Haunted hotels are a dime a dozen in horror these days — just look at how many people you’ll see dressed up as characters from The Shining this weekend. But Cappu Films is drawing from a real-life location for their latest story, as Variety reports that Jurassic Park and Bohemian Rhapsody star Joseph Mazzello is set to lead the new film A Grim Life.
The film is set inside the Cecil Hotel, a Los Angeles icon that opened in 1924 and has been the source of several supposed hauntings over the years. Written and directed by Francesco Lucente, A Grim Life also stars Max Beesley, Wes Studi, Carl Lumbly, and Arnetia Walker. Per Variety, its synopsis is as follows:
Mazzello plays Tom, a filmmaker down on his luck who pays the bills scrubbing toilets and can’t stop reworking the one script he has. A friend steers him toward “Böse,” a lost silent picture from 1931, and Tom’s hunt for an artistic breakthrough pulls him toward a dark secret.
Lucente also serves as producer on the film, which is set to begin production in Los Angeles in January. A Grim Life is the first time Mazzello has featured in a horror film since he starred in Jurassic Park as a child, as well as a cameo appearance in its sequel, The Lost World.
“A Grim Life is a deeply personal project for me, one that explores the darker side of ambition, obsession, and the sacrifices we make in pursuit of our dreams,” Lucente said to Variety. “The Cecil Hotel provides an extraordinary and haunting backdrop for a story where the boundaries between reality and the supernatural begin to disappear.”
No release date has been set for A Grim Life. Stay tuned to FANGORIA for more updates.
