As though ventriloquist dummies need any help being terrifying, now one’s getting the Sam Raimi treatment. As his follow-up to the very fun survival thriller Send Help, Raimi will direct Magic for Lionsgate, the studio’s take on a William Goldman novel that was previously adapted into a 1978 cult horror classic. The original featured Anthony Hopkins as a mentally unstable ventriloquist, which seems like a redundant job title.

Sam Raimi was previously announced to produce the film via his eponymous production company. Also producing are Roy Lee, as well as Chris Hammond and Tim Sullivan. Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, who wrote the script for Send Help and count Freddy vs. Jason and the Friday the 13th remake among their credits, wrote the script for Magic.

Magic starred Hopkins as Corky, a magician who reaches fame alongside his ventriloquist’s dummy, the foul-mouthed Fats. Faced with the prospect of signing a deal for a show of his own but afraid of revealing his precarious mental state, Corky bails on the TV network’s mandated medical exam and instead takes off for the Catskills. There, he tries to reconnect with his high school crush, even as Fats begins to go full Chucky on everyone.

There’s been no word, thrown or otherwise, on the casting of this new adaptation, but stay tuned to hear it first.