Foster Devries is the main antagonist of George Romero's cancelled film adaptation of R.L. Stine's original Goosebumps book, Welcome to Dead House.
Overview[]
In George Romero's screenplay for the Welcome to Dead House film adaptation, Foster Devries is the CEO of the plastics factory of Dark Falls, which is reimagined as a company town, as well as the town patriarch. When the chemical leak that produces the gas that transforms the townspeople into zombies occurs, Devries is for some reason turned into a spirit instead of a zombie, and comes to possess the house in Dark Falls that later comes to be known as the Dead House.
After learning that the undead states he and the other townspeople have entered require lifeforce to preserve their new immortality, Devries, ever an opportunist and capitalist, begins offering the townspeople, many of them his former workers, a new "wage" in the form of immortality. The townspeople, led by Dark Falls realtor Compton Dawes, begin luring outsiders into Dark Falls and having them take up residence in the Dead House. While the new residents reside in the Dead House, Devries's spirit is able to gradually drain their lifeforces and use them to preserve his own immortality. In return for providing him with a yearly supply of victims, Devries uses his powers to preserve the immortality of the townspeople. After the victims are fully drained, they become zombies as well, and join the townspeople of Dark Falls.
While most of the adults in Dark Falls are happy to continue the cycle, the children of Dark Falls wish to break the cycle so they can rest in peace. To defeat Devries, the Benson family have to survive in the town until the immortality expires. Though the exact details are unknown, the screenplay ends with Devries and Dawes defeated, as the entire town vanishes. The children thank Amanda Benson before fading away.
Personality[]
Devries's full personality is unknown due to the full details of the screenplay being unknown. From what can be gathered, he was able to start a plastics factory that was successful enough to become the foundation of the town, proving that he was an intelligent and diligent man. He apparently feared death greatly enough to resort to draining the lifeforces of outsiders to preserve his immortality, even though he would remain as a spirit sealed within a house with no freedom to move. He was apparently well respected by his workers, given that they revere his cycle and choose to continue it instead of passing on, with Dawes in particular showing genuine loyalty. This suggests that he treated his workers well. However, he was an opportunist, and was even willing to capitalize on the events that transformed the townspeople.