David Harbour’s Ghostly Horror Movie Signs Up Rebecca Hall

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David Harbour, known for his role in Stranger Things, and Rebecca Hall, from The Prestige, are set to star in a film adaptation of Paul Tremblay’s award-winning novel, A Head Full of Ghosts. The movie, which won Tremblay a Bram Stoker Award in 2015, will be co-directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. Deadline reported that Lionsgate will distribute the supernatural horror film worldwide. Filming is expected to start next month, and Esmé Creed-Miles, who appears in The Sandman, will also be featured.

The creative team behind this project is impressive. Robert Downey Jr. and his wife, Susan Downey, are producing through their Team Downey company. Fifth Season (known for shows like Severance and The Night Manager) and The Allegiance Theater (who worked on films like Up in the Air and Jennifer’s Body) are also involved. According to Adam Fogelson, chairman of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group,

We’re incredibly excited to be working with Team Downey, The Allegiance Theater, David Gambino, and our partners at Fifth Season. They bring a fantastic level of experience and creative energy to this project. Their vision for bringing this scary story to life has been truly striking and unique – genuinely unsettling, in the best way. It’s easy to see why Stephen King named this book his favorite of the last ten years and said it terrified him – that really speaks volumes.

In Paul Tremblay’s chilling novel, A Head Full of Ghosts, the Barrett family’s normal life is shattered when their teenage daughter begins to exhibit disturbing behavior. This draws the attention of a reality TV show called The Possession. Fifteen years later, Merry Barrett looks back on these terrifying events with a journalist, revealing the darkness that consumed her family.

It’s surprising to learn that Franz and Fiala weren’t the original directors for this project. Back in 2018, Osgood Perkins, known for Keeper, was initially set to direct, but Scott Cooper, who directed Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, took over instead. The reasons why both Perkins and Cooper eventually decided not to direct Tremblay’s story remain a mystery.

‘A Head Full of Ghosts’ Is Familiar Territory for David Harbour… Kind Of


Netflix

Haunted happenings aren’t unusual for Harbour, but his latest ghostly role is a bit different from the one he did in 2023. Back then, he played Ernest, a balding ghost in the Netflix family horror-comedy, We Have a Ghost, who helped a family living in his old house become famous online.

The actor explained to Screen Rant that he drew inspiration from Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for his portrayal of Ernest, a character who doesn’t speak any lines in the film.

I was worried about how to make the character interesting since he doesn’t speak. I kept thinking about the movie E.T. and how much emotion that alien conveyed with just a finger and as a puppet. I found a real depth in Ernest’s quietness and simplicity. It was also striking how his stillness contrasted with the noisy, chaotic world of TikTok and his somewhat fractured family.

There’s an elderly, forgotten man living within the walls, and he holds a significant secret. Something about him really helped me understand another important aspect of the story. He felt like an outsider, completely out of place in this world.

Hopefully, A Head Full of Ghosts will perform better than We Have a Ghost on Rotten Tomatoes. A 44% rating isn’t very encouraging, is it?

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2026-02-06 22:25