On the heels of its most-watched original movie to date (“Animal”) and the SXSW 2015 premiere of its original movie “The Boy,” Chiller announces new original content for 2015 and 2016, including its first-ever original series, “Slasher,” and two new original movies, “Lifeforce” and “Siren.”
“Chiller delivers a broad range of compelling horror programming, from classic edge-of-your-seat thrillers to thought-provoking psychological dramas,” said Dave Howe, President, Syfy & Chiller. “Given Chiller’s success in the original film space with ‘Animal’ and ‘The Boy,’ we’re thrilled to premiere our first-ever original series, ‘Slasher,’ later this year.”
Chiller’s 2015-16 new original content includes:
ORIGINAL SERIES
SLASHER
Chiller’s first original series, “Slasher,” follows the plight of a young woman who returns to the small town where she was born, only to find herself the centerpiece in a series of horrifying copycat murders – based on the widely-known, grisly killings of her parents. The eight-part season serves as the first installment of an anthology series, where each season exists as a self-contained hybrid of the slasher subgenre of horror films and the traditional murder mystery. Over the course of the Slasher series, a variety of mysteries will unfold, building towards a climactic finale.
Developed and produced by Shaftesbury in association with Chiller and Super Channel and distributed by Content, “Slasher” is written and created by Aaron Martin (“Killjoys,” “Degrassi: The Next Generation”) and directed by Craig David Wallace (“Todd and the Book of Pure Evil”). Christina Jennings and Scott Garvie are executive producers. Funded with the participation of the COGECO Program Development and Northern Ontario Heritage Funds, “Slasher” will commence production in Sudbury this summer. Canadian broadcaster is Super Channel.
“Slasher” will premiere on Chiller in late 2015.
ORIGINAL MOVIES
LIFEFORCE
“Lifeforce,” a reimagining of the 1985 classic film (based on Colin Wilson’s novel ‘The Space Vampires’), follows a group of astronauts who encounter a derelict alien spacecraft hiding an ancient secret. At the vessel, the explorers discover three perfect humanoids who are returned to Earth… and unleash a terrible plague upon the planet. The original film, starring Steve Railsback, Patrick Stewart and Mathilda May, was directed by Tobe Hooper. “Lifeforce” will premiere on Chiller in late 2015.
Steve B. Harris (“Friday the 13th,” “Amityville: The Awakening”) will produce for Diversion3 (www.diversion3.com) along with Mark Altman (“Castle,” “Necessary Roughness”) Mark Gottwald (“DOA: Dead or Alive”) and David E. Williams (“Femme Fatales”) from a story by Harris, Altman and Steve Kriozere (“NCIS,” “Castle”).
SIREN
In “Siren,” a bachelor party becomes a savage fight for survival when the groomsmen unwittingly unleash a fabled predator upon the festivities. Slated to premiere on Chiller in 2016, “Siren” is adapted from David Bruckner’s short film “Amateur Night,” one of the segments featured in the 2012 Sundance premiere of the anthology thriller “V/H/S.”
“Siren” is written by Ben Collins & Luke Piotrowski, executive produced by David Bruckner and Brad Miska and produced by Gary Binkow for Collective Digital Studios.
In addition, Chiller is undertaking several off-air initiatives, including its second annual “Killer Shorts” contest, a nationwide collegiate competition for student-produced short films. Online, ChillerTV.com continues its popular weekly listicle, “The Friday 13,” a feature that drove year over year growth for the site in 2014. And 2015 sponsorships include the presentation of a monthly horror series at Alamo Drafthouse locations nationwide, taking moviegoers on a journey through 60 years of horror classics. Recently, Chiller was the presenting sponsor of the annual Stanley Film Festival for the third year running (taking place at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO, from April 30th – May 3rd, 2015) for the third year running.
