In sci-fi horror picture ‘Fritzchen,’ filmmaker Joko Anwar to make his Hollywood debut

ASEAN – Joko Anwar, the famed Indonesian horror filmmaker behind Pengabdi Setan (Satan’s Slaves) and Perempuan Tanah Jahanam (Impetigore), is preparing to make his Hollywood debut.

According to Deadline, he will develop and direct a film adaptation of Charles Beaumont’s famous short tale Fritzchen.

The 46-year-old will make his English-language feature debut with the next picture.

On his Instagram account, Joko posted a screenshot of the Deadline announcement.

The planned film will be produced by Village Roadshow Pictures, and the narrative will be translated into a script by Michael Voyer and produced by Entertainment 360’s David Kopple.

“The producers at Village Roadshow have long been fans of my films and have expressed a desire to collaborate with me,” Joko added.

“They had a sci-fi horror project last year that they believed would be a good fit for me to do.”

“Then they called my agency in the United States, the Creative Artist Agency CAA, and we met, and it turned out that we were a good match.”

Fritzchen is a 1953 novel about a little kid who has an encounter with a mysterious monster on a beach.

The premise of the film is being kept under wraps, although it will have elements of science fiction and horror.

Beaumont is most known for his speculative fiction works, such as The Howling Man, Miniature, and Number Twelve Looks Just Like You, as well as the screenplay for the 1964 film The Masque of the Red Death.

The late American novelist, who died in 1967, is widely regarded as one of the twentieth century’s best film and television writers.

Joko, who was born in Medan and worked as a journalist and cinema critic before becoming one of Indonesia’s most successful directors, began his career as a journalist and film critic.

After co-writing Nia Dinata’s comedy-drama Arisan! in 2003, he soared to fame. He went on to make his debut film, Joni’s Promise, a romantic comedy.

Pengabdi Setan, a rough copy of the 1980 cult movie of the same name, was his first supernatural excursion and the highest-grossing Indonesian film of 2017.

The film, which also featured Malaysian actor Bront Palarae, became the highest-grossing Indonesian film ever released in the country.