‘River’ Director Boards ‘Occupant’ for Blumhouse, Atomic Monster and Focus Features

Hot off the world premiere of his feature debut River at TIFF, filmmaker Josh Giuliano has already lined up his next horror project.

Giuliano will write and direct Occupant for Blumhouse Atomic Monster, Focus Features, Divide/Conquer, and Spooky Pictures. Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights, with Universal Pictures International handling the film’s international distribution.

Plot details for Occupant are being kept under wraps for now, but Giuliano is writing and directing the project.

The film is part of Blumhouse Atomic Monster’s ongoing effort to discover and develop emerging genre filmmakers. The initiative previously brought Curry Barker into the fold after his film Obsession premiered at TIFF.

Giuliano’s connection to the project came through Sam Zimmerman, who oversees Blumhouse Atomic Monster’s slate and was already familiar with the filmmaker’s work on River. Zimmerman subsequently connected Giuliano with Greg Gilreath and Adam Hendricks of Divide/Conquer.

While we don’t know much about Occupant yet, River certainly suggests that Giuliano has some nasty horror in store.

The filmmaker’s debut stars Jane Levy and Jessica Rothe in a throwback slasher about three estranged siblings who become stranded in a remote wilderness and discover they’re being hunted by a mysterious killer.

Occupant will be produced by Jason Blum, Greg Gilreath, Adam Hendricks, and Steven Schneider.

Executive producers include Daniel Bekerman, Derek Bishé, Neil Mathieson, Allie Steffler, Sam Zimmerman, and Jeremy Kulyk.