“Determined to liberate Rachel from the grip of his dysfunctional parents—a true couple from hell—he instead unravels a series of dark and terrible events,” the filmmaker, who wrote the script with Leo Gough, continues. “When an ancient tomb is unearthed and desecrated, Rachel is possessed by the murderous spirit of a vengeful goddess. Tom ultimately risks everything to save his sister from the spirit and from their own demonic father, the reincarnation of an evil emperor.”

THE SPIDER, which is set to film in Istanbul and Manhattan, has already managed to attract a load of talent. The iconic Malcolm McDowell (recently seen in HALLOWEEN and DOOMSDAY) has signed on to play “a Jesuit priest with a secret agenda,” says Sigl, while three-time Academy Award winner Howard Shore (LORD OF THE RINGS, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) will take on composing duties. Furthermore, casting director John Hubbard and Oscar-nominated special FX supervisor Ian Wingrove (whose credits include SLEEPY HOLLOW, ALIEN VS. PREDATOR, THE OMEN and MIRRORS) have also agreed to take part in the film.

It seems Wingrove will have his work cut out for him as the story plans to surreally move from the present into visions of the past. “As our story takes us through modern Istanbul and at some point seamlessly back into the ancient times of Emperor Constantine the Great, who reigned from 324 until 337, the production design and the visual effects must contribute to the overall strangeness our hero feels when he enters an unusual world,” Sigl says. “In order to give the movie an almost mythical and mystical soul, the effects should be as subtle as possible to create the perfect illusion of everyday reality blending effortlessly into nightmarish visions of a former life lived some 1700 years ago.” Such sights will apparently include an Istanbul alley suddenly mutating into the site of a Byzantine funeral procession, and “a shapeshifting weaver woman literally melting into her own tapestry before she gets hacked out again by the swords of Roman soldiers,” Sigl says.

“THE SPIDER is a blend of black humor, occult horror and bizarre adventure involving lots of sex and sacrilege,” he continues. “Something for everyone. I mean that in an ironic way, of course—as the story deals with multiple taboos and themes such as child abuse and the shattering of religious concepts, it could best be described as THE MUMMY meets THE DA VINCI CODE through an X-rated ADDAMS FAMILY in Istanbul. A rather adult and twisted THE MUMMY, that is, and it certainly is not a PG-13-rated DA VINCI CODE either.” Keep your eyes here for more news as THE SPIDER spins its web.