I wasn’t the only one disappointed by Apollo 18, a found-footage horror flick that posed an interesting setup but forgot to infuse its narrative with tension, scares or even the most basic of intrigue. So, it’s safe to say that director Gonzalo López-Gallego didn’t make the greatest first impression. However, his next project, a thriller called The Man on Carrion Road, is shaping up into something far more intriguing than that half-hearted Paranormal Activity rip-off. Today, supervising studio Atlas Independent succeeded in getting the film on my mental checklist of projects to watch by announcing that Deadwood actor Ian McShane has joined the cast.
McShane will star as a retired lawman with violent tendencies who’s called back into action by the sheriff who replaced him (Patrick Wilson). They team up in order to track down those involved in a botched cartel deal and find themselves hunting a mysterious cartel butcher terrorizing the civilians of a small border town.
The actor, who recently appeared in fantasy adventures Snow White and the Huntsman and Jack the Giant Slayer, has made a name for himself playing scoundrels of all sorts, from his dastardly Al Swearengen on Deadwood to a deranged inmate on the second season of American Horror Story, so playing a law enforcement agent will likely be an interesting challenge for him.
As for Wilson, he has proven himself a diverse, talented actor with a filmography including everything from Little Children to The Conjuring, so it should be great to see McShane team up with him for this Western-sounding thriller. López-Gallego is working from a script by first-time screenwriter Nils Lyew, so we’ll have to cross our fingers that the story will be there, but two strong lead actors certainly bodes well for the dark thriller.
Filming is set to commence this April in Utah.
Are you a fan of McShane? Let us know if The Man on Carrion Street intrigues you in the comments section.
