Something Is Killing the Children Finally Finds Its Director as Craig Zobel Takes on the Horror Hit
After years of attempts to bring one of modern horror comics’ biggest success stories to the screen, Something Is Killing the Children has taken a significant step towards finally getting there. Craig Zobel, director of The Hunt and Compliance, has officially signed on to direct a live-action feature adaptation for Blumhouse, with the announcement made during the studio’s BlumFest presentation at New York Comic Con.
Created by writer James Tynion IV and artist Werther Dell’Edera, Something Is Killing the Children debuted through BOOM! Studios in 2019 and quickly grew far beyond its original conception as a limited series. The wider franchise has now sold millions of copies, been published internationally and expanded into what has become known as the Slaughterverse, establishing itself as one of the most successful original horror comic properties of recent years.
At its centre is Erica Slaughter, a formidable monster hunter who arrives in communities where children are disappearing or being brutally killed. The surviving youngsters tell stories about terrifying creatures, but there’s a particularly nasty complication for the adults attempting to understand what’s happening: the monsters are generally invisible to grown-ups. Erica knows they’re real, and she’s part of the secretive Order of St. George, an organisation whose members hunt the creatures while ensuring the wider world remains unaware of their existence.
It is an idea almost tailor-made for horror cinema, combining gruesome monsters and endangered children with conspiracy, mythology and a central character who has become instantly recognisable to comic readers. Erica’s striking design, including her blonde hair, black face covering and enormous stuffed octopus companion, has helped make her one of contemporary horror comics’ standout characters.
Craig Zobel Enters the Slaughterverse
Zobel is an interesting choice to bring that world to live action. His 2012 thriller Compliance turned an almost unbelievably disturbing true story into an exercise in escalating psychological tension, while 2015’s Z for Zachariah placed Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Chris Pine inside an intimate post-apocalyptic drama. Horror audiences will probably know him best for The Hunt, Blumhouse’s violent 2020 satire in which Betty Gilpin finds herself being hunted as part of a particularly nasty game.
His television work is equally impressive. Zobel has directed episodes of The Leftovers, Westworld and American Gods, while his work on HBO’s Mare of Easttown earned considerable acclaim. More recently, he directed episodes of The Penguin. He therefore arrives with plenty of experience handling violence, complicated characters and bleak subject matter, all of which should come in handy when adapting a comic whose title isn’t being metaphorical.
The project also reunites Zobel with Blumhouse following The Hunt. Most importantly for existing fans, Tynion has indicated that he is considerably more directly involved with this incarnation of the adaptation than he has been with previous attempts.
“What I can say about Blumhouse … is they are not afraid of stories that put children in peril,” Tynion said while discussing the project. “This time around, I am much more directly involved in the development as it makes the jump into other media, in ways that I can’t fully say yet.”
He also described Jason Blum as a major advocate for the property and singled out Erica as a character capable of reaching an audience far beyond comics. Considering how central she has become to the identity of the series, getting Erica right will surely be one of the biggest challenges facing the film.
It’s Been a Long Road to the Screen
This isn’t the first attempt to adapt Something Is Killing the Children. Netflix previously developed a television version, with Doctor Sleep and The Haunting of Hill House filmmaker Mike Flanagan attached at one stage. That incarnation didn’t proceed, and Dark creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese were subsequently announced for another Netflix adaptation. The property has therefore spent years circling live action without Erica actually making it onto our screens.
Blumhouse is now taking a different route by developing a live-action feature film, but that’s not the only screen version of Something Is Killing the Children currently being planned. An adult animated adaptation is also in development alongside the movie, potentially allowing different parts of Tynion and Dell’Edera’s increasingly large universe to be explored across multiple formats.
There’s certainly enough material to work with. The original series has developed an extensive mythology surrounding Erica, the Order of St. George and the creatures its hunters pursue, while House of Slaughter expanded the universe beyond Erica’s immediate adventures and explored other characters connected to the Order.
The most obvious question now is who will play Erica Slaughter. No casting has been announced, and there is currently no confirmed production start or release date for either the live-action movie or animated project. Those are significant pieces still waiting to fall into place.
After several false starts, however, Something Is Killing the Children finally has a director again. With Craig Zobel behind the camera, Blumhouse backing the project and James Tynion IV more directly involved in bringing his creation to the screen, Erica Slaughter’s long journey from the comic page to live action has just taken its biggest step in years.
