Chase Infiniti is in final negotiations to lead the cast of "Portrait of God," a horror-thriller that Dylan Clark will direct for Lionsgate, according to an individual with knowledge of the project. The casting marks a notable genre pivot for the actress, who has spent the past several years building a profile in television dramas and high-end streaming projects. Lionsgate declined to comment on the deal, and studio insiders cautioned that the agreement is not yet closed.
If the deal is finalized, Infiniti would anchor a film whose premise sits squarely in the tradition of psychological horror rooted in questions of belief rather than jump scares. The story follows a religious young woman who is forced to reconcile her faith with what she sees when she studies a provocative painting of God. The project is being described internally as a chamber piece with a small cast, a framework that puts unusual weight on its lead performance.
A Franchise Architect Goes Small
Clark is best known to industry observers as a producer of large-scale franchise fare, having been a driving force behind the Planet of the Apes revival and other tentpole titles. "Portrait of God" represents a notable departure: a contained, director-driven horror film rather than a broad commercial spectacle. Genre veterans have increasingly taken on intimate projects between bigger commitments, partly because modestly budgeted horror remains one of the few reliably profitable categories in theatrical distribution.
It is worth noting that Clark has actually directed a version of this material before. A short film titled "Portrait of God," directed by Clark, was released on August 28, 2022, and runs just seven minutes. That earlier project carries the same logline as the Lionsgate feature, which raises the possibility that the studio is looking to expand a proof-of-concept short into a full-length release. The short's cast included Sydney Brumfield as Mia Reilly, Clark himself as the figure in the painting, Juha Kizilbas as Jeremy, and voice work from Ali Dusinberre, Anthony Misiano, Carina Gouws, John Martin, and Kristina Molina. Whether any of those performers will return for the feature version has not been disclosed.
Studios have pursued this strategy with increasing frequency over the past decade, using a short film as both a calling card and a test of whether an idea can sustain feature length. Sometimes the original cast is retained; more often, as would be the case here, a more prominent name is brought in to help finance and market the expanded version.
Why Infiniti Fits the Material
Infiniti has cultivated a screen presence built on restraint, and the role at the center of "Portrait of God" would demand exactly that quality. A film about a believer confronting a challenging image of the divine is largely a study in internal conflict, and it only works if the audience can read doubt, fear, and resolve on the performer's face across long stretches without dialogue. That is a different skill set from the ensemble-driven work that has defined much of her career.
Lionsgate has a long history with faith-adjacent horror and with religious-thriller hybrids, a lane that has produced steady returns without requiring the budgets or marketing spends of mainstream wide releases. Positioning "Portrait of God" as both a prestige-adjacent genre piece and an actor's showcase aligns with how the studio has approached similar titles in the past.
Release plans, production dates, and a supporting cast have not been announced. The short film carries no meaningful audience rating data on aggregator platforms, which is typical for a title that received limited distribution, and no rating information exists for the feature, since it has not yet been shot. Additional casting is expected to be announced in the coming weeks if the Infiniti deal closes.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
