David Dastmalchian Joins Forces With Wolf Creek Creator Greg McLean For Action-Horror Kill Screen
Late Night with the Devil breakout David Dastmalchian has joined Kill Screen, the high-voltage action horror from Wolf Creek creator Greg McLean.
File this under: horror goes full gamer mode. Greg McLean, the guy who gave us Wolf Creek, is moving ahead with a meta action-horror that was first announced 10 months ago as 'The Horror Game.' It has a new title now: 'Kill Screen.' Same director, same lead (Ella Balinska from Netflix's 'Resident Evil'), but with a fresh piece of casting that makes a lot of sense for this lane: David Dastmalchian has joined the party.
The update
Per Deadline, McLean is still directing, Balinska is still starring, and the film has locked in Dastmalchian — whose genre resume keeps getting longer ('Late Night with the Devil,' 'Dexter: Resurrection'). The script is by Gus Krieger ('Would You Rather'). The movie is in pre-production.
What 'Kill Screen' actually is
Two nearly identical synopses are floating around, so here’s the streamlined version:
Balinska plays a young woman searching for her missing sister. She and three friends get sucked into a mysterious VR horror game where every level flips to a different subgenre — slasher one round, supernatural the next, then zombies, then psychological mind games. Classic twist: if you die in the game, you die in real life. The only way out is to fight through the levels and take down the game’s creator, who is described as sadistic and toxic. That creator is Dastmalchian.
So yes, it’s one of those 'die in the game, die for real' setups, but with a subgenre-by-subgenre remix that could be a blast if they really lean into the references and mechanics.
Who’s backing it
Tyler Condon of CinemaWays is producing alongside Matthew Shreder of Concourse Media. They’re clearly aiming this straight at horror fans who like their scares with a high-concept hook and a bit of blood-splattered wit.
'Kill Screen is built for a generation raised on horror and interactive storytelling. It’s terrifying, smart, and wildly entertaining – a movie that celebrates the genre while reinventing it. Greg’s potent vision and Gus’s script deliver a cinematic world that fans will want to explore again and again.'
Shreder is on the same wavelength, calling it a high-concept, market-ready play that nods to pretty much every horror subgenre while still doing its own thing.
Quick rundown
- Title: 'Kill Screen' (formerly 'The Horror Game')
- Director: Greg McLean ('Wolf Creek')
- Star: Ella Balinska ('Resident Evil' on Netflix)
- New cast: David Dastmalchian ('Late Night with the Devil,' 'Dexter: Resurrection') as the game’s creator
- Writer: Gus Krieger ('Would You Rather')
- Premise: Friends trapped in a VR horror game; each level is a different subgenre; die in the game, die in real life; beat the mastermind or else
- Producers: Tyler Condon (CinemaWays), Matthew Shreder (Concourse Media)
- Status: Pre-production
My take
The title change to 'Kill Screen' is a smart move — cleaner, punchier, and it tells you exactly what kind of sandbox this is. Dastmalchian feels like perfect casting for the puppet master role. If McLean brings the gnarly edge of 'Wolf Creek' and the movie actually commits to distinct, playable-feeling levels, this could hit that sweet spot for horror fans who grew up on controllers and midnight screenings.
Curious how you feel about Dastmalchian as the big bad here — perfect fit or someone else you had in mind?