Lakeshore Entertainment's horror thriller The Vatican Tapes will be written and directed by Mark Neveldine (Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance, Crank) and will be distributed in the US by Lionsgate with a fall 2014 release. Lakeshore will be starting principal photography in Los Angeles in July. The film is off to a fast start before the opening of the Cannes festival this week, with sales to eOne in Canada, eOne/Hopscotch in Australia, Universum in Germany, Jaguar Film International Distribution in the Middle East, IPA Asia Pacific in Thailand; D Productions in Turkey, and Sun Distribution Group S.A. in Latin America. Lakeshore and Sierra Affinity are formally introducing the film to international buyers in Cannes this week.

The Vatican Tapes marks Lakeshore's third partnership with Neveldine after he penned the screenplays for Jason Statham starrers Crank and Crank High Voltage as well as Gamer. Neveldine's other films include Nicolas Cage's Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance. In addition to Lakeshore's bigger genre fare such as the highly successful Underworld franchise, Lakeshore has also had box office success with moderate budget films in this genre such as The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which grossed over $75M domestically and over $69M internationally.

The Vatican Tapes follows the haunting tale of 27 year-old Angela Holmes, who accidentally cuts her finger and ends up in the emergency room. Infection leads to erratic behavior, and she begins to have a devastating effect on anyone close, causing serious injury and death. Priests examine Holmes and believe she is possessed, but when the Vatican is called upon to exorcise the demon, the possession proves to be an ancient satanic force more powerful than they imagined.

Upcoming Lakeshore releases include: Lakeshore Entertainment, Hopscotch Features and Lionsgate production I, Frankenstein with Aaron Eckhart which Lionsgate will release in January 2014 and Walk of Shame, starring Elizabeth Banks and James Marsden, which will be released in September 2013. In addition, the company recently announced the launch of Lakeshore Premium Digital Content, a premier digital distribution strategy for its existing catalogue of motion pictures.