Movies
Twisted Pictures Project Is ‘Tortured’
Production is underway in Vancouver, BC. for Twisted Pictures’ now-titled The Tortured, a psychological thriller starring Jesse Metcalfe (Desperate Housewives), Erika Christensen (Six Degrees, Flight Plan) and Bill Moseley (Halloween, The Devil’s Rejects). Inside you can read all about the production, including a more indepth plot synopsis.
A young professional couple’s perfect life is shattered when their young son is abducted by a murderer who slips through the judicial system, forcing them to create their own justice.
The Tortured is directed by Rob Lieberman (Table For Five, Fire In The Sky) from an original script written by Marek Posival. Producers are Mark Burg, Oren Koules and Carl Mazzocone of Twisted Pictures, the company responsible for the internationally successful award winning Saw horror movie franchise.
The project is the first picture for the Chicago based Lighttower Entertainment, recently launched by Executive Producers Curtis Leopardo and Jonathan Zucker.
The perfect marriage of Craig (Jesse Metcalfe) and Elise Landry (Erika Christensen) is suddenly shattered when their young son is abducted and murdered. When the killer (Moseley) is brought to trial, he manages to plea bargain his way to a lighter sentence. Utterly outraged by this miscarriage of justice, the grieving parents decide to take matters into their own hands. They capture the murderer, imprison him and subject him to the same monstrous acts he perpetrated upon their defenseless child. The unforeseen consequences, however, challenge their ideas of vengeance, justice and the true nature of evil.
The behind the scenes team is led by acclaimed director of photography Peter F. Woeste (Stargate, In Cold Blood), production designer Brian Davie (The Art of War11: Betrayal, Call of the Wild) and costume designer Nancy Bryant (Merlin’s Apprentice, Earthsea).
Twisted Pictures is helmed by Mark Burg, Oren Koules and Carl Mazzocone and is the horror/thriller division of their company Evolution Entertainment. Their Saw horror franchise has been one of the most profitable ever. The first four Saw films opened # 1 at the box office and have earned over 500 million worldwide. Twisted Pictures is awaiting the release of Saw V on October 24th 2008. The much anticipated release of Repo! The Genetic Opera, starring Sarah Brightman, Paul Sorvino, Anthony Head and Paris Hilton is scheduled for November 7th 2008.
It’s now been seven years since the release of Blumhouse’s Ma starring Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, with talks of a sequel dating back to last year. Last we heard, Emmy-winner Ashley Nicole Black (“Shrinking,” “Ted Lasso”) would be writing the screenplay for Ma 2, and Octavia Spencer provides an update in a new chat with Entertainment Tonight.
“We are working hard on getting a great script out. Blumhouse is the best at what they do. It’s going to be chock-full of surprises,” Octavia Spencer tells the outlet in a fresh update.
“Ma has proven to be a social phenomenon since its release in 2019, with fans eagerly embracing the film and Octavia’s iconic performance as Ma. Ma likes to say ‘Don’t make me drink alone,’ so we’re thrilled Octavia will join us again for a second round,” Blumhouse Founder/CEO Jason Blum had teased when the sequel was originally announced last Summer.
Spencer plays Sue Ann in Ma, a loner who keeps to herself in her quiet Ohio town. One day, she is asked by Maggie, a new teenager in town, to buy some booze for her and her friends, and Sue Ann sees the chance to make some unsuspecting, if younger, friends of her own.
While no director has been announced as of yet, Tate Taylor helmed the 2019 original from a script by Scotty Landes. Taylor previously detailed that Sue Ann’s fate was intentionally ambiguous, so the door was open for a return in a possible sequel. That Ma earned more than $60 million at the box office meant a sequel was practically inevitable. It also doesn’t hurt that the character popped on social media, becoming something of a viral meme sensation.
Stay tuned for more on Ma 2 as we learn it.