Gene Simmons is a man of rich and varied tastes. He enjoys the erotic attentions of the fairer sex, in all of its splendor and diversity. He loves money and horror movies and comic books and monsters and sex ventures that combine one or more of the above qualities.
As Simmons will be the first to tell you, Simmons is as much, if not more, a businessman as he is an entertainer, and Simmons would glare at you with a look of pure evil if you were to even imply that he was an artist. Now, in his role as a businessman dedicated to chasing down every last dollar, Simmons has joined forces with another tacky titan of trash culture in World Wrestling Entertainment to create the horror label Erebus Pictures, named for the Greek primordial deity representing the personification of darkness.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the deal will cover three films, beginning with Temple, a film about a team of operatives stranded at a remote military compound where spooky things begin to happen, and the team tries to figure who or what (because it was probably a monster or some shit) was responsible for killing the previous team stationed there.
In a canned statement, the frighteningly tanned Simmons said, “The horror genre continues to fascinate me as it proves to be endlessly thrilling and engaging for audiences. I am so thrilled to be working with the masterminds from WWE Studios in launching Erebus Pictures.”
As part of the deal, the movie will be promoted throughout WWE platforms like Monday Night Raw and SmackDown. Simmons is a veteran entrepreneur, whose empire includes everything from Kiss-branded caskets to the arena football team Los Angeles Kiss to his controversial, hands-on ownership of Gene Simmons Toyota. This is not Kiss’ first dalliance with world wrestling: In the 1990s, it sponsored a character named Demon who wrestled on WCW.
Erebus is looking to film Temple this summer, though a director has not been named. The label’s second feature is due later this year (Simmons is clearly committed to the very fastest kind of high- quality), and though it does not have a name yet, I have two suggestions: Deuce and Kiss Meet The Phantom Of The Park Again And It Goes Swimmingly This Time, What With Everyone Being Older And Having The Wisdom And Perspective That Comes With Age.