Vertical Buys ‘The Queen Mary,’ Horror Film Shot on Famous Ocean Liner (EXCLUSIVE)

Brent Lang
·3 min read
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Vertical has secured North American rights to “The Queen Mary,” a psychological horror film that was produced on the titular ship. It was made by “Dracula Untold” director Gary Shore and chronicles the mysterious and violent events surrounding one family’s voyage on Halloween night in 1938, and how their destinies link up with those of another family onboard the ocean liner into the present day.

The Queen Mary, now on anchored in Long Beach, Calif., was once a luxury ocean liner and a favored mode of transport for generations of the rich and famous. All that seaborne revelry has established a reputation for the Queen Mary as “One of the World’s Most Haunted Places,” or so sayeth Time Magazine.

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Vertical has slated the film for release this summer. The cast includes Alice Eve (“Star Trek Into Darkness”), Joel Fry (“Game of Thrones”), Nell Hudson (“Texas Chainsaw Massacre”), William Shockley (“Death in Texas”) and BAFTA award-winner Lenny Rush (“Am I Being Unreasonable?”).

In the early 20th century, shipping lines competed to be the fastest to complete a transatlantic crossing. But among the most famous record-holders was the RMS Queen Mary, which held the record for 14 years, but is now docked in Long Beach where it has been used for many years as a luxury hotel and tourist attraction. The ship has a lengthy history of visitors reporting seeing ghosts and visions in its rooms and on its decks, making it the perfect setting for paranormal goings-on on the big screen. In “The Queen Mary,” a haunting story is unraveled between the ship’s heyday in the late 1930s and the present and tells the story of two families whose lives become violently entangled.

Vertical Partner Peter Jarowey commented, “We were immediately intrigued by the chilling, grisly tale that the filmmakers have woven together in ‘The Queen Mary.’ We’re sure audiences and horror fanatics will flock to experience it this summer.”

Stephen Oliver and Tom Vaughan penned the script with revisions by Shore. The film is produced by Brett Matthew Tomberlin of Imagination Design Works, Thorsten Schumacher of Rocket Science, Lars Sylvest, Nigel Sinclair and Nicholas Ferrall of White Horse Pictures, and Mali Elfman.

“We were impressed by Vertical’s passion for Gary Shore’s intelligent and twisted take on a great English and American legend. We know this team will be the perfect US distribution partner in logging the next chapter of this vessel’s historic and haunted history,” added the producers.

Vertical partner Peter Jarowey and senior VP of acquisitions Tony Piantedosi negotiated the deal on behalf of Vertical, while CAA Media Finance negotiated on behalf of the production.

Current and upcoming Vertical releases include “Emily the Criminal,” starring Aubrey Plaza and Theo Rossi; “The Pod Generation,” starring Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor; and “To Catch a Killer,” starring Shailene Woodley and Ben Mendelsohn.

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