If you’ve been waiting for Hollywood to finally tackle one of the absolute pillars of modern cosmic horror literature, it’s time to start celebrating. The Hollywood Reporter has officially broken the news that John Langan’s Bram Stoker Award-winning 2016 novel, The Fisherman, is getting a premium big-screen adaptation courtesy of Focus Features.
Stepping into the director’s chair is none other than David Lowery, a filmmaker who already knows a thing or two about weaving gorgeous, deeply atmospheric, and unsettling genre tapestries. He brought us films like The Green Knight, A Ghost Story, and Mother Mary.
The Ultimate Grief Trip Gone Wrong
For those unfamiliar with Langan’s modern classic, do not expect a cozy weekend on the water. The narrative framework is a devastatingly intimate yet epic nightmare.
The story centers on Abe and Dan. They are two grieving widowers who strike up a deep bond, using weekend fishing getaways in upstate New York as a way to cope with their profound losses. One fateful morning, Dan suggests they test a new, highly isolated spot called Dutchman’s Creek. It’s a location whispered about in local folklore as possessing the power to literally allow a person to look upon their lost loved ones again.
Naturally, because these men are in a horror story, even a deeply unsettling, hyper-detailed warning from a creepy stranger diner about the creek’s sinister history isn’t enough to make them turn the truck around. They press onward, eventually finding themselves face-to-face with an ancient, terrifying cosmic entity known as Der Fisher—aka The Fisherman.
An Unbelievable Creative Alliance
If Lowery’s involvement wasn’t enough to get your cinematic gears turning, the creative team pulling the strings behind the scenes is an absolutely wild, fascinating cross-section of Hollywood royalty. David Lowery is co-writing the adaptation alongside indie darling Alex Ross Perry (Her Smell, Listen Up Philip).
In a truly unexpected genre team-up, the film is being produced by action maestro Michael Bay and Brad Fuller under their Platinum Dunes banner, alongside modern horror heavy-hitter Gary Dauberman (It, Annabelle, Salem’s Lot) for Coin Operated.
High Praise for the Source Material
When the book first landed a decade ago, it instantly electrified the horror community by blending human tragedy with dread. The pitch for this project is as flawless as it is terrifying. Imagine A River Runs Through It… but it flows straight into the deepest depths of hell.
Keep your eyes locked here as casting announcements begin to materialize. In the meantime, it might be time to dust off your copy of The Fisherman novel and maybe think twice about your next camping trip.
