#horror – #PressRelease – #TragedyMan – #MichaelReeves – #WitchfinderGeneral – #VincentPrice – #NicholasDenton – #TimDownie – #HughBonneville – #FolkHorror –
The Turbulent Shoot Behind a British Horror Landmark Is Getting Its Own Film
One of British horror’s great what-ifs is headed for the screen. Talamasca: The Secret Order star Nicholas Denton has signed on to play Michael Reeves, the young filmmaker behind 1968’s Witchfinder General, in Tragedy Man: The Making of Michael Reeves, with Tim Downie stepping into the role of Vincent Price. Variety broke the casting news Monday on the eve of the American Film Market, and Hugh Bonneville rounds out the leads as Tony Tenser, the British producer and distributor who backed the picture.
Billed as an elevated folk horror feature, the story moves between 1960s Swinging London and the eerie East Anglian countryside as Reeves gambles his rising career on Witchfinder General. His backers insist on casting Price, an old-school Hollywood star whose theatrical style is exactly what Reeves wants to break away from, while Price is quietly wrestling with the fear that the industry is leaving him behind. Their clash on set would yield one of the actor’s most celebrated performances — and the last film Reeves completed before his death at just 25.
Veteran VFX supervisor Michael Ellis, whose credits include Cloverfield, The Bourne Legacy and the Enola Holmes films, makes his feature directing debut. The script comes from horror film historian Richard Sheppard, adapting his own unpublished short story, and producer Justin Stanley of U.K. genre outfit Sceadwe Films, which is producing alongside London’s CrossBorder Films. Cameras are expected to roll in late November, and CrossBorder is introducing the project to international buyers at AFM in Los Angeles.
Director: Michael Ellis
Writers: Richard Sheppard, Justin Stanley
Cast: Nicholas Denton, Tim Downie, Hugh Bonneville
Production: Sceadwe Films, CrossBorder Films
International Sales: CrossBorder Films
Status: Production expected to begin late November 2026
Source: Reporting and confirmation via Variety.
