Dubai Filmmaker Faisal Hashmi Launches Horror Label Spine Drop Pictures
Dubai-based writer and director Faisal Hashmi has launched a new production company, Spine Drop Pictures, built around horror. The company has unveiled its first slate, a set of three horror features that Hashmi will write and direct, according to Deadline, which reported the launch on 31 October 2026.
A slate is a studio's list of projects in development. The first one is Off Plan, an anthology, meaning a film made of separate stories that connect with each other. This one has six stories playing out across Dubai over a single night. Off Plan is a real-estate term for homes sold before they are built, and the title fits a city of new towers.
The second project, Cinder, is a supernatural thriller set in the mountains of the UAE. It grows out of Hashmi's 2020 short film Amber, which won best film at the Al Ain Film Festival in the Emirates. Supernatural means the story involves forces beyond ordinary explanation.
The third is Latching, a horror film about possession and revenge that takes place over one night in Karachi, Pakistan. Deadline reports that it is being developed for production there. Possession, in horror, usually means a person being taken over by an outside force.
Hashmi is also attached to write and direct Fractal, an English-language time-loop thriller starring Jason Flemyng and Gabriela Vargas. Being attached means a person has agreed to a role, though the deal may still be signed off. Vienna-based Pont Pictures is producing Fractal, which is targeting a shoot in Serbia in 2027. Hashmi also co-wrote City of Life Continuum, the sequel to Ali F. Mostafa's 2009 film City of Life.
Spine Drop says it will make high-concept genre films, meaning stories built around one strong, easy-to-explain idea. The company is aiming for commercially oriented titles with budgets below $1 million. Deadline reports that Spine Drop is also exploring slate investment, international co-productions, where two or more countries share the cost and the work, and partnerships for financing and distribution. Distribution is the business of getting finished films into cinemas, streaming services and other outlets.
Low budgets have become a common route for independent horror, where a small crew and a tight location can carry a story. The slate is still at an early stage, and none of the three films has announced a release date. Anyone following Spine Drop will be watching for the first co-production or financing partner, and for when the cameras start rolling.
