If you’re among the 10 million people who have seen Dylan Clark’s viral horror short film ‘Portrait Of God’, then you will no doubt have been very excited to hear last December that a feature-length version of the film is in the works, with Jordan Peele and Sam Raimi teaming up through their respective Monkeypaw and Ghost House Pictures production companies to help bring the project to life. Well, prepare to get even more excited, as Lionsgate — who took the reins on this one from Universal earlier this year — have just revealed that Chase Infiniti, breakout star of last year’s One Battle After Another, has signed on to star in the religious chiller. Check out the announcement below;
For anyone previously unfamiliar with ‘Portrait Of God’, Clark’s original short centres around a religious young academic who, while preparing a presentation on an art piece dubbed — you guessed it! — ‘Portrait Of God’, finds herself coming face to face with the divine in truly unholy fashion. And while plot details on the theatrical take on Portrait, penned by Clark alongside co-writer Joe Russo (no, not that Joe Russo!), have yet to be confirmed, the reveal of Infiniti’s casting does lead with the same ominous biblical quote as the short: “No man shall see me and live.” Suffice it to say, we suspect Clark isn’t about to make an about turn and suddenly take a sunshine-and-rainbows approach to visualising and grappling with God here…
In a statement accompanying Chase Infiniti’s casting, Clark — who’s most recently been working on a Blumhouse Atomic Monster reboot of The Blair Witch Project — said: “With Blair Witch, I’m experiencing firsthand the trust Lionsgate places in its filmmakers, and I couldn’t be happier that Portrait of God has found a home there as well. I’m also thrilled to welcome Chase Infiniti to our team. She blew me away in One Battle After Another and is one of the most exciting young actors working today.”
Coming amid something of a moment for genre films made by directors who earned their spurs in the online expanses of YouTube (see also: Backrooms‘ Kane Parsons, Obsession‘s Curry Barker, Bring Her Back‘s Phillipou brothers, Iron Lung‘s Markiplier), Portrait Of God has the talent — and the timing — to potentially be another hit in the ongoing horrorenaissance (as approximately nobody’s calling it.) Now all we need is a release date… and potentially a priest. God help us all!
