Actor-producer Michael Emanuel has started preproduction on the thriller Maneater, which marks the ER and The Nine actor's directorial debut.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Emanuel co-wrote the script with John K. Anderson.

Maneater tells the story of an FBI profiler-turned-small-town sheriff who begins investigating a series of mysterious murders only to discover that the monster he's profiling might be himself.

"It's a story that was told to me by an old Native American back in the late '70s," Emanuel said. "It's based on the Western Ojibwa (Chippewa) legend of the Windigo."

Maneater begins shooting July 30 around Los Angeles, though the producers are still casting the leads.