Monster mash-ups have a bit of a mixed history at the box office. The animated “Monsters vs. Aliens” did well but “Cowboys & Aliens” underperformed and the mix of horror movie icons in “Van Helsing” did little to enthrall critics or audiences. Regardless the ideas look good on paper and as a result there are still more monster movie mash-ups on the way. The newest planned entry into this eclectic sub-genre will be coming courtesy of Sony and currently bares the title “The Kitchen Sink.” The project has been in the pipeline for a little while and Deadline.com has reported that director Robbie Pickering has signed on to direct the film.
“The Kitchen Sink” is from an original script by Oren Uziel. The story tells of how a high school aged vampire, zombie and human must band together in order to defend their town from invading aliens. It’s the kind of high concept that sounds good but doesn’t pan out very well. However one thing the project has in its favor is that the script made the Black List in 2010. The Black List is a list of the best unproduced original movie scripts floating around Hollywood.
Pickering signed on to direct the film following the departure of Jonah Hill. Deadline.com had previously reported that the young writer/actor/producer was eyeing the film as his directorial debut. Ultimately that didn’t pan out and Pickering was brought in. The decision to go with a somewhat untested director may indicate that Sony is planning on a smaller film as opposed to the large scale tent poles most monster mash-ups have tried to be.
Hollywood continues to crank out these high concept films with sci-fi and horror film twists but the dividends haven’t been paying off as well as most had hoped. In addition to the previously mentioned “Cowboys & Aliens” the adaptation of “Price and Prejudice and Zombies” continues to languish in development after numerous directors have been attached and then dropped out. Whether or not “The Kitchen Sink” and films like it actually go in front of cameras may depend on the success or failure of the upcoming “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” Should that film fail to connect at the box office it would not be surprising to see the plug pulled on this new film.
However should the film actually be made and prove a success it could bring about the next twist in the zombie craze: zombie heroes. At this point most monsters have been made into heroes to some extent, with vampire Edward Cullen and werewolf Jacob Black in “Twilight” being the most prominent examples. However for all of the zombie films that have been made there has yet to be a zombie hero. Part of the reason this hasn’t happened is that it’s going to require a sentient zombie rather than a mindless flesh eater. This would be a change from what audiences are used to which is a bit of a gamble. Zombie movies have come in many varieties but the creature itself has been largely unchanged. This could extend the zombie renaissance and keep it from petering out.