After the viral success of his dog-led film Good Boy, director Ben Leonberg has found his next project, adapting a story by one of horror’s most beloved authors. Deadline reports that Sony Pictures has hired Leonberg to direct Ankle Snatcher, an adaptation of the short story written by My Best Friend’s Exorcism author Grady Hendrix.
According to Deadline, Leonberg will also co-write the film with partner Alex Cannon, based on Hendrix’s previously acquired adaptation. Originally released as part of Creature Feature, an anthology published by Amazon Original Stories, Ankle Snatcher follows “a man haunted by the childhood trauma of his mother’s murder, which his father blamed on a boogeyman under the bed, and his terrifying realization that the creature may be real.”
Ankle Snatcher will be produced by Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, and Tony Shaw for Escape Artists, as well as Adam Goldworm and Hendrix himself. The film is one of numerous adaptations of his novels currently in the works — his debut novel Horrorstör is being adapted for film by director Jonathan Levine, and TV versions of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and The Final Girl Support Group are also in the works. Prime Video also previously released a film version of My Best Friend’s Exorcism, starring Elsie Fisher, in 2022.
Ankle Snatcher is Leonberg’s second feature film after Good Boy made waves at festivals and in theaters globally, telling a ghost story through the eyes of his real-life dog, Indy. The film, which earned Leonberg an Independent Spirit Award nomination, is set to debut on Hulu on April 25.
No release date for Ankle Snatcher has been announced. Stay tuned to FANGORIA for more updates.
