If you were a fan of the psychological dread that Josh Malerman brought us with Bird Box and Incidents Around the House, you’ll want to pay attention. After more than two years in the works, the feature film adaptation of his haunting short story, A Ben Evans Film, is now officially in pre-production! This isn’t just standard horror. It is a uniquely unsettling ride that mixes dark comedy, psychological madness, and intimate, gut-wrenching tragedy.
The Plot That Crosses the Line Between Art and Decay
The story centers on Ben Evans, a “larger-than-life filmmaker.” Ben has one major, slightly inconvenient problem: he struggled to complete his passion project while his parents were alive. His solution? He decides to cast his deceased parents as the stars of his movie.
As Ben chases this twisted vision of cinematic bliss behind the camera, his creative process violently spirals into madness, blurring the terrifying line between art, obsession, and death. If that doesn’t sound like the best kind of grotesque, character-driven horror, we don’t know what does!
The Star and the Masterminds
Sky Elobar plays the titular role of Ben Evans, known for his unforgettable, boundary-pushing performance in The Greasy Strangler. If anyone can handle a grotesque and deeply unhinged character who won’t let death get in the way of a good close-up, it’s him.
The film is being written and directed by the creative duo James Henry Hall and Bret K. Hall. They are slated to begin filming in Michigan’s frigid, atmospheric landscape in February 2026. A talented team of producers from Magical Jungle Productions, Spin A Black Yarn, and Little Spark Films backs the project.
Malerman himself could barely contain his excitement about the casting. “Sky Elobar as Ben Evans is literally everything I dream of in the genre,” the author said. “He took a character of mine and made him so much his own that now I’m not sure Ben ever belonged to me. James, Bret, and Sky’s take on Ben is original, sensational, totally colorful, and even dreadful. It’s an incredible balancing act.”
A Story About Obsession and Heartbreak
The Hall brothers emphasized the emotional depth beneath the darkness. James Henry Hall explained, “It’s equal parts horror and heartbreak. Ben Evans is a man who can’t let go—not of his family, not of his art, not even of death itself. It’s grotesque, funny, and deeply sad all at once.”
Malerman’s original inspiration was refreshingly simple: “I liked the idea of a guy who wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of him finishing his work of art. And I do mean anything.” James Henry Hall echoed this sentiment about the raw emotional core of the source material, noting, “I was blown away by its raw emotional charge—the collision of obsession and creativity. The idea of a man refusing to let anything stop him from finishing a dream, even as he’s unraveling, felt both heartbreaking and strangely inspiring.”
With its unique mix of psychological dread, dark humor, and intimate tragedy, A Ben Evans Film is shaping up to be a must-see horror story. It’s one tailor-made for anyone who has ever wrestled with loss, creativity, and the madness of trying to make sense of the world through art.
