The director and co-writer of the financially successful Blumhouse horror Ouija is to work on a new supernatural thriller. Stiles White has been appointed by LD entertainment to write the screenplay for an adaptation of a ghost story called Forgotten.
Ouija is not a film that was well-liked by the critics. Directed and also co-written by White, along with his spouse and writing partner Juliet Snowden, it told the story of a group of young friends who must confront their fears when they awaken the dark powers residing in an ancient spirit board. Despite the critical reaction, the film was a major financial success for Universal and Blumhouse as it grossed more than $100 million worldwide on a $5 million budget. It led to a prequel (Ouija: Origin of Evil) that was directed by Mike Flanagan, which was received much more positively by critics but wasn't quite as successful as its predecessor on a monetary level with a global total of $81 million.
Today Variety reports that the film studio LD Entertainment has appointed White and Snowden to pen the script for an English language version of a popular German horror movie called Du Hast Es Versprochen. This directly translates as You Promised It, but it was also known by the English title Forgotten for oversea sales. The plot of the 2012 film concerned two women travelling to a childhood vacation home, which is situated on a remote island. As they rekindle their friendship, they're haunted by the (literal) ghosts of their past and must confront some dark secrets. This new treatment by White and Snowden is expected to transplant the story to a U.S. location and change plot developments accordingly.
While Ouija was White's only directing credit so far, it's not known as to whether he will take the same duties here. Snowden is reportedly acting as an executive producer, but the pair have worked before as the creative writing team behind such films as Knowing and The Possession, and that may be the same case here. At this early stage in the development of the film, there is no news regarding casting or release dates either.
Arguably, U.S. studios don't have the greatest track record when it comes to remakes of foreign language films, especially horror ones. But previous LD Entertainment productions have included well-regarded offerings like The Grey and Albert Nobbs, and they seem to have a knack for spotting interesting projects. Hopefully this will turn out to be one of those choices, and we look forward to hearing further news about Forgotten as it becomes available.
Next: Ouija: Origin of Evil Review
Source: Variety