Matt Reeves And 'Paranormal Activity' Producer Team For 1940s Horror Movie 'Switchboard'
Director Matt Reeves (above) is currently hard at work on the latest iteration of The Dark Knight with the forthcoming movie The Batman. Unfortunately, we'll be waiting until 2022 before we get to see it, but in the meantime, Reeves is dipping his toes back into horror by producing a new movie called Switchboard with Paranormal Activity producer Steven Schneider. What's the movie about? Find out below.
The Hollywood Reporter has news on the Switchboard horror movie in the works, though it doesn't appear to have a studio home yet. The story follows a young female switchboard operator in the 1940s who suddenly finds herself being targeted by an active serial killer who has called in to the phone call service. As their conversation intensifies, she begins to question her safety, her sanity and, ultimately, her very reality. Sounds like Phone Booth thrown back in time to me, but that doesn't mean it should be disregarded.
The movie is written by actor-turned-screenwriter Devon Graye, who broke out as a writer with Allison Adams, another spec script that made the Black List in 2016 and is slated to be made at Sony Pictures. Graye also has a thriller called I See You starring Helen Hunt that played at SXSW in 2019. He's also sold several other pitches to studios in recent years, so the writer is clearly turning out some good work.
The last time Reeves played with horror, it was the coming-of-age vampire movie Let Me In, a remake of Let the Right One In. Before that, his breakthrough film was the found footage sci-fi horror flick Cloverfield. Since then, he's been tied up with blockbusters, including both Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, and now The Batman. Though he's only producing, for him to come on board a spec script project like this, there must be something enticing about the story.
Matt Reeves is slated to produce with Steven Schneider, who has also produced the Insidious franchise, the sequel Blair Witch, and the remake of Pet Sematary. They'll be working with Armaan Zorace and his new Dark Hell production banner, Margot Hand and Joshua Thurston at Picture Films, and Rafi Crohn at 6th & Idaho.
At this time, we have no idea when Switchboard is slated to begin production or be released, but we'll be sure to keep you posted as more information becomes available.