After curiously shelving “Golden,” his Pharrell Williams project, which had been already shot and ready for release, Michel Gondry is preparing to return behind the camera with something altogether different, and far darker.
Titled “Les Petites Peurs” (“The Little Fears”), the French filmmaker’s next film will be a psychological horror story centered around two young girls who discover a human skull buried in their garden. From there, the film spirals into a mystery investigation led by Gilles Lellouche, who will play a police officer unraveling the macabre truth behind the discovery.
Also on board is Bastien Bouillon—who drew attention at this year’s Cannes for his role in the festival’s opening night film “Leave One Day”—as the father of the two girls at the center of the story.
Production on “Les Petites Peurs” is set to run from January to March 2026 in France.
Gondry’s longtime producer Georges Berman described the tone they’re aiming for as reminiscent of the eerie surrealism in Gondry’s iconic Björk video “Human Behaviour,” mixed with the visual expressionism and moral dread of Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter.” That suggests a stylized, dreamlike atmosphere layered with menace. Just a hunch.
This marks a significant departure from Gondry’s more whimsical fare. Though known for his innovative visual style and tender, often melancholic storytelling (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “The Science of Sleep”), Gondry has never directed a horror film. With “Les Petites Peurs,” he now seems to be pivoting. A genre film seen through the lens of his singular style sounds interesting.
Gondry’s previous release, “The Book of Solutions,” premiered to muted response, and as mentioned, ”Golden” will likely never see the light of day.
Gondry will always be best remembered for directing 2004’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” I’m also a big fan of his playfully inventive 2005 documentary “Dave Chappelle’s Block Party.” Otherwise, his other films, which include “Human Nature,” “The Science of Sleep,” “Be Kind Rewind,” “Mood Indigo,” and “The Green Hornet,” have failed to reach those heights.