Chinese film producer and businessman Kevin Niu is behind a horror movie franchise that targets to build cross-Pacific franchises with a modest budget, low-risk genre cinema. The executive producer of the 2016 American horror movie “Abattoir” is producing “Abattoir: Foundation” that will shoot in China in 2017.
Mandarin-Language Spinoff
He would use elements from the original “Abattoir” to produce a Chinese version that is a self-contained Mandarin-language spinoff. It would be written by Darren Lynn Bousman, the director of the original “Abattoir.” It is likely the first try to transplant a made-in-the-U.S. film into a Chinese-language adaptation, Forbes reported. The story revolves around an investigative reporter who opted to solve the mystery of the murder of her sister’s family.
When the original “Abattoir” had a limited theatrical release in North America, the horror film was later shown on digital download platform where it had a degree of success. Bousman also directed it, while the writer was Christopher Monfettte and distributor was Momentum Pictures by Entertainment One.
According to a 2014 article in The New York Times, Kevin Niu left China when he was 14. He took up electrical engineering at the University of Illinois but forayed into entertainment. He produced “Of Mice and Men” on Broadway the same year.
Using Chinese Resources to Make Horror Thrillers
He said the focus of his movies is horror thriller which targets the U.S. and international markets. In the long run, he wants to do it in China too. His plan then was to bring Chinese resources, such as money, to projects in the U.S. However, Kevin Niu was also considering producing then romance comedies and lower-budget sci-fi movies.
Kevin Niu admits the Chinese movie market is not an easy market because of excessive regulations, even for co-productions. He is looking at the romance comedy genre because he believes China’s audience is driven by young Chinese girls who drag their boyfriends to the theater to watch a film.