The psychological horror film Session 9 debuted at a difficult time in the world of genre cinema, as it only earned a limited theatrical debut and failed to make a major impact in the home video world, though the embrace of the internet in the early 2000s allowed the film to earn positive word-of-mouth praise among horror fans. Director Brad Anderson and co-writer Steve Gevedon recently detailed to Fangoria that they have a concept they’d like to explore which serves as a prequel to the 2001 film, though they admit that the actual rights to the title are currently tied up with Focus Features so they would have to get support from that studio if they wanted to bring that prequel to life.
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“I haven’t given up total hope. I feel like there might be a way to [make it],” Anderson confirmed to the outlet. “‘Cause all you need is one executive at that company who’s got the power or the voice to say, ‘Yeah, go ahead and make it.’ You know? ‘We’re not gonna finance it, we’re not gonna put any money into it, but you can use the name ‘Session 1.’ You can use the characters in the original movie.’ And these characters aren’t even actors in [Session 9], they’re voices in the movie, which is even weirder, y’know what I mean? It wasn’t like we’re gonna bring back Peter Mullan’s character or Mike’s character. It’s just inspired by the original.”
He added, “So, anyhow, big disappointment for Steve and I, because we put a lot of work into it. We should have probably talked to those guys before we put all that work into it. But I don’t know. I still feel there might be a way to thread the needle, because it would be cool to do it, um, and I think that would bring more people to see Session 9, as well; it would be a total hook-in. And the other idea we had was that we’d do that one as the prequel, and then ultimately we’d do a sequel to Session 9 which is set in the here and now, a trilogy if you will. And that would be something that’s in the current day, and maybe even at the old Danvers Hospital, which is now condominiums, and you’d do something about a haunted condominium or something.”
The original film focuses on an asbestos removal company that is hired to renovate an abandoned mental institution under the condition that they complete the job in just two weeks. The more time this crew spends in the facility, the more their mental state crumbles, with one worker becoming obsessed with listening to tapes of intensive therapy sessions, culminating with some horrifying reveals when he listens to “Session 9.”
Despite the initial setbacks of the film, it has earned a passionate following over the years as it’s become available on various streaming services, with that excitement hopefully proving that there’s a fan base interested in seeing the concept continued.
Stay tuned for details on the possible future for the Session 9 series and head to Fangoria to read about Anderson and Gevedon’s idea for the narrative.
Would you like to see the film get a continuation? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!
