Pascal Laugier's WWII Vampire Horror Film 'Nocturnal' Targets Fall 2026 Shoot in Latvia

One of the most eagerly watched horror projects in the international pipeline just got sharper focus. Nocturnal, a World War II-set vampire horror film from director Pascal Laugier and writer David Birke, is targeting a fall 2026 production start in Latvia, with the project currently in pre-production under SBS Productions. With a September cameras-up window still months away, the timing is right for crew to get on the radar of this production now, well before department heads lock in their teams.

Laugier is one of the most distinctive and uncompromising voices working in horror today. His 2008 film Martyrs remains one of the most debated and genuinely disturbing entries in the French extreme horror canon, a film that divided audiences and critics in equal measure but cemented Laugier as a filmmaker with serious formal ambition and an unflinching commitment to psychological terror. His English-language follow-up, Incident in a Ghostland (2018), starring Crystal Reed and Mylène Farmer, demonstrated that his intensity translated outside the French-language market. Nocturnal represents his return to the genre on his own terms, and the project's WWII framing, vampire mythology, and female-led ensemble structure suggest a production with considerable period and atmospheric demands. The screenplay comes from David Birke, who has quietly built one of the more impressive résumés in prestige genre filmmaking. Birke wrote Elle for Paul Verhoeven, the 2016 Cannes sensation that earned Isabelle Huppert her Academy Award nomination, and he reunited with Verhoeven on Benedetta in 2021. He also wrote the studio horror entry Slender Man for Sony in 2018. Importantly, Birke's collaboration with producer Saïd Ben Saïd is not new territory. Ben Saïd produced both Elle and Benedetta, making this a well-established creative unit with a track record of delivering ambitious, challenging material to international audiences.

The production sits under SBS Productions, Ben Saïd's Paris-based company that has been behind some of the more provocative and awards-friendly European productions of the past decade. SBS International is handling worldwide sales, with the project being introduced to buyers at the Cannes market, which signals that financing and distribution discussions are active and that the production has real momentum behind it. The international sales strategy and European producer pedigree place Nocturnal firmly in the prestige genre space, the kind of production that attracts serious craft talent and typically operates at a budget level commensurate with period filmmaking and location shoots. No studio or streaming platform attachment has been confirmed yet, but the Cannes sales push suggests distribution deals are expected to follow as the project gains traction with buyers.

Latvia is the target filming location, and it is a choice that makes considerable practical and creative sense. Riga and the broader Latvian production infrastructure have become increasingly attractive to European and international productions over the past decade, driven by competitive local incentives, lower below-the-line costs relative to Western Europe, and a physical landscape that lends itself to period and atmospheric work. For a film set largely on a desolate island in 1943, Latvia's coastline, forests, and aging architecture offer genuine production value. The Latvian Film Centre administers a cash rebate program that has drawn productions from across Europe, and the country has a growing local crew base, though productions of this scale and complexity typically bring department heads from France, the UK, or wider Europe, with local crew filling out departments. Crew with European Union work eligibility and experience on period or horror productions should take note of this location specifically.

The period setting is the detail that will define the scale of this production's key departments. A 1943 Vichy France setting, even one that moves quickly to an island environment, requires a serious art department and costume department capable of sourcing or building period-accurate wardrobe, props, and set dressing. The vampire horror genre and the island survival structure also point toward a production with meaningful practical effects and makeup demands, likely complemented by some VFX work for creature and supernatural elements. The female-led ensemble format suggests a cast of several principal actors, meaning the production will need a strong casting operation across European markets. Given Laugier's reputation for visceral, physically demanding filmmaking, a stunt coordinator and experienced stunt performers will almost certainly be essential hires. No casting director has been announced at this stage, but that announcement, when it comes, will be a key signal for agents and talent managers tracking this project.

For crew actively tracking international genre projects, Nocturnal is exactly the kind of production worth monitoring closely right now. The fall 2026 start gives a comfortable runway, but pre-production on a period horror film of this ambition moves faster than the calendar might suggest. Department head conversations often begin six months or more before cameras roll, which means the hiring window for the top of each department is opening now. The full production listing for Nocturnal at ProductionList.com will be updated as crew attachments, office locations, and contact information are confirmed. If this is the kind of project you want to pursue, bookmarking that listing and checking it regularly is the right move.

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