Some horrors just can’t be contained… and The Hatchery looks ready to prove it.

Currently in pre-production, Jenna Kanell (Terrifier, Renfield) is attached to star in the upcoming ocean-set survival horror film. Howard J. Ford (The Dead) will direct the all-female cast from a script by Tim Pickett.

The story begins with eight women waking in darkness inside a cargo container, with no memory of how they got there. Captives of a brutal trafficking ring, their desperate fight for survival takes an even deadlier turn when a violent storm sends their container hurtling into the open ocean.

Stranded at sea, the women must band together—until one of them begins to change. Her wounds heal unnaturally fast, her strength grows monstrous, and the others realize a horrifying truth: she isn’t just a victim—she’s the product of a twisted experiment. Trapped with a predator, survival becomes a terrifying game of life and death.

Mark Andrews and Nicholas Schlesinger are producing.

“This project is going to be raw and terrifying,” Ford said. “I want audiences to feel trapped in that container with these women as the tension builds and then explodes. Our team will deliver a film that shocks, thrills, and stands out. Strap in—it’s going to be a wild ride!”

The Hatchery will be presented to buyers at the European Film Market in Berlin next month by Alliance Media Partners.

Meanwhile, Ford is also working on The Dead 3, the final chapter of his zombie trilogy with brother Jon Ford, and Bone Keeper, a cave-set creature feature starring John Rhys-Davies.