A screen legend returns after 20 years as an actress. The US actress Shelley Duvall (73) became particularly famous for her role as Wendy Torrance in the horror film classic "The Shining" by master director Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999). Duvall will soon be appearing in writer-director Scott Goldberg's indie horror film The Forest Hills, Deadline reports, making his debut in a film since 2002's comedy Manna from Heaven. "Deadline" also presents a first production image of the now 73-year-old actress.

The horror thriller "The Forest Hills" is about a confused man who suffers a head injury while on a camping trip. Afterwards, the mentally ill main character Rico, embodied by Chiko Mendez, is afflicted by nightmarish visions. Duvall plays his mother, and is present in the film as the inner voice of the protagonist.

Director Goldberg said in a statement: "We're huge fans of The Shining and it's honestly one of my favorite horror movies of all time [...]". Duvall, who plays Jack Nicholson's (85) wife in "The Shining", helped make Kubrick's film "an absolute masterpiece" "by giving everything," said Goldberg.

In recent years, the shooting conditions for "The Shining" have been repeatedly criticized. Duvall herself recently told The Hollywood Reporter that during the 56 weeks of filming, she almost always appeared hysterical or the script required her to cry. "After a while," Duvall said in retrospect in 2021, "your body rebels against it. It's like, 'Stop doing this to me. I don't want to cry every day.'"

"The Forest Hills" is scheduled for release next year. In addition to Duvall and the aforementioned Mendez, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" star Edward Furlong (45) is also involved in the indie horror film.