Jaume Collett-Serra WWII Thriller ‘Play Dead,’ Produced by Sam Raimi, Launching at EFM With WME Independent

“Play Dead,” the latest feature from Jaume Collett-Serra (“The Shallows,” “Carry On,” “Cliffhanger”), is heading to the EFM in Berlin, where WME International are handling worldwide rights.

The film — starring Noah Jupe (“Hamnet”) and Matthias Schweighöfer (“Oppenheimer”) and written by Natalie Conway and Peter Stanley-Ward — is described as a “World War II white-knuckle thriller” about an Allied soldier who, after an ambush, must play dead to survive. It is currently in post-production.

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“‘Play Dead’ is the rare script that felt unapologetically cinematic, built for tension and atmosphere,” said Collet-Serra. “What grabbed me right away was the precision. Every scene escalates, every beat matters. It had this addictive quality where I was turning pages fast to see what happens next. One moment I was being pulled in with suspense and the next I was suddenly feeling all the emotion.”

Nocturnal Entertainment, Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures (“Don’t Breathe” “Evil Dead”), BoulderLight Pictures (“Weapons,” “Companion”), and Bad Grey are producing. The film is fully financed by Nocturnal Entertainment.

“Jaume and his cast bring the tense, emotional screenplay for ‘Play Dead’ to life through a masterful building of suspense and riveting performances,” said Raimi.

“From the first read, we knew ‘Play Dead,’ with its bold set pieces and unyielding tension, was a movie we needed to make and that Jaume was the perfect filmmaker for it,” added Nocturnal producers Keaton Heinrichs and Akiva Nemetsky. “He has the rare ability to build tension with precision, and his execution of the script speaks to all his strengths as a world-class filmmaker. We couldn’t be more excited to launch ‘Play Dead’ as our first film under the Nocturnal banner.”

Collett-Serra is represented by LBI; Jupe is represented by WME and Brillstein Entertainment Partners; Schweighöfer is represented by UTA and Untitled; BoulderLight Pictures is represented by Range Media Partners; Bad Grey is represented by UTA.