Per Deadline, Sentient Entertainment has secured the English-language remake rights to Thesis, Alejandro Amenábar‘s 1996 thriller.
The original film focuses on a student named Ángela who is writing a thesis about violence and stumbles upon a snuff video where a girl is tortured to death, soon discovering that the victim previously went to the same school.
Deadline described the acquisition as a competitive bidding war, which is slightly surprising considering that the film is 25 years old. It did secure 7 Goya Awards – Spain’s Oscars equivalent – upon release, and has an interesting angle.
Interestingly, the original film takes a lot of influence from American thrillers that were popular in the 90s, so a US remake of Thesis sort of brings it full circle. The premise about voyeurism and our relationship to violence remains relevant, although Amenábar’s original is much more interested in thrills and scares; perhaps this remake can examine those ideas more deeply.
Sentient’s Christopher Tuffin and Renee Tab will produce the remake, with the latter saying in a statement:
“Amenábar was ahead of his time in making Thesis. Our culture has become more fascinated and obsessed with sex and violence than ever. The desensitization of violence in the media has reached an all-time high and to devastating effect.
Through a university campus experience, we want to tell the next generation’s story as authentic as possible, touching on what students today are feeling and suffering in accordance with mental health and the pressures ahead of them. All of this is hidden in a great investigative thriller.”
Sentient Entertainment also previously secured the remake rights to Amenábar’s 2001 horror film The Others, which starred Nicole Kidman. That one is being developed by Universal.
We’ll see what the Thesis remake looks like. That sort of thriller is no longer the multiplex staple it once was, so it will be interesting to see what sort of actors the project attracts, and how studios view it from a money-making perspective.
#Peace.Love.Thesis
