James Wan’s Next Film Could Be a Giallo-Style Slasher
The cast list for James Wan’s latest project has been a subject of great interest and lively debate on the internet for some time. However, little has been divulged so far about the film’s plot. With a working title of Silvercup, the mystery movie is aiming for a hard ‘R’ rating. Up until now, this was all we knew, but Internet sleuths may now have uncovered a vital clue about what shape Wan’s latest outing will take.
A recent Deadline article listed the “Untitled Atomic Monster Project” (Atomic Monster is Wan’s production company) as being produced by “Giallo Films, LLC.” It seems like a good bet that this Easter egg is pointing us towards the sub-genre that Wan intends to play with in his next feature.
Hailing from ’70s Italy and named after the lurid exploits in tabloid ‘yellow’ (Giallo) papers, Giallo movies were prototypes of the later American slashers. Titles like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Blood and Black Lace and Deep Red were stylish and brutal. Glamorous stars were dispatched by black-gloved assailants in vibrant settings. As well as their striking visuals, nonsensical mystery plots and occasional hints of the occult (particularly in Dario Argento’s offerings) were what set them apart from the grotty proto-slashers America was cooking up.
James Wan’s new film boasts Maddie Hasson, Annabelle Wallis, Jake Abel and George Young as its stars. It is promised to be an entirely original movie, not part of any pre-existing project or series. If this hunch proves correct, we look forward to seeing what Wan does with this exciting and all-too-often overlooked sub-genre.