Dave Franco Wants to Make a “Gross” and “Old School” Horror Movie Like David Cronenberg (Exclusive)

Based on having starred in comedic projects like 21 Jump Street, Neighbors, and The Disaster Artist, fans were taken by surprise when actor Dave Franco made his directorial debut with the unsettling horror film The Rental, but that project might not have merely been an experiment with the genre, as he recently revealed that he’d like to return to horror for an upcoming project. While The Rental explored themes of friends being stalked by an unidentified figure, his affinity for David Cronenberg has made him want to similarly replicate that style by delivering a project featuring practical effects. Franco’s latest film, the romantic comedy Somebody I Used to Know, hits Prime Video on February 10th.

When asked by ComicBook.com what filmmaking genre he might dive into next, Franco detailed, “I’m not going to take anything off the table, but I am having a little bit of an itch to get back to horror. I just am such a fan of the genre, and [wife] Alison [Brie] and I, we went through a phase recently where we rewatched a ton of Cronenberg films, and it just made me really want to do something with practical effects and really set aside the time to get that right and do it where it feels really old school and palpable and gross and all that stuff.”

While Cronenberg films might never be major financial successes, his legacy from films like The Brood, Scanners, and Videodrome means that filmmakers have rarely attempted to reinvent his films from new perspectives. Given his affinity for Cronenberg, Franco shared the film of his he could potentially see himself reviving, with him selecting a Cronenberg film which itself was a remake of a Vincent Price-starring movie.

“It’s hard for me to say,” the filmmaker confirmed when asked if he’d like to reimagine one of Cronenberg’s films. “I don’t think so. It’s hard. I don’t think … It’s just so hard to touch some of these classics. But the one that comes to mind first for me in terms of like, ‘Oh, man, I want to do something like that,’ is The Fly. I just love how gross it gets. It’s so gross.”

In Somebody I Used to Know, workaholic TV producer Ally (Alison Brie) faces a major professional setback which sends her running to the comforts of her hometown. She spends a whirlwind evening reminiscing with her first love Sean (Jay Ellis) and starts to question everything about the person she’s become. Things only get more confusing when she discovers Sean is getting married to Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons) whose confidence and creative convictions remind Ally of who she used to be. Directed by Dave Franco and written by Franco & Alison Brie, Somebody I Used to Know is an unconventional love story about three people who unexpectedly help each other rediscover who they really are, where they came from, and where they’re going.

Somebody I Used to Know hits Prime Video on February 10th.

Would you like to see Franco return to the world of horror? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars.