Wayfare Entertainment has acquired the film rights to the horror thriller short ‘The Gate’ and has plans to produce and finance the project into a full length feature film.

Although the title is the same, this has no relation to the Alex Winter remake of the 1987 film that has been in development for what seems like forever. Instead, this film that Wayfare Entertainment is getting involved with is based on a short film directed by Matt Westrup and produced by Spencer Friend. The 11 minute short centers on a new virulent strain of rabies that was thought to be responsible for a number of horrible deaths in London. Soon it becomes apparent that the cause of the deaths has a much more sinister origin. The film was named one of Viewfinder’s 10 best short films of 2011.

Westrup will stay on as director for the feature version with Friend also retaining producer status, but it will be shared with Waryfare’s Ben Browning and Sarah Shepard. Currently they are looking for a screenwriter to expand the short to full length.

“Our plan for ‘The Gate’ was to always expand and build upon the world that I conceived for the 11 minute short,” Westrup said. Co-producer Browning added, “(Wayfare Entertainment is) always looking for intelligent genre films filled with spectacle. ‘The Gate’ is a daring and original work that is a perfect addition to our slate.”

This isn’t the first time a short has been expanded to a full length feature. ‘The Gate’ has been compared to ‘Alive in Joburg,’ the short film that was expanded and became ‘District 9.’

Now if your curiosity has been peaked about how good this short film could be to warrant a conversion to a full length movie, we actually have the film for you to watch below! Hopefully the project won’t stay long in development as from what I can tell, this is a project that is worth keeping an eye on.

‘The Gate:’

Source: Deadline