Liv Tyler Will Star in Ti West’s Sci-fi Thriller ‘The Side Effect’

I was somewhat on the fence regarding director Ti West upon my first viewing of The Roost and House of the Devil.  My initial reaction was that both films revealed a director who not only took his time with his story-telling but was someone who could potentially fall into a nostalgia rut that becomes more obsessed with making films that harken back to the films we may have grown up watching on late-night television in the 80’s.  After revisiting both of them in the past year I was able to appreciate the technical way West approaches each shot and the precise editing used to create atmosphere.  He is clearly a man who knows what he’s doing.  My appreciation for the director swelled even more following his screening of his most recent film, The Innkeepers (now on VOD), at Fantastic Fest this past September.  Now the young director is following the more comedic and character-driven ghost story of The Innkeepers with a sci-fi thriller centered around a pharmaceutical company.  West first announced the idea of the script last year, but this is our first glimpse into the actual film.  Deadline has announced that Liv Tyler will be playing the role of Catherine Rigby in The Side Effect.  In the film, Tyler will play “a woman who spends several months alone in space as an experimental subject for a global pharmaceutical company, and finds herself inexplicably pregnant. Paranoia and hysteria reign as the truth behind conception grows more elusive and she remains stranded in space.” The director had this to say about the film and his leading lady, “Although it is still somewhat of a horror film, it is much more psychological than any of my previous efforts . . . It was essential that I find an actress who could portray a wide range of emotion and always earn the audience’s sympathy no matter what the situation. As soon as I sat down with Liv, it was obvious she was the one.” The film will be produced by Double Hope Films’ Ted Hope, and Peter Phok, who previously worked with the director on The House Of The Devil and The Innkeepers. West has previously stated that he’s been working on funding the film over the past six months and that it’s a film that requires a budget involving the building of space ships and such.  Considering the modestly budgeted films he has previously helmed, this is clearly a step in a new direction.  I can confidently say that I’m on aboard.  What do you guys think of Ti West’s films and his new departure in sci-fi territory? Leave your comments below.

Source: Deadline