Kurt Sutter is to direct 'This Beast'.

Kurt Sutter with wife Katey Segal

Kurt Sutter with wife Katey Segal

The 60-year-old star will make his feature directorial debut on the Netflix drama, which is being produced by Jason Blum for Blumhouse Productions and Carla Hacken for her Paper Pictures banner.

The plot centres on an English village besieged by a mysterious and elusive beast during the 18th century. Dozens of innocent people are slaughtered and the mayhem is driven to puritanical heights by religious fanaticism.

A lowly trapper is given the impossible task of killing the beast as he promises to stop the carnage. But for him the hunt for the beat is not a professional mission, it is a personal one.

The plot was inspired by 'The Beast of Gevaudan', a true story about a mysterious beast that terrorised a French village in the 1760s. Chris McCumber and Jeremy Gold will serve as executive producers for Blumhouse Television.

Sutter created the popular TV series 'Sons of Anarchy' as well as 'Mayans M.C' after launching his career on 'The Shield'. On the movie front, he wrote the boxing drama 'Southpaw', which starred Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role.

Kurt said: "Bringing my disturbing, familial story sensibility into the Blumhouse world just seemed like something that had to happen. And 'This Beast' is the perfect project for that marriage. And Netflix is the perfect venue for that bloody ceremony."

Jason added: "We've long been fans of Kurt and his unparalleled storytelling – that's both visceral and packs an emotional punch. We're excited that Blumhouse is producing his first feature at Netflix."