Vera Farmiga to Lead Supernatural Horror 'Inferno' for ZQ Entertainment

Vera Farmiga will star in and executive produce "Inferno," a supernatural horror film written and directed by Bryan Hill, fresh off her five-film run leading "The Conjuring" franchise.

The Oscar nominee concluded her stint as paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren with 2025's "The Conjuring: Last Rites" and now returns to supernatural territory. Ara Keshishian ("Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile," "Kidnap") produces alongside Petr Jákl's ZQ Entertainment — the company behind "Feed" with Rosamund Pike and Armando Iannucci's newly announced untitled feature — and Adrian Askarieh's Prime Universe Films, the producer of the "Hitman" franchise.

Manifest Pictures will handle international sales and introduce the film to buyers at the upcoming American Film Market. CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group will co-represent domestic rights.

What is 'Inferno' about?

According to the synopsis, "Inferno" is based on the "long-rumored" special division of Britain's Scotland Yard that investigates the occult. Farmiga will portray a former detective whose pursuit of a killer forces her back into the "Black Branch" — and onto the trail of the paranormal terror she thought she had escaped.

Production is scheduled to begin in late spring.

Who is Bryan Hill?

Hill's credits span film, television, graphic novels and games. He worked on HBO Max's "Titans," and his screenwriting credits include "Bitter Root," "The Purgatory Game" and Universal's upcoming Prince biopic, to be produced by Ryan Coogler. His comics work includes "American Carnage," "Chariot," "Blade: Evil Against Evil" and "Batman and the Outsiders." His first feature, "Archangel," is currently in post-production.

"Great horror films challenge what we believe about the world," Hill said. "With 'Inferno,' I want to create a terrifying mystery that stays with audiences long after the credits roll. Vera Farmiga is an extraordinary actor whose intelligence, emotional depth, and commanding presence make her the perfect person to lead us into and through that darkness."

How are the sellers positioning it?

"'Inferno' is a sophisticated supernatural thriller that marries the investigative propulsion of a serial-killer procedural with the visceral terror of possession horror," said Yvette Zhuang, co-CEO of Manifest Pictures.

Zach Glueck, co-CEO of Manifest Pictures, said the company responded directly to the script. "We were immediately sucked into Hill's script, which has unnerving procedural tension of 'Manhunter' and the emotional, performance-driven horror of 'The Exorcist' or 'Longlegs,'" he said. "Hill's work collaborating with incredible directors from Ryan Coogler to Sam Raimi, and his experience on shows like HBO's 'Titans,' has prepared him for his role as a multi-hyphenate creator."

Farmiga is repped by CAA, Authentic Talent and Literary Management and Peikoff Mahan Law Office. Hill is repped by UTA, Heroes and Villains Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein.

With a bankable horror lead, an AFM launch and a late-spring start date, "Inferno" enters the market as one of the genre packages buyers will watch closely this season.