This year, James Wan found himself in unfamiliar waters. He was releasing a film in the middle of summer, an environment choked with sequels, prequels and remakes. When everything else had budgets that ranged into the hundreds of millions of dollars, his cost a mere $20 million. Instead of movie stars, he had Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga — excellent actors but nowhere near the A-list. And yet Wan’s horror film The Conjuring opened July 19 at No. 1, pulling down $41.8 million in its first weekend. Then Wan did it again: Two months later, his shock-sequel Insidious Chapter 2 — starring Wilson and Rose Byrne — opened at No. 1, grossing $40.2 million out of the gate.
Nathan StoanDemonic, a supernatural thriller based on James Wan‘s idea, will hit theaters on Dec. 12.
Will Canon is directing Demonic, which stars Maria Bello and Frank Grillo.
PHOTOS 15 Horror Movies That Offered the Most Bang for the Buck
The film centers on the aftermath of a horrific massacre where five college students were brutally murdered inside an abandoned home. Detective Mark Lewis (Grillo) and psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Klein (Bello) question one of the few survivors, who explains they were amateur ghost hunters seeking out paranormal phenomenon at the abandoned house, which was believed to be haunted.
PHOTOS 14 Horror Films Inspired by Real-Life Events
Wan, who co-created the Saw and Insidious horror franchises, and Lee Clay produced the Dimension Films project.
Demonic will open against Fox’s Exodus: Gods and Kings and Warner Bros.’ Inherent Vice that weekend.