EXCLUSIVE: Rabid dog horror written by Johannes Roberts to hit Cannes marché.

UK sales outfit The Salt Company has boarded international rights to horror The Pool, to be directed by Paul Hyett (The Seasoning House, Howl).

Written by Johannes Roberts and Ernest Riera (with revisions by Hyett, Conal Palmer and Steven Lally), and set to be produced by Tim Dennison of Tall Man Films, The Pool follows a pool party at a luxury cliff top location that becomes a desperate fight for survival when the beloved family dog turns rabid.

FX specialist Hyett, who has worked on hits including The Descent and The Woman in Black, said: “What elevates a horror into a classic is making the audience terrified of the everyday – in this case, man’s best friend.” Hyett is handling FX for the project.

The film is due to start shoot in autumn 2014 in Puerto Rico.

Executive producers are Peter La Terriere of Platform 9 Pictures, Robert Bevan, Samantha Horley, Cyril Mégret and James Norrie of The Salt Company and Paul Blacknell.

Upcoming on Salt’s slate are Miss You Already starring Rachel Weisz and Toni Collette, to be directed by Catherine Hardwicke, and The Geography of Hope from writer-director Neil LaBute with Ethan Hawke and Ed Harris. In post-production is Viking epic Northmen – A Viking Saga, which will have a wide release in Germany through Paramount.