Ella Balinska, best known for her lead role in the “Charlie’s Angels” reboot, has boarded meta action horror film “The Horror Game,” which will commence production later this year.
Greg McLean, who directed “Jungle” starring Daniel Radcliffe as well as the “Wolf Creek” series, is set to direct from a script penned by Gus Krieger (“Old Henry,” “Would You Rather”). Further casting announcements are expected soon.
In “The Horror Game,” while desperate to find her missing sister, a young woman (Balinska) and her three best friends find themselves trapped inside a virtual reality game where every level forces its players to survive a different genre of a horror movie. When they learn that dying in the game means dying in real life, the friends are forced to hack, slash and battle their way to the toxic mastermind behind it all.
“I’m thrilled to welcome the wonderful Ella Balinska to lead the cast of ‘The Horror Game,’” said McLean. “Ella radiates the intelligence, prowess, and charisma necessary for our resilient protagonist Gemma, and our team couldn’t be happier to join with her in bringing this scary, fun, and truly wild horror movie to life.”
The pic is being produced by Tyler Condon under his production outfit CinemaWays, alongside Matthew Shreder of Concourse Media, who will be sharing the project with distributors at EFM this week.
“With recent hits like ‘Talk to Me,’ ‘Longlegs,’ and the ‘Smile’ franchise, proving that genre-savvy, high-concept scares resonate in the current marketplace,” said Condon. “‘The Horror Game’ taps into this demand with its unique premise — calling back to every horror sub-genre. It’s a love letter to horror fans and a high-energy, genre-blending ride that delivers exactly what audiences are craving right now.”
Alongside gaining recognition as a lead in the Charlie’s Angels reboot alongside Kristen Stewart and Naomi Scott, Balinska later headlined Netflix’s “Resident Evil” series. Her performance in Run Sweetheart Run premiered to acclaim at Sundance. Next up, she will star in Voltage Pictures’ “Marked Men: Rule + Shaw,” which releases early 2025.
Balinska is represented by UTA and Entertainment 360. McLean is represented by Range Media and Gus Krieger is represented by The Gersh Agency. Stephen Vincent and Sig De Miguel are casting the film.
Concourse’s EFM slate includes “Raider” starring Aaron Eckhart and Jason Isaacs with Simon West helming, “Sovereign” starring Nick Offerman and Denis Quaid, and “Code 3” starring Rainn Wilson and Lil Rel Howery.
