‘Black Swan’ Writer Mark Heyman Contracts the Deadly ‘Syndrome E’

According to Deadline Hollywood, Mark Heyman has been hired by Paramount and Indian Paintbrush to script Syndrome E, based off the best-selling novel of the same name from Franck Thilliez. The book, for what it’s worth, sounds a lot like The Ring without the supernatural elements. Or Cigarette Burns with a police procedural shoved in the middle.

It focuses on a detective named Lucie Hennebelle whose best friend is struck with blindness after watching a terrifically violent movie from the 1950s (my guess is Seven Samurai). As it turns out, the film has subliminal flashes that spell death for anyone who watches, but it’s not a little girl in a well that comes for them. It’s something a bit more earth-bound.

Familiarity aside, there’s something thrilling here, and Heyman should be cause for a lot of excitement. He cut his teeth with Darren Aronofsky and has proven to be a strong talent in his own regard. This could be very, very cool.