Creepshow's Cartel and ex-Shudder chief Craig Engler launch horror genre studio

Production and finance company Cartel and ex-Shudder chief Craig Engler have launched a new horror genre production company, Shiver Studios, in Los Angeles. 

The Cartel, the company behind horror-fantasy series Creepshow and former Shudder head Craig Engler have teamed up with view to produce and finance up to 10 horror films annually. 

Based in LA, California, Shiver Studios will focus on a theatrical-first approach, following Shudder's success of recent indie horror hits such as Skinamarink, which grossed $2m in cinemas on a micro-budget of $15,000. 

The studio's plan is to follow its theatrical releases with a TVOD, SVOD, AVOD, linear and physical windowing strategy, working with partners that include both streamers and traditional distributors, Shiver Studios said in a statement.

The first projects announced in the pipeline include: 

• Incident at Joshua Tree which hails from NCIS: Hawai’i and Colony writer/producer Noah Evslin.  The chiller involves a trail of cryptic social media posts used as clues by a 30-year-old guidance counselor who travels to Joshua Tree to locate her fiancé who vanished while on an overnight camping trip with his three best friends. Dave Brown and Zadoc Angell of Echo Lake (The Great, Girl From Plainview) will also produce.
• Bloody Mary from writer/producer Cameron Larson (The Legend of La Llorona). This one sees six soon-to-be college students trapped in a creepy, plantation home in Louisiana during a hurricane. They decide to play the film’s titular scary game involving standing in front of a mirror in the dark holding a candle, and spinning three times saying Bloody Mary with each spin. Soon, one by one, the teens are mysteriously murdered. Larson will also serve as a producer. 

“When Craig Engler approached the Cartel about partnering on a new horror studio, we jumped at the opportunity,” said Stan Spry, co-CEO of Cartel Pictures, in a statement.

“Craig’s knowledge and relationships in the horror space and horror community are unparalleled. His expertise combined with Cartel’s production, financing and distribution infrastructure makes Shiver Studios a very exciting opportunity.” Other titles besides “Creepshow” produced by Cartel in the horror space comprise Syfy’s “Day of the Dead” and Tom DeLonge’s “Monsters of California.”

“The theatrical experience has always been key to the success of great horror franchises, and with theatres back in full swing we’re seeing a huge demand from people who want to see scary movies in person again,” said Engler (pictured). “At Shudder we focused on curating movies for the streaming audience, but Shiver Studios is going to curate films for a theatre-first approach, with an emphasis on smart concepts that can create future horror franchises,” he added.