Just when you thought Hollywood had run out of Stephen King properties to adapt, the industry digs a little deeper into the master of horror’s bibliography. According to Deadline, Ben Young—the filmmaker who leaves audiences thoroughly unsettled with the psychological horror Hounds of Love—has officially signed on to direct Mister Yummy. The film is an adaptation of a short story tucked inside King’s 2015 collection, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams.
Nostalgia, Regret, and Assisted Living Horrors
Forget haunted hotels and cursed cars; this time, the nightmare is checking into a retirement home. The story follows Ollie Franklin. He’s a charismatic resident of an assisted living facility whose quiet life goes off the rails after a fellow resident passes away.
Soon after the funeral, Ollie begins experiencing deeply disturbing visions. As the fragile boundaries between his fading memories, decades of unresolved regret, and the supernatural begin to dissolve, Ollie is forced to confront long-buried secrets from his past before his own time on the clock completely runs out.
Shaping the Script
Young isn’t just sitting in the director’s chair; he is also co-writing the screenplay alongside writer Troy Abruzzise. This marks a major milestone for the filmmaker. It will be the first feature film he has actively written since his breakout debut.
For Young, taking on a King property is a lifelong dream come true:
“Stephen King was one of the first authors I ever read religiously, so getting to work on something that came from his imagination is a genuine honour. What I love about Mister Yummy is that the horror is inseparable from the humanity. It’s creepy, moving, character-driven, and exactly the kind of movie I’d line up to see. It’s also the first feature I’ll direct that I’ve also written on since Hounds of Love, so helping shape the script into the kind of Stephen King film I’d want to experience myself has been a real joy.”
The Creative Coalition
To bring this psychological chiller to life, an impressive lineup of indie and genre producers are rallying behind the scenes. The production team includes Aimee Schoof, Isen Robbins, and Megan Freels Johnston of Intrinsic Value Films (Tesla, Experimenter), alongside Josh Kesselman (Devil’s Peak, The Great), and Thomas Mahoney of Handsome Watson (Wild Indian, Brian).
Mister Yummy is just the latest piece of real estate added to the ever-expanding town of cinematic King adaptations. The project proudly joins a massive, upcoming slate of high-profile King properties. They include new iterations of Carrie, The Stand, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Rat, Autopsy Room Four, and a return to everyone’s favorite rabid St. Bernard, Cujo.
If you’re a King devotee, your watch list is officially safe for the next few years. Stay tuned for casting updates as Ollie and the elusive Mister Yummy find their real-world faces.
