Nicholas Denton (Talamasca: The Secret Order, Dangerous Liaisons) will take on the role of influential British horror director Michael Reeves, with Tim Downie (Geek Girl, Outlander) portraying legendary horror star Vincent Price in Tragedy Man: The Making of Michael Reeves, according to a report on Deadline. Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey, Paddington) has also joined the cast as British film producer and distributor Tony Tenser.
The elevated folk horror feature explores the turbulent relationship between Reeves and Price during the making of Witchfinder General, a collaboration that would produce one of Price’s most acclaimed performances and Reeves’ final film before his death at just 25.
According to the source, the film is “Set against 1960s London and the haunted countryside of East Anglia, “Tragedy Man” follows the young Reeves as he stakes his burgeoning career on “Witchfinder General.” His financiers bring in Hollywood horror star Price for the lead role, a casting choice Reeves vehemently opposes, seeing the veteran actor’s theatrical style as everything he wants to leave behind. Price, meanwhile, is confronting his own fears of becoming obsolete as Hollywood changes around him.”
VFX supervisor Michael Ellis, whose credits include Enola Holmes, Enola Holmes 2, Cloverfield, and The Bourne Legacy, will make his feature directorial debut with the project. The film draws inspiration from an unpublished short story by Richard Sheppard, a writer and film historian with a focus on horror cinema.
Stay tuned to Horror News Network for more on Tragedy Man: The Making of Michael Reeves.
