Now that the public domain has been rinsed of characters to turn into horror movies, it's only logical that filmmakers should turn to Swedish Eurodance for inspiration – hence, the newly-announced Cotton Eye Joe, officially launching sales at TIFF later this month.
Scream king Bill Moseley (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre II, House of 1000 Corpses) and Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) will star in the action-horror from director Nick Merola, co-written by Dolly‘s Brandon Weavil. Also starring are Cassidy Terracian, Brian Dole, Eloise Lola Gordan and Moses Jones.
An official logline reads:
Four friends that break down on a deserted country road and seek refuge in desolate farmland only to awaken the brutal legend of Cotton Eye Joe. As night falls, survival becomes a desperate game of cat and mouse at the hands of a relentless serial killer.
Per Deadline, who reported the news earlier today, according to producers, Cotton Eye Joe “reinvents traditional folklore with the project to craft a fun-slasher that brings a violent and modern edge to the legend popularised by the Rednex Euro-hit song of the same name.”
Here's what Merola has to say:
“I started making horror movies in the second grade using my dad’s VHS camera, so to be stepping onto the set of my first feature with this incredible cast and crew is beyond a dream come true. Cotton Eye Joe is exactly the kind of movie that made me fall in love with the horror genre as a kid – incredibly bloody, suspenseful, and most importantly, fun..
While the 1994 Rednex song is far and away the most familiar rendition of Cotton Eye Joe (if for some reason you have spent your entire life on Jupiter, you can refresh your memory on the multi-platinum awarded single right here), the origins of the song are thought to date back to the 1800s, with the titular Joe perhaps referencing a moonshine-drunk local lothario.
Look out for more on Cotton Eye Joe and where did he go as we get it.
