Gabrielle Union is set to take on a chilling new role as both star and executive producer in the upcoming horror film The Casket Girls. Directed by Justin Dyck, known for his critically acclaimed horror Anything for Jackson (2020), this latest project blends historical folklore with modern terror, promising an eerie and suspenseful experience for audiences. The film is backed by QC Entertainment, the production company behind hit horror films Get Out and Us.
READ: Niecy Nash-Betts Battles Unseen Forces in Horror-Drama ‘Grotesquerie’ Teaser Trailer
The Casket Girls takes inspiration from a real-life story in 18th century New Orleans of a group of young women sent from France to New Orleans to marry French colonists. These women carried small chests, or “caskets,” containing their personal belongings. Their arrival coincided with a sudden spike in the city’s murder rate, which fueled rumors that they were demonic entities or vampires. To quell public fear, local authorities imprisoned them in the attic of the Ursuline Convent, a building that still stands in New Orleans’ French Quarter.
This story provides the backdrop for Dyck’s upcoming film, which will bring the legend to life in a contemporary setting. Gabrielle Union will portray Detective Shay Williams, a character tasked with investigating the mystery. The plot follows Williams and her partner as they become trapped in the Ursuline Convent with a group of tourists after the fabled Casket Girls escape from their attic prison for the first time in over 300 years.
The screenplay for The Casket Girls was written by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, both known for Night at the Museum, with revisions by Keith Cooper, who collaborated with Dyck on Anything for Jackson. The film will be produced by Sean McKittrick and Raymond Mansfield of QC Entertainment, with Union joining as an executive producer alongside QC’s Edward H. Hamm Jr. Production is set to begin on October 15 in Victoria, British Columbia.
Casting is being handled by Atomic Honey for the U.S., and Kris and Kara Casting in Canada. The production is also partnering with British Columbia-based Lighthouse Pictures, where Jameson Parker will serve as executive producer.
Aside from Casket Girls, Union will star in the upcoming crime comedy Riff Raff, alongside Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Harris, and Bill Murray.