The latest YouTube horror sensation making the jump to feature films is Ignore It, a viral short from horror filmmaker and YouTube star Sam Evenson. Variety reports that Evenson is teaming with Smile producers Temple Hill Entertainment and Anton to turn the terrifying short into his feature directorial debut, with Good One and Cape Fear star Lily Collias set to lead the cast.
Evenson will write and direct the feature, which is based on his 2021 horror short of the same name. The story follows a family attempting to survive in a home haunted by a terrifying entity known only as The Woman. There’s just one rule when it comes to surviving her: ignore it.
The feature is the latest example of YouTube horror creators successfully taking their internet-born scares to the big screen. It follows filmmakers such as Curry Barker, whose work on YouTube led to Obsession, and Kane Parsons, who developed his viral Backrooms series into a feature film. Iron Lung, directed by YouTuber and filmmaker Markiplier, has similarly demonstrated how a horror project can grow from an online audience into a feature-length movie.
Evenson has plenty of reason to believe Ignore It can make that transition. His original seven-minute short has racked up more than 12 million views on YouTube, while his Grimoire Horror channel has grown to more than 199,000 subscribers. His shorts have collectively attracted tens of millions of views, giving Ignore It an audience before the feature has even gone into production.
The short was itself based on the viral r/NoSleep story “You’re Going to Notice a Woman in Your Home, You Must Ignore Her,” written by Jeff Speziale. Speziale and Evenson are now collaborating on the feature adaptation, expanding the original premise for a feature-length story.
Evenson is also an experienced visual effects artist. His credits include the Academy Award-winning Dune: Part Two, HBO’s The Last of Us, and Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder. He is already developing another of his viral shorts, Mora, as a feature with Neon, although Ignore It will be his first feature to enter production.
Temple Hill Entertainment and Anton are producing the movie. Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner, John Fischer, Hal Sadoff, and Ben Levine are producing for Temple Hill, while Anton’s Sébastien Raybaud and Kathy Stocker are executive producing. Anton is fully financing the film and handling worldwide sales.
“Sam is a generational talent whose viral horror shorts have delighted and terrified millions,” Temple Hill said in a statement. The company added that the movie will aim to create an “immersive horror experience” with Evenson directing and Collias playing Becca.
Are you a fan of Sam Evenson’s Grimoire Horror channel, and are you glad to hear that Ignore It is becoming a feature with Lily Collias in the lead? Let us know by leaving a comment below.