Karen Gillan, Josh Hutcherson and Clive Owen are set to headline Blasphemous, a new supernatural thriller that will mark the **feature directorial debut of Luke Piotrowski****, the genre writer behind Hellraiser and She Rides Shotgun.
The project brings together a cast that blends franchise visibility with prestige appeal. Gillan, whose career spans blockbuster fare and independent genre projects, joins Hutcherson, who has steadily leaned into darker, thriller-driven roles in recent years. Owen adds veteran gravitas to the ensemble, reinforcing the film’s positioning as a character-driven supernatural story rather than a conventional effects-heavy horror outing.
Blasphemous represents a significant step for Piotrowski, whose screenwriting work has established him as a filmmaker comfortable with mythological horror and psychologically charged material. Moving behind the camera, Piotrowski is expected to lean into atmosphere and thematic tension, extending the sensibilities that have defined his writing into a more personal, directorial vision.
Financing, sales and distribution are being handled by North.Five.Six., the outfit founded by Michael Rothstein and Sam Hall. The company has steadily built a reputation for packaging commercially viable, star-led projects for the international marketplace, with an upcoming slate that includes titles such as Regretting You and Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. Worldwide sales for Blasphemous are set to launch at the **European Film Market****, aligning the project with one of the industry’s most important hubs for independent genre cinema.
Adding further weight to the package, CAA Media Finance is attached, a signal of strong industry confidence in the film’s commercial prospects. CAA Media Finance’s involvement typically points to a well-structured financing plan and solid interest from international buyers, particularly for genre titles with recognizable casts.
The filmmakers are aiming to begin production in New York this August, a timeline that suggests the project is moving quickly from development to execution. The choice of New York as a primary shooting location hints at a grounded, urban texture for the film, often favored in supernatural thrillers that seek to balance realism with heightened elements.
With its combination of established actors, a genre-savvy first-time director, and a market-oriented sales strategy, Blasphemous arrives as a textbook example of how contemporary independent thrillers are being packaged for global audiences. As worldwide sales launch in Berlin, the film is expected to draw attention from distributors looking for elevated genre material anchored by familiar faces and a clear creative vision.
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