We were, to put it politely, less than enamored of British director Julian Gilbey‘s first two films, the thuggish, seen-it-all-before gangster pictures “Rise of the Footsoldier” and “Rollin’ With The Nines.” But the helmer’s third film, the Melissa George-starring, mountaineering genre tale “A Lonely Place To Die,” has been relatively well received since its release in the U.K. on Friday (although we confess to enjoying Ultra Culture‘s take down of the film; the review read, simply, and in full “Five c***s go up a mountain. Far too many come down”).
Still, the film is clearly attracting the right kind of attention, as Empire reveal that Lloyd Levin, producer of “Boogie Nights,” “United 93” and “Watchmen,” among others, has picked Gilbey to direct a new original sci-fi picture named “Offworld.” The script comes from “Orphan” and “Clash of the Titans 2” writer David Leslie Johnson, and Levin describes it as “a kind of intergalactic “Naked Prey,” a pedal-to-the-metal safari movie set on an alien planet. There’s lots of nasty creatures — some even on the good guys’ side.”
It’s another big leap for a thrifty British genre helmer, following in the footsteps of “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” director Rupert Wyatt, and Gareth Edwards, who’s gone from the micro-budget “Monsters” to the giant “Godzilla,” and one that seems suited to Gilbey’s skillset, with Levin saying “‘A Lonely Place To Die’ is a movie after my own heart. I loved how physical and visceral it was.” There’s no timeline on the film yet, but interested U.K. viewers can check out Gilbey’s chops in “A Lonely Place To Die,” which is in theaters now.