Horror legend Shelley Duvall, who played the beleaguered Wendy Torrance in The Shining, is set to star in a new werewolf film titled The Forest Hills, whose cast includes Edward Furlong (Terminator 2) and Dee Wallace (The Howling). The film is directed by Scott Goldberg.
Duvall established herself in the horror genre in the iconic role opposite Jack Nicholson's Jack Torrance in the 1980 horror classic The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the novel by Stephen King. Duvall, who retired from acting after Manna from Heaven was released in 2002, followed up her performance in The Shining in the next two decades in films like Popeye, Time Bandits, and Tim Burton's Frankenweenie.
Per Deadline, The Forest Hills follows Rico (Chiko Mendez), a man who is tormented by nightmarish visions after enduring head trauma while hiking in the Catskills. Duvall will play Rico's mother, serving as his inner voice. "We are huge fans of The Shining and it’s honestly one of my favorite horror movies of all time, up there with John Carpenter's Halloween and George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead with the dark tones they delivered in their movies, along with perfect scores and elements that make them my personal favorites," said Goldberg in a statement. "Shelley contributed to The Shining being an absolute masterpiece by giving her all, and performing in a way that really showcased the fear and horror of a mother in isolation.”
Duvall, who has openly discussed her own battles with mental illness, is often praised for her performance in The Shining for its emotional resonance and conveying the pure terror of an abused wife under threat from dangers both supernatural and domestic. Her direction under Kubrick in The Shining has often been subjected to discussions of abusive treatment and a toxic environment for the actress during filming. Her role as Wendy, however, quickly placed her on the map as a classic horror actress, a role that has been reprised by Rebecca De Mornay in the 1997 mini-series adaptation of The Shining and the more recent sequel Doctor Sleep (2019), where Wendy is played by Alex Essoe.
Duvall is not the only horror legend joining the cast of The Forest Hills, as Wallace is known for her roles in 1981's The Howling. Furlong, who plays Billy, who influences Rico into believing his werewolf powers, is also no stranger to the genre, starring in films like Cruel World (2005 ), Brainscan (1994), and James Cameron's Terminator 2 (1991).
The Forest Hills does not have a release date yet.
Source: Deadline