Charlie Polinger will write and direct a ādarkly comedicā spin on The Masque Of The Red Death, with Sydney Sweeney set to star.
A24ās The Masque Of The Red Death is set to go before cameras at some point this year and according to Deadline, Sydney Sweeney is top of the studioās list to headline the project. Itāll be the feature debut of Charlie Polinger, a New York filmmaker and theatre director.
Based on a dark short story from Edgar Allen Poe, The Masque Of The Red Death centres on a group of privileged nobles who lock themselves away for endless revelry while a plague decimates the outside world. Given Poeās gothic horror style, you can imagine that not everything goes to plan for the wealthy partygoers.
Whether its Parasite, Triangle Of Sadness or The Menu, weāve seen a surge of āeat the richā films of late and The Masque Of The Red Death could be another entertaining entry in this blossoming genre. However, we wouldnāt expect the film to get too hung up on Poeās short story, given that the upcoming A24 film is said to be āwildly revisionist and darkly comedic.ā
At the very least, that could mean a contemporary re-telling, perhaps aimed at a Gen Z audience. After all, the world that young people are set to inherit isnāt without its problems (this observation is not exclusive to this site), and a film using a single setting and the theme of class exploitation to explore those ideas could certainly resonate.
That would certainly explain Sydney Sweeneyās casting, should she end up taking the lead role in he project. The actor is currently filming The Housemaid, Paul Feigās latest thriller, due to arrive later this year. Sheās also filmed a Christy Martin biopic, along with having several other projects at various stages of pre-production, including the title role in Edgar Wrightās planned Barbarella remake.
Weāll bring you more on this one as we hear it, but more tales inspired by Edgar Allen Poe would definitely be welcome. Netflixās Poe-centered gothic adventure tale The Pale Blue Eye was a fun watch back in 2022 and since then, Mike Flanagan bought us a heavily-revised TV take on The Fall Of The House Of Usher, which actually included a spin on The Masque Of The Red Death.
Weāre keen to see what Polinger is cooking up, however, when the story gets the feature length treatment courtesy of A24.