EXCLUSIVE: Taiwan’s Sequoia Entertainment and Flash Forward Entertainment are set to produce The Golden Fork, an $8m English-language body horror set against the backdrop of New York City’s ultra-elite.
Described as The Substance meets Parasite, it follows a woman who discovers a sinister way of ascending the social ladder after acquiring a cursed antique golden fork that gives her the power to turn her rivals into dishes. Through a series of transgressive feasts, she absorbs their beauty and status with every bite.
Some 40% of the budget has been secured through equity investment and casting is underway to assemble a diverse ensemble talent from the US, UK and Europe alongside the Asian lead. Principal photography is scheduled for the beginning of 2027.
It marks the feature directorial debut of Sequoia CEO Lincoln Lai, the producer of 2025 box office hit Lovesick and showrunner of Disney+ series Women In Taipei and LGBTQ+ series The Nipple Talk. The Taipei-based company is backed by venture capital Grandi Holdings.
“The fork is not simply a weapon; it is a mechanism that turns desire into action and validation into consumption,” said Lai. “Visually the film blends the seductive aesthetics of fine-dining culture with the visceral shock of body horror, using excess and elegance to reveal how power is absorbed, reproduced, and normalised.”
Veteran producer Patrick Mao Huang from Flash Forward Entertainment – whose credits include Cannes Critics Week’s winner Tiger Stripes and Karlovy Vary winning Pierce – is leading the international strategy and seeking potential European co-producers at the EFM.
“While the story is set in New York, we plan to shoot principal photography in Europe to utilise regional funds and tax incentives, and to access the continent’s diverse architectural landscape that can perfectly double for NYC’s old-world luxury,” he said.
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