Momentum Pictures has acquired the North American rights for Darren Lynn Bousman’s Abattoir, the company announced this week.
The film – out now on UK DVD courtesy of Universal – finds Sons of Anarchy’s Dayton Callie on top form as the mysterious Jebediah Crone, who becomes a prophet of sorts to a rural town where he builds a Frankenstein house of rooms torn from other properties where tragedies have occurred.
While flawed and somewhat inconsistent in tone, Abattoir is a striking and involving watch, and is held together by its unique and compelling premise. As well as Callie, it stars Jessica Lowndes (Autopsy, Altitude), genre film veteran Michael Paré (Streets of Fire, Bone Tomahawk) and horror icon Lin Shaye (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Insidious).
Known for Saw II-IV and 2010’s Mother’s Day remake, director Bousman based the film on his own 6-issue comic miniseries. Abattoir played at numerous festivals this year, including Frightfest and the Los Angeles Film Festival, where it had its world premiere.
The film centres on a real estate reporter (Lowndes) who unearths an urban legend about a house being built from rooms where horrific tragedies have occurred. The investigation ultimately leads her and ex-lover Detective Declan Grady (Joe Anderson) to the enigmatic Jebediah Crone (Callie) and the answer to the question, “How do you build a haunted house?”
Abattoir will hit US cinemas, VOD and Digital HD on December 9th.
Words: Kevan Farrow (@KevanX)
