Hayden Panettiere, Nikki Reed and Rebecca De Mornay have joined the cast of thriller Downers Grove that Myriad Pictures is introducing to buyers at AFM.

Bret Easton Ellis adapted Michael Hornberg’s novel about a Chicago high school girl who is convinced she will fall prey to a curse that claims the life of a student each year. Jackson Rathbone and Kenny Wormald round out the key cast.

Nelson McCormick (Prom Night, The Stepfather) will direct and Oren Segal of Media Talent Group is producing alongside Bystander Films’ Chiara Trento and Jason Dubin of Mangrove Media.

Myriad Pictures holds international rights and is working with the producers to assemble financing ahead of a proposed spring start in Louisiana.

Vice-president of acquisitions and production Amanda Blue brought the project to Myriad and will oversee production. New York hipsters MGMT will create the original soundtrack.

“We are very excited about this project,” Myriad CEO and president Kirk D’Amico said. “The combination of the thriller genre, a very popular and well-known cast, Brett Easton Ellis’ dynamic screenplay and Nelson McCormick’s incredible skill with young actors and ability to create tension and terror on-screen is just unbeatable.”

The company’s slate includes the financial thriller Margin Call starring Kevin Spacey, Zachary Quinto and Demi Moore, which is in post-production, and the action comedy Goon starring Seann William Scott and Jay Baruchel that is currently shooting in Canada.

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