Aside from the plethora of supernatural creatures of vampires, werewolves, witches and fae in HBO’s True Blood, actor Stephen Moyer is confronted with a completely different supernatural creature in The Barrens. The film centers on the legendary Jersey Devil, a flying bipedal creature with hooves that has rooted itself in the local lore of the New Jersey area.

According to Variety, Moyer will star in The Barrens, written by Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw, Repo! The Genetic Opera). The film is said to be “in the vein of spooky Stephen King tales such as The Shining.” Moyer will play “a man who takes his family on a camping trip to the more than one million acres of dense forest known as the New Jersey Pine Barrens, where he becomes convinced they’re being stalked by the legendary winged monster that looks like a deformed hybrid of several different animals.”

The Jersey Devil has found its place in regional lore with other monsters like the Loch Ness Monster and Chupacabra. Bousman talks about his spin on the legend and the casting of Moyer:

“I don’t want to turn it into a cheesy creature feature. It’s about the characters for me, and having watched Stephen for years on ‘True Blood,’ I have no doubt he’s the right leading man.”

The Barrens is produced by The Genre Company and begins production this month in Toronto. The film is set for a fall release date in 2012 with Anchor Bay Entertainment.