Lesbian vampire YouTube hit Carmilla to get film treatment
Story by Jack Foley
LESBIAN vampire YouTube hit Carmilla is to be turned into a movie owing to its continued popularity.
Adapted from the 19th Century cult-classic gothic vampire novella, the series has been running on YouTube for two years, during which time it has generated more than 50 million views and over 250,000 followers on social media.
Now, the producers are looking to expand the franchise into a movie, which is currently slated to be released in autumn 2017.
The film will include many of the original cast members from the digital series, including Elise Bauman (who plays Laura) and Natasha Negovanlis (as Carmilla).
Alex Acoba has signed on to write the script with series co-creator and writer Jordan Hall.
Jay Bennett, senior VP of creative and innovation at the Toronto-based Shaftesbury’s Smokebomb Entertainment digital studio, commented: “The demand for Carmilla has been off the charts so we wanted to super-serve the fans by exploring the story further through other formats and platforms.
“It’s not often that you have the opportunity to launch a film with the kind of built-in fan base that Carmilla has.”
Carmilla unfolds at a fictional modern-day university and picks up when college student Laura discovers that her original roommate has disappeared, only to be replaced by the mysterious Carmilla, who turns out to be a vampire.
The pair’s relationship evolves over time into a ‘complicated love story’, according to Bennett, who went on to reveal that the show’s storylines mix in elements of Veronica Mars-style investigations.
The movie will be set five years after the events of the current season 3, which debuted in mid-September.
It will provide Laura and Carmilla with an all-new mystery to solve.
“It’s about the band getting back together, and them going on a fun, cool, sexy Scooby-Doo adventure,” added Bennett.
Fans can place pre-orders for the Carmilla movie through Vimeo’s VHX service – here
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