If you have been wishing for more original and different horror movies on the market, then your prayers have been answered, as director Jonathan Levine sets his sights on adapting a comedy horror novel based on a haunted IKEA store.
Levine, best known for directing Warm Bodies and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, will write and direct the upcoming horror movie for Searchlight Pictures, adapted from the novel Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix‘s comedic horror novel for Searchlight Pictures, as reported by The Holllywood Reporter. Hendrix is on board to executive produce alongside the publisher Quirk Books.
Published in 2014, Horrorstör follows a group of employees who get more than they bargained for when they work the night shift at an IKEA-esque furniture store. The official synopsis reads, "Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking."
However, this is not the first time that Horrorstör has been considered for on-screen adaptation. Back in 2015, American Horror Story studio FX was looking to turn the story into a TV series. Later, New Republic Pictures toyed with turning it into a feature in 2020. However, we hope that the haunted store story does indeed make it to the screen this time around.
Horrorstör is just one of Hendrix's works currently being adapted. Netflix is working on bringing his book The Blanks to Life, as well as The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires from HBO, Ankle Snatcher from Sony, How to Sell a Haunted House from Legendary, and BadAsstronauts from Paramount. Hendrix's first novel to be adapted was My Best Friend’s Exorcism, which hit Prime Video in 2022.
Levine's adaptation does not yet have a release date. For more, check out our guide to the best horror movies, and keep up with upcoming horror movies heading our way.
