busick, which was also part of the Scream deals.
Now, I’m on record as being a big fan of Radio Silence. Not just their Scream work, either, even though you’ve seen me write about it here, here, here, and here. I also adore Ready or Not, as well as finding their V/H/S segment a highlight. They have a sneaky sense of humor, as well as a penchant for knowing how and when to use gore. Truly, they have a feel for horror that’s relatively rare to see these days.
If they are tackling a Universal Monster, that just seems like a blast in the making. There’s a rumor that this project was originally known as Dracula’s Daughter, which would make it a vampire flick. I’ve been on the record as wanting more of those in a previous Sunday Scaries piece here, so I’d be in. Even if it were a different monster strand they’re pulling from, this team has such originality to their visions, I’d expect tremendous fun.
Especially if this is a palate cleanser of sorts before the next Scream sequel, that’s a big plus. Something different to recharge their batteries? Why not? We’re probably getting a seventh Scream film before long, almost certainly with them involved, so whatever keeps them happy. Universal should be bending over backwards for them after how much they’ve pumped up that flagship horror franchise.
No matter what they end up doing, these are exciting genre storytellers. Any upward mobility and success for them is worth celebrating. So, join me in being exciting for this project. Who knows what it might be, but you know what? There stands a good chance that it will be something special…
Stay tuned to see what this Radio Silence project turns out to be!
If they are tackling one of Universal’s monster properties, before the first day of principal photography commences, they need to ask themselves “can we sell the movie we’re making as something people would actually want to see solely on its own terms, or are we primarily leaning on the iconography of this decades-old franchise?”
Because there’s a reason why The Mummy and The Wolfman bombed while The Invisible Man was the last box office hit of the pre-pandemic era. Those former two basically pitched themselves as “hey, remember this iconic character from a bunch of movies we put out before most of you were even born? Weren’t they cool? Don’t you want to see this character you recognize again?” Leigh Whannell, on the other hand, said to us “hey, doesn’t this look like a genuinely good horror movie that will deliver exactly what you watch horror movies for?”
Also, I kinda hope they throw a curveball and adapt one of the lesser-known Universal monsters like the Mad Ghoul or the Man-Made Monster. That would give them even more artistic space since there are no ingrained cultural expectations on those monsters.
For sure. I do think they could do real well with a lesser known monster, though if it’s Dracula’s Daughter, I’m still keen to see it.