It’s been a while since Sam Raimi directed a horror movie, but now Every House Is Haunted, an upcoming genre piece he’s set to produce, will make its premiere on Netflix.
The film is based on the book of short stories of the same name by Canadian writer Ian Rogers, and sees an insurance investigator working to debunk claims that a haunted house caused the death of a couple, but finds his experiences pushing him ever further to accepting the presence on the inexplicable.
The plot sounds faintly similar to that of “The House on Ashley Avenue,” an award-nominated tale from the collection about the properties controlled by a paranormal insurance agency, so perhaps the movie will take that as the basis and weave in content from the other wonderfully weird stories such as a perpetually autumnal forest, infernal dealings in a jazz club or a voracious spider living in a TV.
As mentioned, Raimi won’t be sat in the big chair himself since he’s currently preoccupied helming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so directorial duties will be handled by Corin Hardy. Although his last feature, Conjuring spinoff The Nun, had a less than stellar reception belied by its financial success, his debut effort The Hallow is more indicative of his creativity behind the camera and ability to deliver compelling supernatural chills.
Although it must be said that Raimi’s output as director is for more consistent than that of producer, he overcame the glut of mediocre ghost house antics released in the mid-2000s with the likes of Don’t Breathe, Crawl and the remake of his own Evil Dead, so his influence should prove a positive one.
It’ll be some time before Every House Is Haunted is seen on the streaming giant as it’s only now beginning production, but with such talented horror minds behind it, it should be one to watch out for.
