A parasitic invasion of lice is set to hit Long Island in an upcoming feature described as a horror mashup of The Breakfast Club and Lord of the Flies.

Simply entitled Lice, the feature marks the first from Kevin Connolly’s ActionPark Productions alongside partner Patrick Marino, and is set to star Emile Hirsch (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Into the Wild), Justin Long (Barbarian, Goosebumps), and Connolly (Entourage) himself. The film — billed as a “gruesome throwback to ‘80s high school classics” — begins production this week in Canada.

Highland Film Group is repping international rights, handling sales at the Marché du Film.

Director/cinematographer Jonathan Bensimon makes his feature directorial debut with a script written by Anthony Musella and Shaun Harris (The Hemingway Thief), from an original concept by Connolly. The film is produced by Connolly, Jeremy Alter, and Gary Goldman, who recently collaborated on Entourage creator Doug Ellin’s Ramble On, which starred Charlie Sheen, Connolly and Kevin Dillon.

Lice follows a deadly outbreak of the parasite at a Long Island high school in the 1980s. When the school goes under military lockdown, the itch-crazed students turn on each other in a desperate struggle to survive. Hirsch stars as burned-out science teacher Mr. Shanker, who finds new purpose as he investigates the bloodthirsty mites, Long as Principal Van, a man who is out of his depth and soon out of his mind, and Connolly as the tenacious Detective Sikorski, the desperate cop on the outside racing against time to contain the outbreak before it consumes the entire town.

“I wanted to make the kind of movies that I loved as a kid,” said Connolly. “I’m a horror fan and I wanted to make something for guys like me — fun, weird, scary, and completely unpredictable. It made perfect sense to launch our feature division with a project this bold and ambitious. Jonathan Bensimon is that rare combination of creative mind and brilliant technician. And when you get two incredible actors who can blend comedy and drama the way Emile and Justin can, you’ve really got something special on your hands.”

Added Bensimon: “Kevin Connolly sent me a script that was a real pager turner and with him and Shaun Harris we turned it into a pulpy horror feature with a cast that deftly mixes darkness and levity to create something truly unique. I’m especially excited to collaborate with Kodak and Cinestill, blending stylistic techniques, to design visuals to give Lice a signature look.”

“Lice is stylish, visually arresting, and hilariously disturbing—everything I love in a project,” said producer Alter. Fellow producer Gary Goldman added, “Kevin and I have been looking to do a movie like this together since Entourage. It’s just such a great concept and something that is a core fear for most parents.”

Hirsch is represented by Stride Management and UTA; Long is repped by Independent Artist Group and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.

By Alex Ritman, Variety