Monks Vs. Zombies!? Sign us up! Revealed as one of the hot ticket items heading for sale at Cannes, Deadline announced a new horror film with some of the hottest names in Hollywood. Will Poulter (Midsommar), Kit Connor (Heartstopper), and Manu Ríos (Elite) have all been attached to Rapture, a new film being described as a “medieval zombie horror.” HanWay Films will be launching this project for the Cannes market.
Set in Medieval England in the year 1348, the story “alights on Lansley Abbey, a remote stone monastery in Yorkshire, which houses ten monks bound by a life of strict routine and devotion. Their fragile peace is disrupted by the arrival of a messenger – a man with haunting news from the outside world who rapidly shows symptoms of a mystery illness. A virulent plague is spreading through the land: marked initially by a hemorrhagic fever, it turns its victims into “revenants” — restless, undead beings. As the contagion closes in, Lansley Abbey becomes a battleground: desperate outsiders beg for refuge while the infected threaten to overrun its walls. The monks are torn apart by a moral rift – between those who believe they must care for the sick and those who want to protect the centuries of knowledge safeguarded by the monastery. As death is fully unleashed, so too is the brothers’ capacity for extraordinary acts of altruism and ruthless betrayal, forcing them to confront the ultimate question: what does it mean to be human?”
Rapture marks playwright and director Jordan Tannahill’s feature directorial debut. Elevation Pictures (Infinity Pool), 2AM (Past Lives), and Brookstreet Pictures (The Brutalist) are producers. Filming is due to begin later this year in Hungary.
CEO of HanWay Films, Gabrielle Stewart, said: “We have all been blown away by the vision Jordan has for Rapture. It is rare to have such an atmospheric and terrifying zombie horror film that inhabits such an authentic historical world, with complex characters grappling with the biggest moral dilemmas. It is no wonder he has already attracted such great casting in Will, Kit, and Manu, with more to come, backed by top-tier producers.”
