The Queen Mary – Vertical picks up the US rights to the new horror mystery starring Alice Eve and Joel Fry

Vertical has secured North American rights to the supernatural horror mystery The Queen Mary from Dracula Untold director Gary Shore. The film is a psychological horror that explores the mysterious and violent events surrounding one family’s voyage on Halloween night (1938) and their interwoven destiny with another family onboard the infamous ocean liner present day. Shooting took place aboard the actual Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. A luxury ocean-liner graced by generations of the rich and famous, HMS Queen Mary is now celebrated – and feared – as “One of the World’s Most Haunted Places” (Time Magazine).

Vertical has slated the film for release in Summer 2023.

The Queen Mary stars Alice Eve (Star Trek Into Darkness, Belgravia), Joel Fry (Cruella, Game of Thrones), Will Coban (The Boys in the Boat), BAFTA award-winner Lenny Rush (Am I Being Unreasonable?), and more.

In the early twentieth century, shipping lines competed to be the fastest to complete a transatlantic crossing. But among the most famous record-holders was the RMS Queen Mary, which held the record for fourteen years, but now stands encased in concrete at Long Beach, California, where it has been used for many years as a luxury hotel and tourist attraction. The ship has a lengthy history of visitors reporting seeing ghosts and visions in its rooms and on its decks, making it the perfect setting for paranormal goings-on on the big screen. In The Queen Mary, a haunting story is unraveled between the ship’s heyday in the late 1930s and the present and tells the story of two families whose lives become violently entangled.

The screenplay is by Gary Shore and Stephen Oliver, from a story by Stephen Oliver and Tom Vaughan. The film is produced by Brett Matthew Tomberlin (Winchester) of Imagination Design Works, Thorsten Schumacher of Rocket Science, Lars Sylvest, Nigel Sinclair and Nicholas Ferrall of White Horse Pictures (The Woman in Black), and Mali Elfman.

Vertical Partner Peter Jarowey commented, “We were immediately intrigued by the chilling, grisly tale that the filmmakers have woven together in The Queen Mary. We’re sure audiences and horror fanatics will flock to experience it this summer.”

“We were impressed by Vertical’s passion for Gary Shore’s intelligent and twisted take on a great English and American legend. We know this team will be the perfect US distribution partner in logging the next chapter of this vessel’s historic and haunted history,” added the producers.

Vertical’s Partner Peter Jarowey and SVP of Acquisitions Tony Piantedosi negotiated the deal on behalf of Vertical, while CAA Media Finance negotiated on behalf of the production.