The short was reportedly made on a budget of several hundred dollars, but shortly after it was posted, Hollywood came calling with offers of a big-budget feature.
Although it eventually devolves into a montage of fiery explosions, there is a neat sense of wonder at the beginning of Panic Attack, which takes a handheld camera aesthetic to the destruction of Montevideo via giant robots.
Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog, Alvarez has signed a deal with Ghost House Pictures to develop and direct an original genre film, with a writer to be hired. The contract is in the six- or seven-figure range, and will be based on an original idea by the Uraguayan-born Alvarez.
One of the Ghost House principals to have met with the filmmaker included Sam Raimi, whose Drag Me to Hell was released through the studio earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Twitch reports that Alvarez’ project will be $30-40M dollar range, and speculates that it might be an expanded version of Panic Attack, which seems to have the ingredients for a big Hollywood hit: That is, lots of special effects and carnage. Now if whatever writer Ghost House hires can find a compelling story in there, too.
Watch the film here on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dadPWhEhVk
