Lena Heady of "Game of Thrones" Joins Cast of Clive Barker's "Jacqueline Ess"

Courtesy Getty Images/Jason Merritt

"Game of Thrones" actress Lena Heady will be briefly hanging up her crown and stepping into the world of horror in the upcoming film "Jacqueline Ess." The story is based off of a short story by master of the macabre, Clive Barker. According to Variety, Raven Banner Entertainment and Seraphim Films are producing the feature, which will be going into production later this year after being sold at the Cannes Film Festival.

In addition to co-writing the script with Christian Francis, Jovanka Vuckovic is on board to direct, which will be her first time directing a feature length film. She will also serve as co-producer along with the films star, Lena Heady. Clive Barker and Seraphim's Mark Miller and Ben Meares will serve as executive producers.

"Jacqueline Ess" originally appeared in horror anthology, Books of Blood Volume 2, and is about "a beautiful woman with the ability to horrifically change people’s body shapes simply with her mind. Her ability gives her the power to grant men the ultimate sexual experience, albeit one that always proves fatal. It’s a story of sex, power, and the extremes that await us at the limits of desire."

Clive Barker expressed his excitement on the development earlier by saying “Lena Headey is a marvelous performer with an incredible presence,[...] As far as I’m concerned, there is no better choice of actress for the role of Jacqueline. Her beauty and authority will carry the day.”

-Nowal Massari

Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures to Reboot 'The Grudge'

Deadline recently reported that "The Grudge," the American remake of Takashi Shimizu's Japanese "Ju-On," will be getting a reboot. This time around, Good Universe and Ghost House Pictures are relaunching the franchise, with Jeff Buhler set to write up a draft.

The American version was released in 2004 and starred Sarah Michelle Gellar as a nurse in Tokyo that suffered at the hands of an evil, and fatal, curse. The Shimizu-directed remake only cost about $10 million to make, which is a relatively low budget. The film went on to gross $187 million worldwide and spawned two sequels. Set to produce the film are Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Taka Ichise, with Roy Lee, Joe Drake, Nathan Kahane and Doug Davison executive producing. Currently, there is no director attached to the project, but maybe Shimizu will return to the helm once again?

While it's only been ten years since the release of the American, the success of Raimi's "Evil Dead" reboot is definitely something to keep in mind. Are you excited about this addition to the year of the reboots, or do you think it's too soon and should be left alone? Either way, keep checking back here for the latest info!

-Nowal Massari

Horror Short "Lights Out" Will Have You Sleeping with the Lights On Forever

David F. Sandberg, a Swedish based animator and filmmaker, has been awarded "Best Director" at this years Bloody Cuts Horror Challenge, and with good reason. His short "Lights Out" is honestly one of the most terrifying horror films I have seen in years and it's only 2:42 long. Just goes to show that you don't need an enormous budget, loads of gore or massive amounts of CGI to create a bone-chilling tale. Hollywood, take note. Watch "Lights Out" and thank Sandberg for your astronomic electrical bills, because you won't want to turn off your lights ever again!


Lights Out - Who's There Film Challenge (2013) from David F. Sandberg on Vimeo.

-Nowal Massari