Elijah Wood Catches ‘Cooties’ With Rainn Wilson


Elijah Wood has signed on to star in the upcoming horror-comedy Cooties.

The horror flick about a sinister disease that spreads through the halls of a high school is set to begin filming next week in Los Angeles. The project is being financed by Maniac star’s production company SpectreVision. Directors Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion will helm the movie.

In addition to Elijah Wood, Cooties features such talented players as Rainn Wilson (The Office), Alison Pill (The Newsroom), and Jack McBrayer (30 Rock).

According to Entertainment Weekly, the script is being handled by Insidious writer Leigh Whannell and Glee co-creator Ian Brennan. It will be interesting to see what these guys are cooking up for horror fans.

Cooties reportedly begins with a diseased chicken nugget and the young girl who eats it. The teenager is soon transformed into a flesh-eating lunatic who spreads the disease through her school. A group of students and teachers band together to survive this unusual plague.

Coming Soon reports that Elijah Wood will portray a substitute teacher who is forced to contend with this onslaught of bloodthirsty teenagers. For those of us who watched the actor play a teenage high school student in Robert Rodriguez’s The Faculty, his role in the upcoming high school horror flick is a good reason to feel a little old.

Believe it or not, Elijah Wood is actually a very passionate and knowledgeable horror fan. His love of the genre prompted the Lord of the Rings star to tackle the lead role in director Franck Khalfoun’s Maniac. The film is a remake of the 80s slasher from Maniac Cop director William Lustig.

The red band trailer for Wood’s version of Maniac is included below. Since the clip features a fair of grisly violence, viewer discretion is strongly recommended.

The busy actor recently completed work on writer-director Nacho Vigalondo’s Open Windows and Eugenio Mira’s thriller Grand Piano with John Cusack. The actor can also be found reprising his role as Frodo in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit movies.

Are you a fan of Elijah Wood? Do you plan to catch Cooties when it hits theaters?

[Image via IFC Midnight]

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