Even though Stephen King is all the rage, John Carpenter films have become the hot new inspiration. In fact, Guillermo del Toro‘s next project is inspired by his Halloween.

Fox Searchlight recently acquired the supernatural horror script Antlers, written by Henry Chaisson and “Channel Zero” creator Nick Antosca. Del Toro then tapped Hostiles director Scott Cooper to helm the pic that follows a fourth-grade teacher who tries to help a troubled boy in her class, only to discover that he’s been hiding a nightmarish secret – something terrifying is coming for the boy, and she has to protect him.

Collider had the chance to speak with Cooper, who revealed that Antlers is not only inspired by Carpenter’s Halloween, but also The Exorcist.

“Well I’m currently developing Antlers,” he told the site. “I’m working with the writers now before I start writing on it, but I’m in the process of really developing that with Guillermo and it’s been a lot of fun, and very different for me.

“I was so influenced early on by the work of John Carpenter, like Halloween, or certainly The Exorcist which is a favorite of mine, or even Tarkovsky’s Stalker.

“So I’m able to bring all of that into one film which is exciting.”

Cooper says it’s his unfamiliarity with the horror genre that partially spurred del Toro to tap him for Antlers:

“[Guillermo] said I’ve obviously never seen you direct a horror film, but there’s a lot of horrific moments in your movies, so I’m more interested in someone who doesn’t work in that genre to step into it. Which is I guess a bit like Friedkin in a sense, having not directed in that genre before he took on The Exorcist. So I find that exciting, I’ve made my musical of sorts and my personal film with Out of the Furnace and my anti-gangster gangster movie, and then the Western… [Guillermo is] fantastic and so supportive and wildly imaginative, so it’s really been a great collaboration. I’m very fortunate that he asked me to do this.”

Watch this spot for more when Cooper and del Toro begin the casting process later this year.