‘River’ Director Joshua Giuliano Sets Next Horror Film ‘Occupant’ at Blumhouse and Focus Features

Joshua Giuliano, whose feature debut River just celebrated its World Premiere at TIFF’s Midnight Madness, has already set his next horror film.

Giuliano will write and direct Occupant for Blumhouse Atomic Monster, Focus Features, Divide/Conquer, and Spooky Pictures. Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights, with Universal Pictures International handling distribution outside the United States.

Plot details are currently being kept under wraps.

The announcement comes as River introduces Giuliano to a much larger audience. The filmmaker’s vicious survival slasher stars Jane Levy (Evil Dead), Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day), and Max Mattern (Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy) as three estranged siblings stalked by a faceless killer after becoming stranded during a trip to scatter their father’s ashes.

In his review for Dread Central, Matt Konopka called the film a “visceral and satisfying drift into the jaws of horror,” praising Giuliano as a fascinating new voice in the genre.

A graduate of the American Film Institute’s directing program, Giuliano built his reputation through an award-winning collection of shorts recognized by Fantasia, Fantastic Fest, FrightFest, and other genre festivals.

Occupant also shows Blumhouse Atomic Monster’s independent slate doing exactly what it was designed to do: identify emerging genre filmmakers and help usher them into their next projects.

Curry Barker similarly came to the company through Divide/Conquer’s Greg Gilreath and Adam Hendricks following the TIFF premiere of Obsession last year. Giuliano’s relationship began with Sam Zimmerman, who oversees the slate and was already familiar with his work before connecting him with Gilreath and Hendricks.

Following the global success of , marks the latest collaboration between Focus Features and Blumhouse Atomic Monster, reuniting the companies with Divide/Conquer and Spooky Pictures ahead of Barker’s next feature, .