According to The Hollywood Reporter, Emmy-winning actors Jeremy Davies (Justified) and Luke Kirby (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) have officially been cast along with The Haunting of Hill House alum Elizabeth Reaser in MGM’s upcoming film adaptation of Dark Harvest, based on Norman Patridge’s acclaimed horror novel of the same name. They will be joining previously confirmed cast members Casey Likes (The Birch) and E’myri Crutchfield (Fargo), who are both set as its leads.
First published in 2006, the Dark Harvest novel was considered as one of the 100 Best Novels of that year by Publishers Weekly, and is a Bram Stoker Award recipient. It followed the story of a legendary Halloween monster called October Boy.
You can pick up a copy of the book here.
“In the film, every fall in a small Midwestern town, a supernatural specter rises from the cornfields and makes its way toward the town’s Church, where violent gangs of teenage boys hungrily await their chance to confront the legendary nightmare in an annual harvest rite of life and death,” reads the synopsis. “Richie Shepard lives in the shadow of his big brother who won last year’s Run and earned his ticket out of town. To prove himself and join his brother, Richie pairs up with Kelly Haines, a restless dreamer who will do whatever it takes to escape this dead-end town. Against the rules and the odds, Richie and Kelly decide to hunt down the legendary nightmare to win the Run and their freedom, together.”
The film adaptation will be directed by David Slade (30 Days of Night) directs from a script written by Michael Gilio. It has been in development since 2019 and was originally set up at New Regency. However, a year later, MGM has acquired the project, with Slade and Gilio still attached to it.
RELATED: Amblin’s Horror-Thriller The Last Voyage of the Demeter Wraps Production
MGM’s Dark Harvest will be produced by Matt Tolmach and David Manpearl through Matt Tolmach Productions, with Gilio and Pamela Hirsch also serving as executive producers.
The film is currently slated for a September 9, 2022 release.
