James Badge Dale, Abigail Cowen, and Edouard Philipponnat have joined the cast of the psychological thriller The Guide, which has begun production in Syracuse, New York. The film marks the latest project from husband-and-wife duo Inon and Natalie Shampanier, who previously drew attention with the 2019 coming-of-age drama Paper Spiders, a story centered on mental health.
Inon Shampanier is directing The Guide from a screenplay he co-wrote with Natalie Shampanier, who also appears in the cast. The film follows a young woman, played by Abigail Cowen, as she enters a psilocybin mushroom retreat hoping to work through past trauma. She places herself under the supervision of a psychedelic therapy guide, played by James Badge Dale, but the situation becomes increasingly unstable as suspicion grows around the guide’s real motives.
As the retreat unfolds, the film shifts from a therapeutic setting into a psychological nightmare, with the past and present colliding in increasingly disturbing ways. The project is being positioned as an inward, immersive thriller that uses psychedelic therapy as the backdrop for a suspense-driven descent into fear and uncertainty.
Inon Shampanier said the film is intended to be a visceral journey and expressed enthusiasm about working with Dale, Cowen, and Philipponnat on the project. The cast announcement comes as production officially gets underway.
The film is produced by Anne Clements, whose credits include Undercard and The Kill Room, and co-produced by Colleen Comer, known for Diario. Jake Casey of The Dazey Phase serves as associate producer, while Molle DeBartolo is the line producer.
Dale is represented by CAA, MJ Management, and Michael Auerbach. Cowen is represented by Innovative Artists, Mosaic, and imPRint. Philipponnat is represented by Mosaic. The Shampaniers are represented by Chris Sablan at Avenue 220 Management and by Marios Rush Law.
The casting adds momentum to The Guide as the film moves into production, pairing established talent with a premise that blends trauma, therapy, and psychological suspense.
