Temple Hill Entertainment, the producers behind box office horror hits Smile and Smile 2, are aiming for repeat success with Monitor, a screenlife horror movie based on a short film of the same name per Deadline.
Monitor marks the feature debut of writers/directors Ryan Polly and Matt Black (“I Bet You’re Wondering How I Got Here”), who adapt their short film of the same name.
In the film, “when a group of social media moderators refuse to publish a horrifying video, a demonic creature starts following them across every screen in their lives. Feeding off fear, the creature hunts them down one by one and attacks them until it gets what it wants… to be let out beyond the screen.”
Protagonist Pictures’ CEO, Dave Bishop, told Deadline, “Monitor is a horror as terrifying as it is timely, with its contemporary take on the frightening online world we’re all forced to navigate. Ryan and Matt have the talent to deliver all the scares and more, and we can’t wait to jump into production early next year.”
Polly and Black stated, “The more we use screens in our daily lives, the more we learn we can’t trust them. It’s a universal anxiety that we think is ripe for a killer new horror concept. Temple Hill have been dream collaborators for us and their record in the genre speaks for itself. We can’t wait to summon this monster to the screen.”
The producers describe Monitor as “The Ring for the social media generation.”
The screenlife horror movie is poised to follow in Smile’s footsteps. Originally made for Paramount+, Parker Finn’s feature debut, Smile, was instead released into theaters and scared up an incredible $215 million worldwide in 2022. It also was based on Finn’s short film, “Laura Hasn’t Slept.“
Monitor is produced by Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, and John Fischer for Temple Hill (Smile, The Twilight Saga, The Maze Runner Trilogy), Nostromo Pictures (The Night Manager Season 2 ) is co-producing. Protagonist’s Dave Bishop and George Hamilton serve as executive producers. This isn’t the first collaboration between Temple Hill and Protagonist; the labels teamed up on upcoming slasher Clown In A Cornfield.
Protagonist Pictures is launching worldwide sales at the upcoming American Film Market, with production scheduled to begin in spring 2025.
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