Movies
‘Chaw’ Acquired for UK Distribution
South Korean sales agent Fine Cut has announced its first deal at the Toronto festival, selling the man-eating boar comedy Chaw to Optimum Releasing for UK. Noted mostly for its unique humour, the film shows a varied crew of characters hunting down an overgrown boar that starts attacking people in a small town. Written and directed by Shin Jung-won (To Catch A Virgin Ghost), Chaw clocked up 1.8 million admissions at the South Korean box office.
“One day in a small and peaceful village Sameri, boasting no criminal cases for 10 years, a terrible accident happens. Ecologists studying wild animals on a nearby mountain, discover a collection of dismembered body parts. Policeman KIM Kang-su just transferred to Sameri from Seoul takes the case. The victim turns out a grand-daughter of Chun il-man, who was once a legendary hunter. Chun is convinced that it wasn’t a human that murdered his granddaughter but a man-eating boar, Chaw. Terrified, the people of Sameri invite one of the most famous hunters Baek to catch the Chaw. Baek leaps at the chance hoping it will prove himself to be the best ever hunter. Baek, Chun, detective Sim in charge of the case, ecologist Soo-ryun and KIM Kang-soo (whose mother is also missing) head into the deep dark mountains to confront the beast.”
Recent comments from producer Jason Blum suggested that a retool was in order when last year’s The Exorcist: Believer wasn’t as successful as Blumhouse and Universal hoped. That certainly seems to be the case, as Deadline reports tonight that Mike Flanagan is in talks to direct the next Exorcist movie.
Director David Gordon Green was initially on board to direct an entire trilogy of new movies in the franchise, with The Exorcist: Believer intended to be only the first film in that three-film sequel series. Originally set to hit theaters on April 18, 2025, sequel The Exorcist: Deceiver was delayed when Green left the project.
If talks come to fruition, Flanagan will take over, likely steering the franchise in a new direction.
The first film in the trilogy was released theatrically on October 13, 2023, with Leslie Odom Jr. starring alongside a returning Ellen Burstyn from the original classic.
In Believer, “Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom, Jr.) has raised their daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett) on his own.
“But when Angela and her friend Katherine (Olivia Marcum) disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before.”
The final moments of The Exorcist: Believer brought Linda Blair’s Regan MacNeil back into the fold, seeming to suggest that the legacy character could return in future installments.
As for Flanagan, the horror filmmaker has Life of Chuck on the way. Flanagan previously helmed Stephen King adaptations Doctor Sleep and Gerald’s Game, and he’s also known for titles including Ouija: Origin of Evil and Oculus, along with the Netflix horror shows The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and The Fall of the House of Usher.
Stay tuned for more as we learn it.
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