Once they were inseparable, making film after film together between Matador and Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down. Then Antonio Banderas went to Hollywood and, for 21 years, didn't work with his old friend Pedro Almodovar. That's about to change when La Piel que Habito starts shooting this summer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The title translates as "the skin I live in" and the story comes courtesy of a Thierry Jonquet novel called Tarantula.
So viewers can expect an affectionate reunion project like Volver, which saw Almodovar reuniting with his erstwhile leading lady Carmen Maura after a long separation. Right? Perhaps not. Here's what Almodovar told El Pais about the film:
The film will be a terror film, without screams or scares, It's difficult to define and although it comes close to the terror genre—something that appeals to me that I've never done—I won't respect any of its rules. It's the harshest film I've ever written and Banderas' character is brutal.
That the plot concerns, per THR, "a plastic surgeon's revenge on the man who raped his daughter" further suggests this won't be a return to the high-strung comedies of old.
Banderas fans can only welcome this news. While he's won acclaim on Broadway, it's been a while since he's had a memorable film role, unless you count his work as Shrek's Puss-In-Boots.