‘Final Destination’s Jeffrey Reddick Partnering With Producer Todd Slater On ‘Bloody Mary: Origins’
Jeffrey Reddick and Todd Slater Bryan Huff/Convoke Media
EXCLUSIVE: Writer Jeffrey Reddick, creator of the long-running Final Destination horror franchise, is teaming with producer Todd Slater and more on Bloody Mary: Origins, a chilling new take on the classic urban legend.
Hailing from Slater’s Convoke Media, Vast Entertainment and DreamPunk Entertainment, the film is based on the New York Times bestseller Mary: The Summoning by Hillary Monahan. The story focuses on a group of teenage girls who discover an ancient spell that conjures the real Bloody Mary. When the terrifying entity pulls one of the girls through the mirror, she becomes trapped in the past living out the real Mary Worth’s last days. With time running out, the others must discover a way to save their friend in the past while vanquishing a terrorizing Bloody Mary in the present.
Related Stories
Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights Conjures ‘Ghostbusters’-Themed Haunted Houses In Hollywood And Orlando
‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ Sets Cast
Reddick wrote the script with John Stancari, who passed away in 2018 after a long battle with cancer. Bloody Mary: Origins marks Stancari’s first produced film and will be dedicated to his memory. Emmy winner Lane Shefter Bishop (The Venice Murders) is set to direct and produce through her Vast Entertainment banner. Todd Slater will produce through his Convoke Media shingle, along with DreamPunk Entertainment’s Ryan Martin and Angela Ziegler. Brandon Evans will exec produce through his and Slater’s Brick Lane Entertainment, with casting now underway.
In a statement on the project, Slater explained, “The script brings Reddick’s signature blend of suspense, humor and horror to a completely new take on the urban legend my friends and I used to play as kids. Much like “Final Destination” created a theatrical franchise that generations have enjoyed, our goal is for “Bloody Mary” to generate ongoing films with the same impressive longevity.”
Launched in 2000 with Final Destination, which James Wong directed from his script written with Reddick and Glen Morgan, Reddick’s Final Destination franchise revolves around teenagers who cheat death by narrowly escaping a catastrophic event, only to find themselves pursued by an invisible and malevolent force determined to claim their lives in elaborate and often gruesome ways. To date, the film has spurred five sequels, including the upcoming Final Destination: Bloodlines, which is slated for release by New Line next year, as the franchise celebrates its 25th anniversary. Over the course of his career spanning three decades, Reddick has written and produced more than 40 projects in film and television in total. Most recently, he’s written on the Netflix series Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles and A Tale Dark & Grimm.
Recent credits for Convoke include the sci-fi romance ReEntry starring Emily Deschanel, crime actioner King of Killers with Frank Grillo, horror pic The Sacrifice Game starring Mena Massoud, sci-fi horror pic Code Red with Peyton List and Bailee Madison, and How The Gringo Stole Christmas starring George Lopez. In recent years, Slater has also produced genre films including the Andy Fickman-helmed Don’t Turn Out the Lights and the upcoming Don’t Log Off from Brandon and Harrett Baer.
Reddick is repped by Independent Artist Group, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Behr Abramson Levy Johnson; Bishop by Gersh and Weintraub Tobin Chediak.