Vertigo Films is cooking up a new horror TV show with Rob Savage (Host, Dashcam) at the helm - one that promises occult terror and black comedy in equal measure. The Last Days of Jack Sparks is based on Jason Arnopp’s 'chilling and unpredictable' novel of the same name, adapted for screen by Gaby Hull (Two Weeks to Live, We Hunt Together).
Savage's screenlife séance Host was one of the first horror films to emerge from the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic, praised for its innovative use of Zoom and regularly named as one of the most terrifying films of the last few years. His follow-up feature, Dashcam, followed a highly controversial Internet personality thrown into a raucous night of found-footage terror. Savage is currently in post on Stephen King's The Boogeyman (which is one of our most anticipated films of the year). Here's the synopsis for the upcoming show:
The Last Days of Jack Sparks follows a pop culture journalist and supernatural sceptic who is making a documentary about the occult. No stranger to controversy, Sparks laughs in the face of the devil by mocking an exorcism he witnesses, putting in motion a series of terrifying, tragic and mysterious events.
The Last Days of Jack Sparks will see Savage reunite with Vertigo Films, who discovered the director at just 17 years old and distributed his first movie Strings. Savage would then go on to direct three episodes of Vertigo's historical fantasy Britannia. Savage had this to say of the upcoming reunion:
“Bringing diabolically wonderful books like Jason’s to the screen is a rare treat. The disturbing, hilarious and terrifying story of Jack Sparks is such a unique take on the genre, one that will give audiences a new reason to fear the dark [...] Gaby’s uniquely brilliant writing and razor wit make him the perfect collaborator to bring this new nightmare to life and I’m delighted to be working with the batshit Vertigo Films again on this batshit horror odyssey.”
Author Arnopp is a big name in British horror fiction, and has in fact hit the screen before, appearing as himself in Jonas Åkerlund's Lords of Chaos. His statement on the upcoming adaptation paints an exciting picture for the project:
“Deep down in the devil’s workshop, the Dream Team bell is tolling loud and clear [...] I know that Jack Sparks himself would raise several glasses to these creative hellions and loudly declare that they will do his gruesome and tragic story proud.”
Vertigo Films’ co-founder James Richardson is exec producing and is excited for British horror to 'step into the TV spotlight once again.'
Cast details, release dates and all the other juicy stuff is for now still under wraps, but you better believe we'll be following this one with great interest. Look out for updates as we get them.
