The resurgent wave of horror that’s been bubbling up for the better part of a decade now continues to gain momentum. With Get Out winning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay back in March and Halloween currently dominating the box office, anyone who still thinks that horror is some kind of niche phenomenon is, well—out of touch. And the influx of new talent onto the genre-film scene continues, as proven by this year’s BloodList.
Founded in 2009 by Kailey Marsh, an executive producer on Hulu’s new teen-witch series Light As A Feather, the BloodList is a genre-specific alternative to The Black List, the annual list of un-produced screenplays selected by Hollywood executives that we’ve previously written about on this site. The BloodList draws from a similar pool of insiders, with 71 film and television executives voting on the 10 best horror, sci-fi, thriller, dark fantasy, and/or dark comedy scripts of the year.
For the third year in a row, the BloodList has selected an additional 10 films for its Fresh Blood Selects slate, all scripts from unrepresented writers who submitted them through the site’s free submissions portal. Those are all available to read at this link. Submissions are currently closed, but you can follow The BloodList on Twitter, Facebook, and/or Instagram for instructions on how to submit your script for consideration next year.
Previous BloodList scripts include the screenplays for Arrival, Chronicle, Black Swan, The Autopsy Of Jane Doe, and The Blackcoat’s Daughter, so, yeah, this is all pretty legit. Catch up with the 10 potential genre hits on this year’s list below.
COBWEB
Writer: Chris
Thomas Devlin
Logline: Peter has
always been told the voice he hears at night is only in his head, but when he
suspects his parents have been lying, he conspires to free the girl within the
walls of his house.
Genre: Horror
Status: Set up at Lionsgate
with Roy Lee, Andrew Childs & Jon Berg attached to produce.
THE DEVIL’S FLAME
Writer: Robert
Zappia
Logline: Based on
TRUE EVENTS. In response to this “astonishing” increase in demand for
exorcisms, the Vatican opens a secret exorcism training academy where a young,
gifted nun defies the church leadership to join her colleagues in the battle of
good versus ultimate evil.
Genre: Supernatural Horror
Status: Optioned.
The Broodmare
Writer: Michael
Voyer
Logline: A man goes
with his fiancé to right his wrongs at his ex-girlfriend’s horse ranch, only to
find sinister happenings.
Genre: Horror / Drama
Status: XYZ is attached to
produce with Dark Castle & The Fyzz.
GET HOME SAFE
Writer: Christy Hall
Logline: On
Halloween in NYC, a young woman is targeted and must attempt to flee her
pursuers.
Genre: Thriller
Status: Eric Heisserer,
Lawrence Grey & Christy Hall are attached to produce.
The White Room
Writer: Bryce McGuire
Logline: Deep in
the winter woods of upstate New York, a retiring public school teacher uncovers
a carefully guarded secret in an abandoned house.
Genre: Horror
Status: Rod Blackhurst is
attached to direct. Evan Hayes is attached to produce.
29 MOLE STREET
Writer: Skylar James
Logline: A
victim of domestic violence herself, a dedicated social worker enters the
peculiar home of an adoptive single father of six to check on a recently placed
foster child. However she soon discovers that the family is keeping a deadly
secret as the action crescendos into a demented game of hide-and-seek where the
stakes are life and death. Based on actual events.
Genre: Thriller
Status: In
development with Bazelevs.
The Wake (Pilot)
Writer: Holly Brix
Logline: A cop finds herself in an unexpected time warp, with
unexpected ties to one of the most notorious missing persons case ever.
Genre: Horror
Status: Available.
Amaranth (Pilot)
Writer: Alan van Dyke
Logline:In a future where our most important memories are backed up
via cybernetic implants, a hard-luck “memory repo man” stumbles upon
evidence of crimes in which he appears to have played a role – problem is, he
doesn’t remember them.
Genre: Sci-fi
Status: Available.
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF CHARLES ABERNATHY
Writer: Chris LaMont & Joe
Russo
Logline: On the eve
of his 75th birthday, billionaire Charles Abernathy invites his four estranged
children back home out of fear that tonight someone – or something – is coming
to kill him. To ensure his family will help protect him from whatever’s coming,
Abernathy puts each of their inheritances on the line – they’ll get nothing if
he’s found dead by dawn.
Genre: Horror
Status: Available.
Aperture
Writer: Steeve Léonard &
Caroline Labrèche
Logline: After
losing his wife Elise in a car accident, Lewis Markham stumbles upon a device
that lets him travel to a parallel universe, seemingly similar to his own.
There he finds living versions of himself and his beloved Elise. Fueled by
grief, Lewis manages to kidnap his double and successfully take over his life…
for a while at least.
Genre:Sci-fi / Thriller
Status: Available.