V/H/S/BEYOND director Virat Pal is stepping up to the big leagues. Deadline reports that Pal’s short film The Bells, which went viral on YouTube, has been acquired for a full-length feature film adaptation, to be produced by Mike Macari, the executive producer behind The Ring franchise, as well as numerous other horror titles.
Pal, who directed the Beyond segment “Dream Girl,” made The Bells in 2018, following a deadly phenomenon similar to that in Smile, where victims hear the tolling over mysterious bells before meeting their doom. The viral short film, which stars Danny Barclay and Nell Rutledge-Leverenz, went on to amass over nine million views on YouTube. Pal will also direct the full-length version of the film in his feature directorial debut, co-writing the film with Barclay, with Macari and Alex Elliott producing.
“I’ve been a huge fan of Virat’s work since I first saw his V/H/S segment,” Macari told Deadline. “So when I read his feature script for The Bells, I was immediately hooked. The concept of the bells tolling is deeply unnerving and eerie in a way that stays with you long after the credits roll. What Virat and Danny have crafted is something truly special. It has that rare quality of being both terrifying and emotionally resonant. I’m thrilled to be working with him.”
Pal also directed several other short films before his work on V/H/S/BEYOND, including Interference, Doxpara, Recapture, Facelift, and Night of the Bride, the latter of which won numerous awards on the festival circuit, including at Overlook Film Festival and Fantasia Film Festival.
No release date has been set for the feature adaptation of The Bells. Stay tuned to FANGORIA for more updates as they arrive.
