Ciarán Foy, the Dublin-born director of the upcoming chiller Sinister 2, has told TEN that a tweet from the first movie's director, Scott Derrickson, led to him being offered the sequel.
Foy won numerous festival awards for his debut feature, Citadel, but found that the scripts he subsequently received were few and far between, and of a poor standard.
But his fortunes changed in January 2014 when Derrickson tweeted that he had seen just Citadel and that it was a must-see.
"I replied to that, and I just said 'thanks'," Foy told TEN. "And so then he started following me and asking about what it was like making it... And then he said, 'Y'know, you'd be the perfect director for Sinister 2. Would you like to read the script?'."
Describing the offer as a "lifeline", Foy then began working with Derrickson and his co-producer Jason Blum on bringing the story to life and before the year's end was on set in rural Illinois.
His sequel to the 2012 box office hit finds twins Dylan and Zach Collins (portrayed by real-life brothers Robert and Dartanian Sloan) and their mother Courtney (Shannyn Sossamon) experiencing things that go bump in the night and the evil spirit of Bughuul in their new home.
Foy told TEN he was drawn to the film as it allowed him to explore the dynamic between the two brothers, and because the story was "just not stupid".
Now, after spending months "in dark rooms" making and editing the film, Sinister 2 will be released in Irish cinemas on Friday August 21 and Foy is looking to his next job.
"I'm writing a project at the moment, which is sci-fi [and] I'm reading a lot of stuff," he said. "But what I keep getting told by my reps is that when the movie comes out there should be some knocks on the door."
With one eye on his funds, however, Foy said he won't be coming back to Ireland to see Sinister 2 on the big screen with his family.
"Every time you go over it's like the guts of a grand," he laughed. "The next time I'll be over will probably be before Christmas or something."
Watch out for a full interview with Ciarán Foy, and a review of Sinister 2, on TEN next week.
You can go behind the scenes on Sinister 2 and hear from Ciarán Foy by clicking the link above.
