In a competitive acquisition, Fifth Season has secured the film rights to High Rise, the 2025 thriller novel by bestselling Australian author Gabriel Bergmoser.
Described as a high-octane mashup of Die Hard and The Raid, the story follows a rogue ex-cop who tracks his estranged daughter to a grimy apartment complex, only to find himself and his daughter trapped as the city’s entire criminal underworld descends upon the building.
Bergmoser is set to pen the screenplay himself, marking another major screen adaptation for the author following the success of The Hunted.
The project reunites director Patrick Hughes with the production teams at Hidden Pictures and Huge Film, following their massive success with the Netflix hit War Machine, which recently reached over 100 million households worldwide. Hughes, a Melbourne native himself, expressed his enthusiasm for the project as a means to continue championing Australian talent on a global stage.
With a premise that forces a broken father and daughter to fight their way through fifteen stories of relentless killers, High Rise is positioned to be a visceral, character-driven addition to the action-thriller genre.
Source: Deadline
