You can't Torquemada anything ... especially not a fantastic horror flick!

Mel Brooks is a legend when it comes to comedy. But he has also dipped into the horror genre from time to time, and has declared himself quite a fan. His first venture was his 1974 collaboration with Gene Wilder, Young Frankenstein. He went on to executive produce 1986’s The Fly – a remake of the 1958 Vincent Price film – starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis and directed by David Cronenberg, and then filmed 1995’s Dracula: Dead and Loving It. His son Max Brooks has even made a name for himself in the genre by penning several books including the bestselling Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z (soon to be a major motion picture).

And it looks like the funny man is heading back to those familiar dark waters with Pizzaman, written by his longtime collaborators Steve Haberman and Rudy De Luca (both of whom worked on Dracula), and Haberman directing. Brooks told Fangoria: “Steve Haberman is a very good screenwriter and just a natural director who knows everything there is to know about directing a horror movie. Born to do it. Born to be a horror film director. Steve is now in Illinois, scouting locations.”

The story will follow a young man who is locked up in an asylum for a crime he didn’t commit. Unfortunately, the time spent there drives him insane, and on his release he decides to become a pizza delivery man to get even with the society that put him in there, and he begins killing. Brooks adds: “When they told me the plot of Pizzaman, I said, ‘Are you kidding?’ And they said, ‘No, it’s a real great idea for a horror story.’ And they wrote a rather exciting, interesting script, and I worked with them a little bit on it. It’s purely original, based on Rudy and Steve’s insane imagination.

“And sometimes there are problems, but sometimes there are unexpected victories, where a bad guy that we hate gets in his way. Just like in The Fly, when that tough bastard at the bar tries to break [Seth Brundle’s] arm and he easily shatters the other man’s arm. We get kind of a victory.”

The only casting information so far is that Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men in Tights star Cary Elwes will be playing a detective looking into the murders, and Stacy Keach (American History X, Escape from LA) will play the main villain. As Brooks himself has pointed out, comedy and horror are very similar. They both rely on timing. I for one will be eagerly awaiting this film.

See also:

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The Thing: First clip here

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Why no 'Night Gallery' remake?

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