John Carpenter signs on to Fangland

Legendary horror helmer John Carpenter has signed on to direct Hilary Swank in Fangland .

The flick, which will be an adaptation of John Marks’ 2008 novel of the same name, is the fourth project that Carpenter has been linked to this year. The man who brought us the original Halloween has also signed on to The Ward, L.A. Gothic and The Prince .

It marks a return to features for Carpenter, who hasn’t directed a movie since 2001’s critical flop Ghosts Of Mars . He has, however, kept his skills sharp by helming two episodes of TV series Masters Of Horror .

Fangland will star Swank as Evangeline Harker, the producer of a 60 Minutes -style TV news magazine.

Fangland Hilary Swank John Carpenter

If the film follows the book, Harker will be sent on an assignment to Transylvania while odd emails, coffins and a strange man named Torgu pitch up at the New York office.

Here’s hoping Fangland is a better horror effort for Swank than her last stab at the genre with 2007’s misfire The Reaping .

Carpenter’s The Ward , starring Amber Heard as a young woman who is haunted by a ghost in an asylum, is out this summer.

Looking forward to Carpenter’s return to horror movies?

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.