Paul Giamatti – fast becoming Horror royalty

The Hostel franchise is officially checking back in! Eli Roth is teaming up with Peacock for a brand-new series that marks his first time at the helm of the franchise since 2007. Evil Dead‘s Scott Speigel took over for the direct to video sequel Hostel: Part III in 2011 and since that, better than average outing, all has been quiet.

In a massive casting win, the mighty Paul Giamatti has signed on to star. Fun fact: Giamatti has been itching to join this universe for years, once mentioning that he and Roth discussed him “killing somebody” in the original films. After a 13-year hiatus since the last sequel, it looks like he’s finally getting his wish.

However, it seems Paul Giamatti has officially decided that after a vacation in Eastern Europe for the upcoming Hostel series his new project will continue a horror streak as he is set to star in Boutique, the directorial debut of Lodge 49 creator Jim Gavin.

The film promises a blend of folk horror and dark comedy, following an American tourist (Giamatti) who visits an English seaside town, hoping to walk the grounds that inspired his favourite author, only to find himself caught in the web of a murderous secret society.

Giamatti described the project as “Scary, funny, bizarre, strangely moving, it’s one of the best scripts I’ve ever read.” Coming from the man who read The Holdovers and the first three seasions of Billions, that’s immense praise. With both Hostel and Boutique on the horizon, if great to see Giamatti is leaning heavily into quality genre work for those horror hounds out there.