Warm Bodies director is set to adapt a comedy horror novel based on a haunted IKEA store, and it sounds like Last Shift meets Clerks

The front cover of Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
(Image credit: Quirk Books)

If you have been wishing for more original and different horror movies on the market, then your prayers have been answered, as director Jonathan Levine sets his sights on adapting a comedy horror novel based on a haunted IKEA store.

Levine, best known for directing Warm Bodies and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, will write and direct the upcoming horror movie for Searchlight Pictures, adapted from the novel Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix‘s comedic horror novel for Searchlight Pictures, as reported by The Holllywood Reporter. Hendrix is on board to executive produce alongside the publisher Quirk Books.

Published in 2014, Horrorstör follows a group of employees who get more than they bargained for when they work the night shift at an IKEA-esque furniture store. The official synopsis reads, "Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking."

However, this is not the first time that Horrorstör has been considered for on-screen adaptation. Back in 2015, American Horror Story studio FX was looking to turn the story into a TV series. Later, New Republic Pictures toyed with turning it into a feature in 2020. However, we hope that the haunted store story does indeed make it to the screen this time around.

Megan Garside
Junior Social Media Editor, GamesRadar+

I'm the Junior Social Media Editor here at GamesRadar+, handling all of Total Film's social platforms. However, I also write, covering all things film and TV for the site's entertainment section. I joined GamesRadar+ in 2023 and have been here ever since. I previously worked in communications after graduating with an MA in journalism. In my spare time, you can find me binging horror movies or getting lost in a cosy little game on my Switch.

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