AceShowbiz -

The remake of Pascal Laugier's "Martyrs" is moving forward with Daniel Stamm hired to serve behind the lens, but Kristen Stewart will not be involved in the project. In an interview with Los Angeles Times, the filmmaker denied that the "Twilight" beauty will star in the American version.

"(It's) the first time I've heard that," the "The Last Exorcism" director says when asked about Stewart's casting report. As for how he will translate the French horror for new audience, Stamm explained, "Martyrs is very nihilistic. The American approach [that I'm looking at] would go through all that darkness but then give a glimmer of hope. You don't have to shoot yourself when it's over."

He also gushed on the story's appeal, telling the site, "Every time you think you know where it's going, it goes somewhere else. It plays on things that are familiar - like two friends who can't be separated, kind of a Forrest Gump and Jenny situation. But then it takes a turn, and in doing so asks interesting questions. 'If you have a best friend in the world and she goes crazy, how much do you owe this friend to go down with them?' It's much more than a horror film."

Pascal Laugier's "Martyrs" is a dark and violent tale centering on two teenage girls, Lucie and Anna, who establish a friendship, until one of them inexplicably goes on a murderous rampage to avenge what may or may not have been earlier incidents of child abuse. When the movie was released in 2008, it became a hit in Europe.