Karyn Kusama hasn't directed a film since 2018's "Destroyer." She came very close in 2020, when she was tapped to direct a new version of "Dracula" for Blumhouse.
Regardless, Kusama is going back to horror. According to THR, Sony has acquired the feature film rights to "Mouthwashing," the acclaimed psychological horror game from Wrong Organ and Critical Reflex. The studio has hired Kusama to direct, and she will bring her most reliable writers, Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay, with her.
The game follows five crew members stranded on the space freighter Tulpar after it crash-lands on an asteroid, where dwindling supplies, isolation and paranoia tear the group apart. Played in first person, it uses surreal imagery and a nonlinear story to dig into responsibility, denial and the abuse of power.
Kusama, Manfredi and Hay previously teamed on "The Invitation" (2015) and "Destroyer" (2018), two underrated genre films. "The Invitation" in particular remains an impeccably realized exercise in slow-burn tension, a dinner-party movie that spends nearly its entire runtime making you feel like something is very wrong. "Destroyer" gave Nicole Kidman one of the grimmest, most physically transformed performances of her career. The trio's history goes back even further, as Manfredi and Hay wrote Kusama's "Aeon Flux" (which I'm sure they would all like to forget).
Kusama has a history of strong, female-led films, having directed "Jennifer's Body," "Girlfight," "The Invitation" and "Destroyer." Maybe she'll continue that trend with a female lead in "Mouthwashing."
There's no production start date for now, but this one resides at Sony's Screen Gems, which just had a major video game hit this fall with Zach Cregger's "Resident Evil." The studio will probably want to keep the momentum going and fast-track this one.
While she hasn't directed a feature film in eight years, Kusama has remained busy with television. She serves as an executive producer on "Yellowjackets" and directed the first two episodes of AMC's anthology series "The Terror." There's no word yet on whether "Mouthwashing" is actually next for her, since that "Jennifer's Body" sequel has been gaining steam and might go into production very soon.
Sony has acquired the feature film rights to "Mouthwashing," the acclaimed psychological horror game. The studio has hired Kusama to direct, and she will bring her most reliable writers, Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay, with her.