Magnet announced that is had pre-bought North America rights to Toby Wilkins' horror-thriller Splinter, which is currently nearing completion. In the vein of classic creature features, Splinter finds a young couple held hostage by an ex-convict on the run besieged in an isolated gas station by an insatiable parasite that absorbs the corpses of its victims. The creature grows more horrifying with each murder, until the claustrophobia becomes unbearable for the three trapped protagonists, forcing a showdown with the monster.

Magnet is the recently launched genre arm of the Wagner/Cuban Companies' Magnolia Pictures, specializing in films from the vanguard of horror, action, comedy and Asian cinema.

"With its taut, terrific script and Toby Wilkins' directorial and special effects talents, Splinter has a great shot at being a truly iconic horror film," said Magnolia Pictures President Eamonn Bowles.

Wilkins, a longtime visual effects artist who's worked on films by Brett Ratner, James Cameron, Bryan Singer and Jonathan Demme, makes his feature film debut with Splinter. He was recently tapped to direct the third installment of the The Grudge franchise for Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures.

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