Hell Fest director Gregory Plotkin (Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension) wants to make a sequel to his sophomore feature, but the chances of it happening are slim. The film hit theaters last September and was received poorly by both audiences and critics. However, despite its lackluster reception, the theme park-set slasher flick did manage to take in $17 million on a budget of $5.5 million, but that doesn’t mean a sequel will be arriving anytime soon.
As highlighted in the Hell Fest movie trailer, this slasher film follows a group of friends as they take a trip to Hell Fest, a traveling Halloween carnival. Just as the fun begins, a costumed killer, who initially appears to be part of the show, sets his sights on the group as they attempt to make it out of Hell Fest alive. Natalie, the film’s main protagonist, becomes the killer’s focus once she witnesses what was believed to be a choreographed kill. Hell Fest stars Amy Forsyth, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Christian James, Matt Mercurio, Reign Edwards, Roby Attal, Courtney Dietz, Michael Tourek, and horror icon Tony Todd.
During an interview with Daily Dead, Plotkin revealed that a sequel to his teen slasher is unlikely to happen. Despite having numerous ideas for future installments, he doesn’t think the film performed well enough to warrant interest in a follow-up. Plotkin would like to explore the costumed killer, as well as Todd’s character, but whether these ideas will ever see the light of day is out of his hands. When asked about talks of a sequel, Plotkin stated the following:
Hell Fest was originally announced in 2011, with a different director attached at the time. While this was only Plotkin’s second feature film as a director, he is no stranger to the horror genre and has served as editor on films like 2017’s surprise hit Get Out, and Happy Death Day. Prior to directing Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, he also served as editor on several entries in the franchise. A resurgence of the slasher subgenre appears to be taking place, with the recent success of David Gordon Green’s Halloween, and talks of reviving old franchises, such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, it seems slashers are making their way back to the silver screen.
“I’m not sure the box office was what people were hoping for a sequel. Everyone’s been so wonderful from CBS, Lionsgate, Gale [Anne Hurd]. We have a lot of ideas. I think this is a character that we want to explore. I really want to explore Tony Todd’s character [and the fact that] he owns this place more. Tony is just a phenomenal person and a phenomenal actor. He and I had a lot of conversations about it.”
The popularity of horror mazes and other Halloween-based attractions continues to grow every year, so a film based on the growing seasonal attractions should have been a box office smash. However, while a sequel to Hell Fest remains unlikely at the moment, there is still a chance for anything to happen, especially since the film itself was in limbo for quite some time. The film certainly released around the proper season, but sadly audiences didn’t show much interest.
More: Awesome New Hell Fest Trailer is a Throwback to 1980s Slasher Films
Source: Daily Dead
