by Britt Hayes

I recall the first time I heard about Changeling, Eastwood’s suspense-drama starring Angelina Jolie. I thought he was remaking the 1980 Peter Medak horror classic, The Changeling. That “the” makes a big difference, and I soon found out he was making a suspenseful drama set in the 40’s, centered around Angelina Jolie’s pretty face and one of the most interesting crimes in history: the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders. Being a huge nerd, I knew all about these murders, so I was pretty fucking excited. After watching Eastwood’s Changeling, I wanted to slap him. It was almost 3 hours of Jolie screaming that this kid wasn’t her son, and giving the most melodramatic, scenery-chewing performance of her career. I digress.

The thing I loved about Changeling was the portion of the film that focused on the murders, and the murderer. Those moments were so tense and unnerving, that I found myself wondering what the film would’ve been like had Eastwood just made a film about the murders. If you felt the same way, we may be getting something close to that soon. Eastwood is currently working on a supernatural thriller called Hereafter. I wouldn’t expect Eastwood to make a straight-out horror film, with the stigma attached to the genre, and Eastwood’s consistent Oscar inclusion; however, I love the idea that he’s dipping his toes in the same pool.

Hereafter is about “three people who are touched by death in different ways.” The explanation leaves me feeling tepid, as so many indie films seem to focus on people who are affected by some huge event in some way, and rarely do they ever pay off or form a truly cohesive, affecting film. So what gets me so excited besides fantasizing that Eastwood might have actually taken notes from Changeling? The cast.

Eastwood has cast Matt Damon (anyone else think of this when they say Matt Damon’s name?), one of the most consistent actors working today, in one of the lead roles. In a second (of three) leads, he’s cast Cécile De France of Alexandre Aja’s Haute Tension. While most people hated Haute Tension for its ending, I loved the hell out of it, but moreover, I loved the acting from Cécile De France, and have been dying to see her in something American (but in the same genre).

Even more exciting? According to the IMDB page for Hereafter, Mylène Jampanoï of Martyrs has also been cast. It’s unclear whether Jampanoï is the third lead in the film, but the inclusion of her name in conjunction with De France is more than enough to get me excited, regardless of who is making the film. Martyrs is one of the greatest horror films ever made, one that is deeply affecting, beautiful, and absolutely hideous. I’ve never seen anything like it, and the effect that film had on me for days after viewing it was fascinating.

With the addition of De France and Jampanoï, I get the feeling that Eastwood is as big a fan of French horror as I am, and I definitely believe he’s veering into horror territory. Hopefully we can get more plot details on this as soon as possible.

Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon) wrote the script, and will produce with Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, and Tim Moore. The film is scheduled for a December 2010 release.

Source: Variety