David Gordon Green, director of 2008's "Pineapple Express," will direct the remake of Dario Argento's cult hit "Suspiria," Crime Scene Pictures said Tuesday.
The 1977 film is something of a classic in horror circles, sporting a memorable score from the Italian rock band Goblin and a nightmarish color palate that uses liberal amounts of red.
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It centers on a ballet student who enters a prestigious dance academy, only to have her life disrupted by a series of grisly murders. Without giving too much away, the school's administration has a supernatural secret.
Green has been said to be interested in the project as far back as 2008. At one point Natalie Portman's name was attached, although it is not clear what her interest would be now that she has starred in "Black Swan," a 2010 horror-tinged thriller also set in the dance world.
"Suspiria"s' producers said casting is under way for the central role of Suzy, who in this incarnation is an American student who travels to Europe to attend school. Filming is scheduled to begin in September.
Green wrote the screenplay with Chris Gebert. The director first came to prominence with a series of elegiac indie films like "All the Real Girls" (2003) and "George Washington" (2000), but has recently focused on broad comedies like "Your Highness"(2011).
"Suspiria" represents a chance to return to the gothic thriller vein he explored memorably in 2004's "Undertow."
Crime Scene's Adam Ripp and Rob Paris will produce and finance the film with Francesco Melzi d’Eril ("Hotel Rawanda") and Luca Guadagnino ("I Am Love")
French film company Wild Bunch plans to sell international territories at Cannes in May while Creative Artists Agency will represent U.S. distribution rights.