Veteran filmmaker John Herzfeld, best known for directing the Robert De Niro thriller 15 Minutes and Escape Plan: The Extractors, will next direct the horror feature Specimen.

In Specimen, “an elite team is hired to deliver the world’s worst serial killers to a secret research facility run by a visionary neuroscientist obsessed with curing evil. When his groundbreaking experiment succeeds, he unleashes something far more dangerous than the killers he has imprisoned.”

Chase Vergari wrote the original screenplay, which John Herzfeld will rewrite to direct. The film hails from producers Vergari and Eric Handler, whose recent credits include the upcoming film, Mister, starring Walton Goggins and the Samuel L. Jackson actioner The Beast.

“What drew me to Specimen was the theme: can evil be cured, and if so, at what cost?” said Herzfeld. “The story follows a charismatic visionary who risks becoming the very thing he set out to destroy. That struggle between good and evil is as relevant now as it has ever been.”

“I wrote Specimen as the first chapter of a much larger world,” said Vergari. “I wanted to build something that works as a relentless standalone horror-thriller but opens into a universe we can keep exploring. With Eric and John attached, we have the team to do exactly that.”

“At the heart of Specimen is one of the most electrifying lead roles I’ve read in years, and John is exactly the filmmaker to bring it to life,” added Handler. “He also has a remarkable history of casting actors in early roles who go on to become major stars. Specimen is built around a remarkable ensemble, including three phenomenal female roles, and I can’t think of a better filmmaker to discover who fills them. This is the kind of bold, commercial film audiences are hungry for.”