L.I.E. director Cuesta feels a Shiver come on

Michael Cuesta, who directed and cowrote the acclaimed pedophile drama L.I.E., has signed on to shoot the horror thriller Shiver. The Dimension Films project, inspired by true events, is about a group of New Year's Eve revelers who get involved in a car crash and are stranded in a Minnesota snowstorm. They stumble upon the nearby home of a widowed doctor obsessed with torture as a scientific study.

"What I like about Shiver and the horror genre is that when it's done honestly, with serious intent, it can tap into the social fears and anxieties of our time," Cuesta said. "I find that exploring the grotesque, the abhorrent, and what disturbs us is a chance to convey some universal truths about us and our society."

After the 2001 release of L.I.E., which won honors at numerous international film festivals, Cuesta went on to direct episodes of HBO's Six Feet Under. His latest film, Twelve and Holding, will screen at the New Directors/New Films series in New York City. (Borys Kit and Tatiana Siegel, Reuters, with additional reporting by Advocate.com)