Indie horror novel “Haunting Skies” is primed for an on-screen adaptation.
Christian Kang Bachini, a filmmaker who wrote the novel, is set to helm the film version of “Haunting Skies” via Via Mantra Productions, Variety can report.
Per the logline, “Haunting Skies” “imagines an Earth already conquered by alien invaders, who abduct the remaining survivors for grotesque experiments. Their mistake is taking Elisa, a young girl possessed by Satan. Father Kang, the last surviving exorcist, devises a plan to get her aboard the alien mothership and make a deal with the Devil to turn Hell against the invaders.”
Natasha Halevi (“Superman,” “Peacemaker”) and Emily Ashby (“Teela and the Masters of the Universe”) are set to star in the project. Composer Christopher Young (“Hellraiser,” “Sinister,” “Drag Me to Hell”) will score the film, which is set to begin as a 30-minute proof of concept. Heather Brittain is also on as producer.
Bachini independently published “Haunting Skies” in July, and a sequel is set for October. He was originally working with literary agents on rewrites that diluted the original vision, he so decided to publish the book independently. It has since charted among Amazon’s top occult and supernatural horror bestsellers.
“I had already rewritten it several times,” he said. “At a certain point, I realized I wasn’t improving the story anymore — I was negotiating away the reasons I had created it. So I said no and published it myself.”
The author, whose last directorial effort was the short film “Escalation,” is taking the same approach to the “Haunting Skies” adaptation, hoping to keep his vision intact without notes that would water down the storytelling. He plans to retain control of the property through the process.
“The novel is not merchandise for a movie that doesn’t exist yet,” Bachini said. “It is the first complete version of the universe. Readers can enter it now — and instead of waiting for someone else to decide whether the film should exist, their response can help us make it our way.”