Warner Bros. Pictures has pre-emptively picked up the spec script "The Dionaea House" by Eric Heisserer for David Heyman to produce via his Heyday Films banner.

The story follows a married man who has grown apart from his old friends. When one of them commits a double-murder suicide, the men feel compelled to investigate, eventually stumbling upon an evil force that perpetuates itself through tract housing.

Heisserer created a Web site last fall, www.dionaea-house.com, to build the mythology of the project. The site, which ended up getting millions of hits, was filled with fictional correspondence between the man and a friend who has since disappeared.

"It's an uneasy and disquieting story, and it's not going to be a slasher film but rather a sophisticated horror movie," Heyman said. "One of the most important things for me in a project are characters, and these are so well drawn. Eric is a writer who is able to evoke an awful lot in a very simple and elegant way."

Marc Rosen and Ali Bell will oversee for Heyday.

Kevin McCormick is overseeing for Warners.

Heisserer's deal also included a blind script commitment at Warners. He previously had set up spec "Manifestant" at Artisan.

The scribe is repped by Julie Bloom at Art/Work Entertainment and attorneys Marcy Morris and Karl Austen.