Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich Face Off in Indie Horror 'Deify', Shooting in Chicago
Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich have signed on to star in "Deify," an indie psychological horror film set to shoot in Chicago, according to Deadline.
The film centres on a cult leader put on trial after his devoted followers are burned alive. Ulrich plays that leader — an enigmatic, manipulative figure who pleads insanity and claims to take his commands directly from God. McDonough takes the opposite side of the courtroom as the assistant attorney general and prosecuting attorney, a man of integrity who believes in the criminal justice system.
Elements of the script were inspired by events surrounding the 1993 standoff in Waco, Texas, between the Branch Davidian church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms — a 51-day siege that ended in fire and left more than 80 people dead. The script draws on that history without dramatising it directly.
"Deify" is written by Nicholas Chimera and directed by Nicholas and his brother Carmelo Chimera, who work as a filmmaking duo. The production team — producers Jordan Gianeschi, Jacob Rice, and Mike Manning — previously collaborated with the Chimera brothers on the indie action thriller "Unarmed." McDonough and his wife Ruvé McDonough join the project as executive producers. Casting is handled by Steven Tylor O'Connor and Becca McCracken.
For audiences, the appeal is in the pairing. McDonough has built a career on characters who operate at the intersection of conviction and menace — from "Band of Brothers" to "Yellowstone" — and here he plays the straight arrow, a prosecutor who trusts the system. Ulrich, whose breakout came with "Scream" in 1996, has spent recent years in horror and television ("Riverdale," "The CW"). Putting the two across a courtroom table gives the film a natural antagonist-protagonist dynamic before a single frame is shot.
No release date has been announced. Independent horror films of this scale typically secure distribution after completion, often premiering at a genre festival — such as Sitges or Fantastic Fest — before a theatrical or streaming rollout. A Chicago shoot keeps the production in a city that has served as a backdrop for everything from "The Dark Knight" to "The Bear," offering urban texture at a lower cost than Los Angeles or New York.
The Chimera brothers remain a relatively emerging name in independent film. Their previous feature, "Unarm," was an action thriller; "Deify" moves them into horror territory, a genre where modest budgets can yield outsized returns if the film finds its audience.
