Highland Film Group has come on board to handle international distribution rights to the horror thriller Witchboard, it was announced today. The re-imagining of the 1986 horror classic stars Jamie Campbell Bower (“Stranger Things,” The Twilight Saga), Madison Iseman (The Jumanji film series, Warner Bros.’ Annabelle Comes Home), Aaron Dominguez (Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building”), Mel Jarnson (Warner Bros.’ Mortal Kombat), Charlie Tahan (Netflix’s “Ozark”), and Antonia Desplat (Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, AppleTV+’s “Shantaram,” Lionsgate’s The Killer’s Game).  The film, which world premiered this summer at the Fantasia Festival, is directed by Chuck Russell (The Mask, Warner Bros.’ Eraser) and written by Russell and Greg McKay.

Witchboard is produced by Russell (The Mask), Kade Vu, Greg McKay (Universal Pictures’ Undercover Brother) and Bernie Gewissler (Lionsgate’s Detective Knight: Rogue). The film is executive produced by Gala Film’s Eric Schiermeyer and John Paul Isham, as well as Walter Josten and Marc Rousseau, with  Marc Cote co-producing.

Highland Film Group is handling international rights to the horror thriller, launching sales at the American Film Market.

“Witchboard is a chilling new take on a beloved horror classic. With slick looks, it’s a nod to the practical effects driven horror movies of the late ’90 and beyond,” said Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser. “Chuck Russell has expertly crafted a gripping and tense horror thriller that pulls its audience into the intoxicating dangers of the supernatural,” added Highland Film Group COO Delphine Perrier.

Emily (Madison Iseman) and her fiancé Christian (Aaron Dominguez) are opening a café in New Orleans, but their plans take a dark turn when Emily discovers an ancient Witchboard, a mystical artifact once used to summon spirits. As Emily becomes obsessed with its power, Christian seeks the help of occult expert Alexander Babtiste (Jamie Campbell Bower), who harbors his own dark secrets. Babtiste draws the couple further into the occult where they find themselves in a race against time to break the board's deadly curse before Emily becomes its next victim.

Accomplished genre director Chuck Rusell is best known for New Line Cinema’s The Mask starring Jim Carrey. His additional credits include New Line Cinema‘s A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, the 1988 remake of the 1958 film The Blob, Warner Bros.’ Eraser starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Universal Pictures’ The Scorpion King starring Dwayne Johnson.

Highland Film Group’s current slate also includes Justin Chadwick’s action thriller Sierra Madre starring Kiefer Sutherland; the action crime thriller Wardriver starring Dane DeHaan and Sasha Calle; John Stalberg, Jr.’s Muzzle: City of Wolves starring Aaron Eckhart; Allan Ungar’s action-comedy London Calling starring Josh Duhamel and Jeremy Ray Taylor; and Joe Carnahan’s survival thriller Not Without Hope starring Zachary Levi and Josh Duhamel.

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ABOUT HIGHLAND FILM GROUP

Led by founding partners Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, Highland Film Group (HFG) is an award-winning independent worldwide sales, film financing, production and distribution company. Launched in 2010, HFG has had success across a wide range of film genres and platforms, building a reputation for handling high-octane films in the action/thriller/horror space, focusing on cast, director, and filmmaker driven content.

HFG’s diversified production and sales slate includes William Eubank’s action thriller Land of Bad starring Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth and Luke Hemsworth released on 1,300 screens in February 2024 and recently surged to the #1 spot on Netflix in the US; Benjamin Brewer’s survival action-thriller Arcadian starring Nicolas Cage, official selection at SXSW; Adam Cooper’s crime thriller Sleeping Dogs starring Russell Crowe and Karen Gillan which recently took the #1 spot on Hulu in the US; Dimitri Logothetis’ actioner Gunner starring Morgan Freeman and Luke Hemsworth; Simon West’s action comedy Old Guy starring Christoph Waltz, Lucy Liu and Cooper Hoffman; Joe Carnahan’s survival thriller Not Without Hope starring Zachary Levi and Josh Duhamel; the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut produced by Brad Fuller and starring Kate Mara and Laurence Fishburne; Allan Ungar’s action comedy London Calling starring Josh Duhamel and Jeremy Ray Taylor; and the high-concept horror film Rosario starring Emeraude Toubia and David Dastmalchian.

New projects include the action crime thriller Wardriver starring Dane DeHaan and Sasha Calle; John Stalberg, Jr.’s Muzzle: City of Wolves starring Aaron Eckhart; the action crime thriller The Deputy starring Duke Nicholson, William H. Macy, Tiffany Haddish and Stephen Dorff; and Justin Chadwick’s action thriller Sierra Madre starring Kiefer Sutherland.

Previous titles include Adrian Grünberg’s shark actioner The Black Demon starring Josh Lucas; Joe Carnahan’s Boss Level starring Naomi Watts, Mel Gibson and Frank Grillo; Lin Oeding’s thriller Braven starring Jason Momoa; Scott Mann’s Final Score starring Dave Bautista and Pierce Brosnan; Berlin, I Love You with Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Jim Sturgess, Mickey Rourke, Diego Luna and Jenna Dewan Tatum and Vaughn Stein’s Terminal starring Margot Robbie and Simon Pegg.