'Whistler Camp', A Horror Film Set At A Gay Conversion Camp, Coming From Blumhouse And 'Penny Dreadful' Creator John Logan

Conversion therapy, the bogus and cruel pseudoscience that attempts to force LGBTQ+ people to change their sexual orientation, will inspire the horrors of Whistler Camp, a new Blumhouse horror movie that marks the directorial debut of Penny Dreadful creator John Logan. The film is set inside a gay conversion camp and is described as "a queer empowerment story." Logan is writing the film as well.

Blumhouse announced the news that they're teaming with John Logan for Whistler Camp, a horror movie described as a "queer empowerment story set at a gay conversion camp." And that's really all we know! I wish we had some more info, especially since I can't just end the post right here. That said, this is a fascinating premise. Conversion therapy is a terrible and discredited practice – in the United States, 20 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and 85 municipalities (primarily located in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Minnesota), have banned conversion therapy on minor clients (D.C. is the only U.S. jurisdiction whose ban also applies to adults). Using a conversion camp as the setting of a horror film sets the stage for something both disturbing and socially conscious.

John Logan will direct the film, marking his feature directorial debut, and Deadline reports Whistler Camp is currently in the midst of casting. The official announcement doesn't confirm who is handling the script for Whistler Camp, but I've confirmed with the good folks at Blumhouse that Logan is writing as well as directing the project. That makes sense since Logan has spent almost his entire career as a screenwriter. Not only did Logan create and write nearly every episode of the excellent and criminally underrated horror series Penny Dreadful, but he's also responsible for the screenplays for movies such as Skyfall, Spectre, Gladiator, The Aviator, Hugo, The Last Samurai, Sweeney Todd, Rango, Alien: Covenant, and Any Given Sunday. Recently, Logan also created and wrote several episodes of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, a spin-off of the original Penny Dreadful that wasn't as well received.

Jason Blum will produce the film. Michael Aguilar (Penny Dreadful, Kidding) will also produce. Ryan Turek is the creative executive overseeing the film for Blumhouse. There's no release date for Whistler Camp just yet, and it's unclear when it will begin production. The film joins an ever-growing list of upcoming Blumhouse titles, including The Forever Purge, Halloween Kills, The Black Phone, and many, many more.