Sleepy-eyed Jeffrey Dean Morgan has signed on to open the “Dibbuk Box.” The horror film, slated for a Halloween 2011 release, will showcase Morgan as “a recently divorced father whose youngest daughter becomes strangely connected to an antique wooden box she purchased at a yard sale. As his daughter’s behavior becomes more erratic, the father senses a dark presence building until he discovers that the box was built to contain a dibbuk — a dislocated spirit that inhabits and ultimately devours its human host.” Based on a true story, the real life dibbuk box is said to contain a vengeful Jewish spirit and has reportedly haunted all of the box’s owners. We’re guessing the movie takes great liberty with this legend, as the box has reportedly only been responsible for minor spooky happenings. It just wouldn’t be all that compelling if someone’s hair were to fall out, as it happened in real life.
“Dibbuk Box” is under the aegis of director Ole Bornedal, with Sam Raimi‘s formidable Ghost House production banner behind it. Juliet Snowden and Stiles White, the duo responsible for Roger Ebert’s favorite Nicolas Cage movie “Knowing,” penned the screenplay so if the movie turns out to be even more totally ridiculous than the premise suggests, you know why.
We wonder exactly what kind of project this will be — there are high hopes given that the film is being rushed into production with a plum October 28th release date. A dibbuk was also the inspiration behind “The Unborn,” which tallied $76 million worldwide in 2009, so the association can’t hurt, but we’re a little weary of Ghost House given their uneven productions and the fact that Jeffrey Dean Morgan hasn’t made the best decisions as of late. But hey, maybe that’s just the dibbuk in our apartment talking.
