Author Joe Hill’s stories seem to be in high demand with film producers ever since Alexandre Aja’s adaptation of his book Horns. With the rights to his work being snapped up all over the place, the latest to receive an official word is a planned version of his novella Snapshot 1988.
Set in 1988 (duh), the story concerns a 13-year-old boy who takes care of his elderly former housekeeper, whom everyone assumes is succumbing to dementia. The truth is far more sinister however, as an evil man known as The Phoenician is stealing her memories using a mysterious camera.
Currently in early talks to direct the adaptation is horror’s hottest property, Mike Flanagan (Oculus, Before I Wake), who would be working with regular collaborator Jeff Howard. The pair’s highly anticipated Ouija: Origin of Evil opens here in the UK on October 21st.
Snapshot 1988 (the novella) is due to be published in late 2017 or early 2018 as part of a four-story collection entitled Strange Weather. It has been reported that as well as Hill’s increasingly bankable name, it is the story’s ‘80s setting that made it such an irresistible proposition for studios, who are currently falling over each other to greenlight ‘80s-set properties in the wake of Stranger Things’ success.
Words: Kevan Farrow (@KevanX)
