The Missing Reel is a compilation of all things horror and what mattered throughout the week. This week we take a look at a short film getting the feature length treatment with The Gate, a leading star found for the Stephen King adaptation of A Good Marriage, some fantastic alternate horror posters and more.

‘Byzantium’ Lands A Deal With IFC

Neil Jordan’s return to form with Byzantium, starring Gemma Arterton has just premiered at TIFF this week and has officially been picked up by IFC paying close to $2 million for the rights to the vampire flick.

Per THR,“Sources say it was IFC’s $2 million offer that drew blood.Heading into Toronto, ‘Byzantium’ was on every buyer’s list, both small and large. However, bigger distributors passed on the film, which is receiving mixed reviews. Also, no one was sure how commerical Byzantium would be, considering Jordan’s arthouse pedigree.”

Two mysterious women seek refuge in a run-down coastal resort. Clara meets lonely Noel, who provides shelter in his deserted guesthouse, Byzantium. Schoolgirl Eleanor befriends Frank and tells him their lethal secret. They were born 200 years ago and survive on human blood. As knowledge of their secret spreads, their past catches up on them with deathly consequence.”

Short Film ‘The Gate’ Headed To The Big Screen

Director Matt Westrup is gearing up to take his short film to the big screen with Wayfare Entertainment who will be financing and helping him turn the short film into a feature now that they have found a screenwriter to pen the script in Mitchell Akselrad.

From Variety, “Wayfare Entertainment has tapped Mitchell Akselgard to pen the adaptation of the short ‘The Gate.’ Wayfare is financing and producing. Matt Westrup, who helmed the original short, is set to direct. Akselrad most recently penned ‘Agent,’ which New Regency picked up.”

Watch the short film below.

Teaser Trailer For Short Film ‘Him Indoors’

The short film Him Indoors centers on a serial killer with agoraphobia (anxiety) and has just released the teaser trailer.

Actress Found For ‘A Good Marriage’

After being announced a few months ago the Stephen King adaptation has started to pick up steam. A Good Marriage is a short story in King’s most recent collection Full Dark, No Stars which I highly recommend. Planned for a release sometime next year with Peter Askin at the helm they have now added Joan Allen (Pleasantville, Manhunter, The Bourne Supremacy) as the lead.

“When her husband of more than twenty years is away on one of his business trips, Darcy Anderson looks for batteries in the garage. Her toe knocks up against a box under a worktable, and she discovers the stranger inside her husband. It’s a horrifying discovery, rendered with bristling intensity, and it definitively ends a good marriage.”

Alternate Horror Posters

The 70’s and 80’s are home to some of the best movie posters of all time and apparently the alternate versions of these classic posters that were feature in Thailand have just surfaced and they are absolutely amazing. Check them out.

Amazing Poster For Classic Silent Film ‘Nosferatu’

Nosferatu will be getting a brand new print brought to us by Changethethought artist and founder Christopher Cox.

This Book Is Full Of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don’t Touch it!

The follow up to David Wong’s hugely successful and cult novel John Dies at the End has just released a trailer for the upcoming sequel, This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don’t Touch it.

As the sequel opens, we find our heroes, David and John, again embroiled in a series of horrifying yet mind-bogglingly ridiculous events caused primarily by their own gross incompetence. The guys find that books and movies about zombies may have triggered a zombie apocalypse, despite a complete lack of zombies in the world. As they race against the clock to protect humanity from its own paranoia, they must ask themselves, who are the real monsters? Actually, that would be the shape-shifting horrors secretly taking over the world behind the scenes that, in the end, make John and Dave kind of wish it had been zombies after all. 

Watch the trailer below.

The End

There you have it, some of the stuff that mattered in all things horror this week. As always, thanks for reading and if you happened to have missed the last edition of The Missing Reel be sure to check it out here: