After directing four films in the Saw horror saga, and other features of the same genre (the latest, Twisted, has yet to be released by us), Darren Lynn Bousman is poised to return to the director’s chair with a subtle shift in perspective. His upcoming film, Serpentine, which he will helm for Dream State Studios and Brand in Entertainment, is a contemporary thriller that uniquely revolves around the world of figure skating. We don’t know whether the skate blades will be used inappropriately, though that seems likely, but this already strikes us as quite intriguing.
Serpentine: a thriller in the world of figure skating
Serpentine is set “in a seemingly quiet New England town, where organized crime, corrupt cops, secrets and the intensely competitive world of figure skating begin to come into conflict. At the center of the film is a woman who believes she has found a way to escape from a dangerous life, only to discover that with escape come consequences. What starts as an attempt to disappear quickly pulls her into a strange web of criminals, powerful locals and people who have their reasons to hide their past.” Bousman spoke about the project:
I have long wanted to test myself outside the horror genre, and Serpentine gives me this opportunity without entirely abandoning the things I love. There’s still terror, fear and a sense of genuine intensity at its core, but it exists in this strange, darkly funny Fargo-esque world that I feel is very unlike anything I’ve directed so far. This combination is what I find electrifying.
Serpentine is written by a woman, Valerie Palencar, who said the director grasped the strangeness of Serpentine immediately: “This is a story based on characters with depth who operate in a world where ambition and loyalty are constantly tested. Darren has the extraordinary ability to create tension without ever losing sight of the characters, and we could not be happier to have him directing the film.” What can we say? We wait with hopeful anticipation at this point, even if the comparison to the Coen brothers, at least on paper, seems a bit risky.
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