Mary Lambert has signed onto direct the vampire-western High Midnight for Beverly Hills-based production company TreasureEntertainment.

Denis Faye's screenplaycentres on a down-at-heel sheriff who is forced to team up with a vampirehunter to stop an undead force from consuming a frontier town in 1892 NewMexico.

Treasure co-chairman andchief operating officer Mark Heidelberger, who has been developing the projectfor several years, will produce.

Heidelberger is working withNew Mexico Film Office chief Lisa Strout to begin filming in the state in April2006, using the state investment council's recently implemented loan programme.

If the loan is approved,Heidelberger claims this will be the first time an independent company hassecured a loan for 100% of a production budget from a state funded agency.

Erik A Baron is serving asexecutive producer and THINKFilm will handle all North American rights.

Lambert recently completed UrbanLegends: Bloody Mary for ScreenGems, and her credits include the Stephen King adaptation Pet Sematary that was a hit for Paramount in 1989.

Lambert is represented byDebbie Deuble and Sheryl Petersen at Don Buchwald and Associates.