Horror Titans Blumhouse and Atomic Monster Team With Divide/Conquer on Doomtown From the Writer of Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Blumhouse and Atomic Monster just made their long-running friendship with Divide/Conquer official. The genre outfit run by Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath has signed a first-look deal with the newly merged Blumhouse–Atomic Monster, and the first movie out of it is a survival horror called 'Doomtown'.

Why this matters

Divide/Conquer has been quietly (and not so quietly) powering a lot of recent genre stuff: The Wind, Black Christmas (2019), Cam, The Voyeurs, Vengeance, Freaky, M3GAN, M3GAN 2.0, Totally Killer, Heart Eyes, and Black Phone 2, among others. A bunch of those had Blumhouse fingerprints on them already, and this deal basically locks in that pipeline.

There is history here. Jason Blum mentored Hendricks and Gilreath at the Sundance Creative Producing Lab back in 2014. Now, a decade later, the companies are formalizing it with a pact that covers two lanes: Divide/Conquer will keep generating high-concept, cost-conscious features, and they will also jump in on selected Blumhouse–Atomic Monster projects as producers. Shared goal: grow the next wave of horror and thriller voices while cranking out movies that actually get made.

First out of the gate: 'Doomtown'

Plot details are locked up for now, but here is what is known and what is being whispered:

• Writer: Chris Thomas Devlin, who wrote Cobweb for Lionsgate and the 2022 Texas Chainsaw Massacre for Legendary.
• James Wan reportedly loved the script; buzz was he might even consider directing. People close to Wan say that is not the plan right now.
• Producers: Wan, alongside Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath.
• Executive producers: Michael Clear, Ingrid Bisu, and Judson Scott.
• Atomic Monster point person: Alayna Glasthal is overseeing production.

If you are wondering whether this is the kind of thing that could become a fast-tracked production, the tea leaves say yes. Atomic Monster President Michael Clear called Devlin's pages sharp and creepy, and he framed 'Doomtown' as a solid opener for the new partnership.

The companies on the record

Blum is sticking to the mission statement, and it fits what this deal is built to do:

'This deal strengthens our ability to develop fresh voices and build long-term relationships with filmmakers earlier in their careers.'

Hendricks and Gilreath, for their part, point back to Sundance as the starting line and say this next chapter is the natural evolution of that relationship. Translation: closer collaboration with the Atomic Monster team, a bigger shared slate, and room to swing at bolder ideas while they keep building Divide/Conquer as a home for new storytellers.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the slate

Divide/Conquer and Blumhouse are also at work together on Curry Barker's 'Anything But Ghosts'. No extra details there yet, but it is another sign this partnership is not just a one-movie fling.

Bottom line: 'Doomtown' is the kickoff, the vibe is survival horror, and the team behind it has a track record of making crowd-pleasing nightmares on smart budgets. I will take that bet.