We love seeing horror novels make the jump to the big screen, especially when the source material already has a reputation for getting under your skin. Stephen King, Clive Barker and George R.R. Martin have all shown us what can happen when a great story finds its way from the page to the screen, and there are still plenty of horror novels out there waiting for their shot.
Now, THE TROOP is getting its turn.
Deadline reports that Paramount Primal, Paramount’s new genre label, is developing a feature film based on Nick Cutter’s 2014 horror novel. Chris Basler is writing the screenplay, with Lyrical Media, which is also behind ONSLAUGHT, producing.
Cutter’s story follows a group of boys on their annual scout camping trip who encounter a stranger carrying something far more dangerous than they could have possibly imagined. An infection begins spreading through the camp, turning their wilderness getaway into a nightmare where survival means facing the infected and, eventually, each other.
Nick Cutter isn’t one to go lightly into horror either; each of his books is nasty, gritty, and full of gore just the way we like them, and THE TROOP falls in line perfectly for an adaptation.
The novel earned the James Herbert Award for Horror Writing, and bringing it to theaters gives Paramount an opportunity to introduce Cutter’s work to an entirely new audience. Whether the studio is willing to embrace just how brutal the source material can become is another question entirely.
For now, there isn’t a director, cast or theatrical release date attached to the project. Paramount Primal is still developing the adaptation, so we’ve got some time before these scouts make their way onto the big screen.
Considering what happens to them once they’re out in those woods, we’re perfectly happy to wait.
Just don’t expect this camping trip to end with anyone singing around the campfire.