New ‘Halloween’ Movie Gets ‘Saw’ Franchise Writer

It’s been pretty clear lately that the horror movie genre is making a big comeback. Last year’s Annabelle grossed $255 million against its $6.5 million budget, making it one of the highest-grossing horror movies of all time. And this summer’s remake of the horror classic Poltergeist is currently one of the year’s most anticipated movies.

There’s potentially a lot of money to be made in the horror movie genre again, and it seems production companies are beginning to take notice. Case in point, Dimension Films, which has been working on another entry in their Halloween franchise for the last five years, is apparently finally moving forward with a new installment.

According to THR, Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan – best known for writing Saw IV through VII, Piranha 3DD and The Collector – are set to pen the latest entry in the Halloween franchise for Dimension Films. The duo will replace Patrick Lussier (My Bloody Valentine) and Todd Famer, who were at one point working on Halloween 3D, the sequel to Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Halloween II.

It’s unclear if Melton and Dunstan are continuing where the former writers left off or creating a whole new direction. A source has reportedly stated the new film is “not a remake, not a reboot, and not a reimagining” but rather a “recalibration”.

Your guess is as good as ours as to what “recalibration” could mean in this context, but it sounds like producers Malek Akkad and Matt Stein are planning to take what worked from the latest movies and ditch the rest. A recalibration could involve simply shifting gears on the plot or it could be an outright remake, just by another more marketable name.

Regardless, a change in pace for what will be the Halloween franchise’s eleventh installment can only be a good thing. While Zombie’s Halloween II did manage to make enough money to be profitable, the film received mostly negative reviews from fans and critics alike.

But what do you think? Is there room for another Halloween film in the horror movie genre? Could Melton and Dunstan bring a much needed refresh to the franchise? Let us know in the comments.

Stay tuned for more Halloween news as it becomes available.