Cannes 2012: FilmDistrict Snags U.S. Rights to Intrepid's Horror Pic 'Oculus'

CANNES - FilmDistrict has acquired domestic rights to director Mike Flanagan's Oculus, based on his acclaimed short film of the same name.

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Intrepid Pictures' Trevor Macy and Marc D. Evans are producing and fully financing the project, which Focus Features International is debuting to foreign buyers at the Marche du Film in Cannes. Intrepid's Anil Kurian will executive produce.

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Oculus is set to start shooting in late summer and revolves around a horrifying family incident that left two young children orphans a decade earlier. Authorities charged the brother with murder, but the sister believes the true culprit is a haunted antique mirror, and is determined to prove her theory even though the brother has been rehabilitated and is ready to move on.

"When we read the script for Oculus and saw Mike's short, we were excited about his potential to create a film that would deliver real scares to horror fans," said FilmDistrict's Peter Schlessel.

FilmDistrict, which is gearing back up, is next in theaters June 8 with Sundance acquisiton normal">Safety Not Guaranteed, followed by normal">Looper, a joint release with TriStar, on Sept. 28 and Red Dawn on Nov. 21. FilmDistrict will self-distribute Playing the Field, headlining Gerard Butler, on Dec. 25.

Intrepid Pictures and Summit will be in theaters in September with The Cold Light of Day, starring Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis and normal">Sigourney Weaver. The company also is in Cannes selling Crush, with FilmNation is handling foreign sales.