Alejandro Hidalgo, director of “Exorcism of God,” is set to make “The Hungry One,” a supernatural horror film, as part of Malaysia’s Hungry Ghost Festival.
Kuala Lumpur-based Abnormal Studios is handling worldwide sales and promoting the project at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Content and Film Market. Singapore-based Clover Films has already acquired the rights for Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The story follows Emily, an American woman who travels with Simon, her Chinese Malaysian husband, and their son Louis to spend the summer at her family’s mansion. Their stay coincides with the 15-day festival when it is believed that the underworld will open and the dead will mix with the living. Emily becomes the target of increasing encounters with a vengeful entity trying to cross the street, and must investigate the house’s hidden history before it can take over her family.
Filmmaker and entrepreneur Justin Leong is handling the project through Los Angeles-based Lightning Pictures.
“Growing up in Asia, I’ve always felt that the Hungry Ghost Festival is incredibly visually rich, from the fire to the offerings to the rituals and mythology behind it. When you capture that and shoot it cinematically, this film is gold. It presents a world that audiences may not have seen before, but is instantly atmospheric, mysterious and built for fear,” said Leong.
Leong, who has deep ties to Malaysian-Chinese culture, drew on his own family’s traditions to shape the story.
Hidalgo’s feature debut, “The House at the End of Time,” remains Venezuela’s biggest horror movie at the box office. It attracted strong interest on the festival circuit and has since garnered a cult following, blending the supernatural with science fiction. Its 2021 sequel, “Exorcism of God,” bowed at Fantastic Fest and went on to sell in more than 150 countries. With its US release from Saban Films. It finished 2022 as the highest-grossing Latin American film worldwide.
Producer Harrison Allen, who won Netflix’s live-action short film Oscar with his film “The Singers” at this year’s Academy Awards, is also part of the team. His latest film, “Anima,” premiered at SXSW this year.
Also included is Sundance and Toronto fellow Thomas Percy Kim, whose first feature film, “Isle Child,” based on his own short film that HBO Max acquired, premiered in Toronto. Screenwriter Justin Parker worked on the development of HBO’s Emmy-nominated miniseries “Station Eleven” and was a writer on the documentary series “Religion of Sports.”
“The Hungry One” is in pre-production and its producers are working to lock down the last bit of financing.
Abnormal Studios, a subsidiary of Westec Media Limited, has been acquiring and releasing films since 2020 and has directed over 400 films to date. It now brings about 100 films a year to Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Mongolia and Nepal. Recent releases include “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies” and “Twilight of Warriors: Walled.”