SHREDDED: High Concept Horror Directed By ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ Actor Shapes Up For EFM Sales
Logical Pictures Group and Protagonist Pictures will launch Shredded, a bold new high-concept horror feature at EFM this month for international sales. Platinum Dunes (A Quiet Place and The Purge franchises) is producing, with UTA Independent Film Group will repping North American rights.
Logical is fully financing the pic from writer-director Josh Lawson whose previous credits on both sides of the lens include The Eleven O’Clock, The Little Death, and Long Story Short. He is also known of late for his screenwork in projects like Showtime series “House Of Lies” and comedy series “St. Denis Medical,” and feature roles in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and Bombshell, as well as Mortal Kombat and its pending sequel which opens in May.
Designed as a viscerally entertaining crowd-pleaser, Shredded fuses relentless suspense with viciously sharp commentary, delivering nonstop chills and an unflinching look at the darker side of modern fitness culture and self-obsession. The film is billed as a propulsive thrill ride that pushes toxic gym culture to terrifying extremes – an electric descent into diabolical mayhem where brains prove far more valuable than brawn.
Reeling from a breakup, Eileen signs up for an intense gym class run by a charismatic but deranged coach. When she quits the program, he abducts her and imprisons her in his sadistic training compound, forcing her — and other captives — through punishing, often lethal workouts. As the physical toll mounts, Eileen must outwit the coach’s vicious regimen and turn his obsession with control and perfection against him before it’s too late.
Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Alex Ginno produce for Platinum Dunes, and Jeff Golenberg for Strand Entertainment (HBO’s “John Leguizamo’s Ghetto Klown,” “Katt Williams Presents: Katthouse Comedy”). Exec producing are Frédéric Fiore, Ryan Wickers and Andrei Kamarowsky for Logical, alongside Dave Bishop, James Pugh and George Hamilton for Protagonist, and Troy Lum.
“Josh has crafted a deeply personal story that brings the horror directly into the audience’s lives. He’s the kind of filmmaker Platinum Dunes is built around – a writer/director with a clear point of view and a sharp instinct for delivering a twisted, crowd-pleasing ride. After Shredded, audiences won’t look at gym equipment — or those wall-length mirrors — the same way again. We’re beyond excited to support him in bringing it to life with Protagonist and Logical as partners,’ said Platinum Dunes.
“Platinum Dunes has an extraordinary track record of creating iconic horror, and we’re thrilled to be joining Shredded and collaborating with our partners at Protagonist on this exciting new project,” confirms Kamarowsky, Head of International at Logical.
“Shredded is a high concept horror as brutal and unapologetically intense as the ultimate workout from hell,” added Protagonist Pictures’ CEO Dave Bishop. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Platinum Dunes on this bold and timely white-knuckle ride. Tapping directly into contemporary anxieties around control, self-obsession and self-improvement, Shredded is set to put worldwide theatrical audiences through their paces.”
Lawson is repped by UTA and Strand Entertainment.
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
