New folk horror series set in 1980s Ireland in the works

The show is co-created by the director of the currently in cinemas The Mummy.

This month saw the release of The Mummy, which was a hit at the box office and was beloved by us here at JOE.

The blockbuster was helmed by Irish director Lee Cronin (Evil Dead Rise, The Hole in the Ground), stars Irish actor Jack Reynor (What Richard Did) in the lead role, and was filmed mostly in Ireland.

Also, on 1 May, the excellent Emerald Isle-set Hokum starring Adam Scott, lands in cinemas. JOE will write more about that movie closer to its release, but we can say now that it is an absolute must-watch for fans of ghost stories and spooky horror thrillers.

Irish folk horror series Spiral

And this month, in a Variety interview to promote The Mummy, Lee Cronin has revealed that he is working on a new Ireland-set folk horror TV series titled Spiral.

Speaking to the outlet about the upcoming projects of his new production company Wicked/Good, the filmmaker said the TV show will be set in the 1980s and will be "dripping in folklore, repression and the strangeness of the Irish countryside".

Cronin said he created the show with Glenn Montgomery (Mammal). He also noted that it is being made in "full partnership" with Atomic Monster and Blumhouse, two well-known US production companies renowned for their horror output.

As for Cronin's next movie after The Mummy, he told Variety that he does not believe it will be "franchise adjacent".

"I have a project called Box of Bones, which I was developing after I made The Hole in the Ground, and I was developing it again after Evil Dead Rise, and before I made The Mummy," he said.

"It’s really, really appealing to me — it’s kind of burning in my mind. So I’m sitting at my new desk in my new house, and I’m like: 'Is this the thing that’s going to start polluting the desk?'"

The filmmaker also told Variety that he would love to someday work in the A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Lord of the Rings franchises.

On LOTR, he said: "The fact that that’s over at New Line [who helped make The Mummy] — I’d always be whispering a little bit of elvish in the corner.

"That’s a world that I absolutely adore. I’d drop everything for an opportunity to play around in Middle-earth."

Main image via The Hole in the Ground/IMDB