Bryan Bertino had a nice sized hit with The Strangers back in 2008. While the movie wasn't exactly beloved by critics, it's low $9 million budget allowed it to make a large profit at the box office, pulling in $52 million domestically and $82 million worldwide. Because studios love a filmmaker that can make a cheap yet attractive product - just look at the success of the Saw and Paranormal Activity movies - it's surprising that Bertino hasn't directed a film since, but now Universal is bringing him back into the game.
Shock Till You Drop reports that Universal has named Bertino as the director of their new project, Mockingbird, which is based on a spec script that Bertino wrote. The studio originally bought the script back in November, and it's described as being a found footage horror film (UPDATE: Shock says that the plot will follow a couple that is sent a video camera with a list of instructions they are told to follow. If they don't, someone will be killed). While the filmmaker hasn't directed a film since The Strangers, he has been active, writing the script for the Erica Dunton drama Plastic Jesus, which is currently in post-production. There has also been talk of a potential sequel to The Strangers, though that project hasn't solidified as of yet. Bertino will also serve as a producer on Mockingbird along with Jason Blum, Marc Platt, Adam Siegel, and Adrienne Biddle.
It looks like the trend of found-footage horror movies isn't going away anytime soon, and that's really a shame. While I do understand that it's a way for young filmmakers to cut their teeth, studios are now just using it as a means of making a ton of money with zero risk. Basically, it's reality television. Perhaps we can be optimistic, though, that Bertino has a few new ideas up his sleeve that will separate this project from the others.
