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New director Ellis: Personal film about sex, drugs and paranoia

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Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

He is considered a grand master of pop literature and wrote classics such as “Below Zero” (1985) and “American Psycho” (1991). But when he was celebrated in 2023 for "The Shards", his first major novel in several years, Bret Easton Ellis revealed in numerous interviews that he had wasted the previous years in Hollywood - writing numerous screenplays, only a few of which were staged. And with the childhood dream in mind of being a director myself.

Now, at 59, Ellis wants to make his feature film directing debut. For the planned horror film "Relapse" he will bring the British actor Joseph Quinn ("Stranger Things") as the main actor in front of the camera, as the French production company SND in Paris, which is producing the film, announced. The film is about a young man in Los Angeles who witnesses a terrible death at a party and temporarily goes to a rehab clinic. But he relapses, plagued by delusions that a monster is controlling his life.

Ellis explained that he grew up with iconic horror films from the 1970s, as SND continued. The author describes »Relapse« as a monster film with the characters typical of his works - young, good-looking and rich. It is also said that it is a personal film that is also about sex, drugs and paranoia.

“Relapse” combines the look and feel of the horror genre with Ellis’ unique perspective, said SND sales director Ramy Nahas. "It's the perfect mix of the themes Bret Easton Ellis is famous for in a monster feature film."

The best-selling author's most famous work is the novel "American Psycho" about the banker and murderer Patrick Bateman, which is characterized by detailed drug, violence and sexual excesses. It was made into a film in 2000 by director Mary Harron with leading actor Christian Bale. There were also feature film adaptations of novels such as “Below Zero”, “Simply Irresistible” and “The Informants”. One of Ellis' scripts that was ultimately made into a film was the one for the independent film "The Canyons."

Feb/dpa