Ryan Kwanten to Face Tasmanian Devil Contagion in Aussie Horror-Thriller ‘Devil Inside’

Devil Inside, an Australian horror-thriller project with Ryan Kwanten (True Blood, Them, 2067) set to star, has been acquired by production, distribution and international sales agency Odin’s Eye Entertainment. The agency will be taking Devil Inside to this month’s Cannes Market. 

The film is to be directed by Jonathan auf der Heide, making his second feature following his 2009 debut, the Australian convict-survival picture Van Diemen’s Land. Auf der Heide also penned the screenplay with Tom Holloway.

As reported by Deadline, Devil Inside is being pitched as “an elevated horror-thriller in the vein of 28 Days Later and It Comes at Night.”

It follows Eva, a young virologist, who helps the local park ranger research the Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour Disease “” a contagious cancer that has wiped out nearly 90% of the population. But when her husband is bitten by a stray dog, she suspects the virus has mutated to cross species and is causing violent outbursts in the hosts. Infection soon spreads through the locals and Eva must choose between saving the man she loves or the rest of humanity.

Still no word on who will be playing Eva. Rachael Taylor had been attached to star with Kwanten when the project was with Montreal-based sales company WaZabi Films (the company announced they had the project back in 2019), but it appears that is no longer the case.

“As the story is inspired by a real-life disease, I want to keep the film firmly grounded in reality,” Auf Der Heide said in a statement. “What makes it so scary is that this will feel like the world’s first actual rage virus outbreak.”

Said producer David Ngo, producing alongside Erin Williams-Weir via their Projector Films (One Eyed Girl; Rabbit) banner: “We are thrilled to partner with Odin’s Eye on this film. Jonathan auf der Heide and Tom Holloway have written an incredibly tense and exciting script that taps into our fears for humanity in an increasingly fragile world, struggling to balance the reality of our current global challenges and hope for the future.”

Pre-production is currently underway on Devil Inside, with a plan to deliver the final picture sometime in 2023’s third quarter.