From Broken Flowers to the highly overlooked The Hottest State to Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, Mark Webber has had a healthy career in the indie drama scene (although that last feature was certainly his highest profile yet) and he’s now finally set to get his big break, but in a very different genre.
Coming off the three-punch of For a Good Time, Call.., Save the Date and his own The End of Love at Sundance, Webber has signed on to star in the next horror film from The Last Exorcism director Daniel Stamm, Variety reports. A remake of the Thai film 13: Game of Death, this one goes under the title of Angry Little God and it was just picked up by Dimensions Films for US distribution. Check out an official synopsis below for the psychological thriller written by Stamm and David Birke and produced by Paranormal Activity‘s Jason Blum.
[The film] follows a bright but meek social services coordinator who’s drowning in debt and desperate as he’s about to marry the love of his life. He receives a mysterious phone call informing him that he’s on a hidden camera game show where he must execute 13 tasks to receive a cash prize of over $6,000,000. He accepts the challenge, but even with thousands of dollars suddenly appearing in his bank account, he realizes he’s in over his head. Trapped into the horrors manipulated by unseen spectators, his need to complete the game escalates as the tasks grow more extreme, to a devastating point of no return.
I actually love the concept of this one, at least in the context of a horror/thriller. Webber may be typecast as the generic slacker, but it will be exciting to see him stretch his acting muscles here, getting in some real danger. It sounds like somewhat of a twist on The Game too, so hopefully Stamm brings a strong directional touch (although I’m certainly not expecting anything Fincher-esque). Check out the trailer for Chookiat Sakveerakul‘s 2006 original below.
Did you see the original? What do you think of Webbber landing this role?