20th Century Fox
You know what’s hip right now? Horror anthologies. You know what’s really hip right now? Horror anthologies that involve letters in their titles. You know what’s hip, uh, always? Women. Magnet Releasing has previously hinted at the creation of an all-new anthology series that comes to us from talented women (Shock Till You Drop first broke the news way back in November of last year), and now it looks like XX is finally becoming a reality. The distribution label has announced that XX is a go, featuring an all-female cast and only female directors, which Magnet will fully finance and own world rights to. Their mission? Create something horror-related, with creative freedom at the root of it all. Sounds pretty great, right?
Magnet is also home to the V/H/S horror anthology series and the ABCs of Death franchise, so yeah, these people love horror and they love letters. What’s next? The XYZs of Murder? D/V/D? (Those both actually sound like a lot of fun.) In any case, here’s everything we know about Magnet’s latest anthology, the lady-centric XX. Take a peek (if you dare).
Who is going to be directing these short films? Per the official announcement, the anthology has already locked down some solid names, including Karyn Kusama (Girlfight, Jennifer’s Body), Mary Harron (American Psycho), Jennifer Lynch (Surveillance) and Jovanka Vuckovic (The Captured Bird). The film’s IMDb page also includes names like Sofia Carillo (La Casa Triste), along with Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska (twin sisters who previously wrote and directed the short T is For Torture Porn as part of the second The ABCs of Death anthology, and who have also directed the upcoming See No Evil 2).
Who is going to star in the shorts? There’s no word yet on who we can expect to see in XX, but the named directors cover a wide swath of Hollywood and have worked with all kinds of stars, so we’re sure to see some new blood along with some recognizable faces.
What restraints are the filmmakers working under? Apparently, they’ve got big time freedom, as ComingSoon reports that “the directors have been given free creative rein within budget and time constraints, but all of the segments themselves will involve the horror genre.”
Who else can we thank for making this film? XYZ Films, who previously gave us The Raid. (Oh, can we get an all-female action anthology next?)
Is this going to turn into a franchise? Maybe. XYZ’s own Todd Brown shares, “We believe strongly in fostering the best talents around the world at XYZ. We believe different perspectives are what keep storytelling fresh and exciting and hope that XX can help to encourage more female writers and directors to explore the genre world. And we know the ones we have for this first effort are going to absolutely kick ass.” Oh, “this first effort”? Hmm. Perhaps we can look forward to another XX? There are plenty of other female horror directors out there who could fit quite nicely into this anthology mode, like Angela Bettis, Helene Cattet and Kristina Buozyte. Let’s make it happen.
When can we see the film? XX will be completed in 2015, so look for it sometime next year.