Filmmaker Jennifer Chambers Lynch (Boxing Helena, Chained) appears to have spun a couple of work-for-hire TV episode jobs into a feature horror movie gig. The director, whose father is Twin Peaks creator David Lynch, has helmed just two episodes of AMC’s The Walking Dead, but those two episodes are undoubtedly among the most affecting and fear-inducing installments of the all-too-often disappointing series. Her work on the fifth season’s “Spend” and the sixth season’s “JSS” so impressed TWD producer Gale Anne Hurd that she decided to tap her for a Halloween-themed film she had in the works, according to Deadline.
“When I saw the level of passion and professionalism Jen brought to The Walking Dead when she directed for us, I knew I had found the right director to helm Hellfest,” Hurd explained. “Her vision for the film is not only compelling and character driven, but very, very scary!”
Hellfest has been kicking around Valhalla Entertainment for a while, having once been penned by the writing team William Penick and Chris Sey (Secrets In The Walls) and later reworked by Gary Dauberman (Annabelle, the upcoming It remake). It’s not entirely clear who’s responsible for scripting the newest version, but it seems to still be about a madman who goes on a killing spree in a horror theme park on Halloween night.
“We have loved the concept of Hellfest since Gale brought it to us, and we have been waiting for exactly the right director,” CBS Films president Terry Press said. “Jennifer came to us with both the passion and the vision necessary to make Hellfest a terrifying Halloween tradition much like the growing phenomenon of the theme park horror nights enjoyed by millions the world over.”