Genre bigwigs Mick Garris, Joe Dante, David Slade, Ryuhei Kitamura and Alejandro Brugues have joined together with Cinelou Films and Good Deed Entertainment for Nightmare Cinema, an anthology horror movie in the works made up of five short films that will share a common thread. Mickey Rourke has been set to play the ringmaster of sorts to link the stories.

The anthology will center on a series of down-on-their-luck individuals who enter the decrepit and spine-chilling Rialto theater, only to have their deepest and darkest fears brought to life on the silver screen by The Projectionist (Rourke) – a mysterious, ghostly figure who holds the nightmarish futures of all who attend his screenings. By the time our patrons realize the truth, escape is no longer an option.

Garris is producing via his Nice Guy Productions, along with Courtney Solomon and

Mark Canton from Cinelou and Joe Russo. Good Deed’s Scott Donley and Lenny Shapiro, the Fyzz Facility’s Wayne Marc Godfrey and Robert Jones, and Cinelou’s Scott Karol are executive producers.

The producers say A TV series based on the idea is also in the works, harkening to the days of shows like Twilight Zone and Tales From The Crypt.

“We’re excited about Nightmare Cinema,” said Canton. “When Mick Garris brought us the opportunity to collaborate with a group like this, it was easy to get behind. Horror has become an industry strength again. When you look around at recent successes of films like It or Get Out, it’s obvious there’s a hungry audience out there that can’t be ignored.”

Said Garris: “I love being able to bring together visionaries of horror cinema from all around the world with their personal perspectives about what scares you. This is a project I’ve been working on for some time and I couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with Cinelou and Good Deed to share with everyone.”