Searchlight Pictures has picked up the U.S. distribution rights to Monitor, the horror feature from rising directors Matt Black and Ryan Polly.
The acquisition comes after the movie made its world premiere in March at SXSW in its Midnighter section.
No opening date was revealed in the company’s announcement Wednesday but it did state that a release in 2027 was being planned.
Described by some as A Nightmare on Elm Street meets The Ring for the modern screen generation, the movie stars Brittany O’Grady as a young woman who works as a content moderator, sifting through some of the worst material the internet has to offer. After she flags and removes a mysterious video, she and her colleagues find themselves hunted by an evil force that uses the ubiquitous screen in their lives to kill them.
The cast also includes Taz Skylar (One Piece), Viveik Karla (Blinded by the Light), Ines Høysæter Asserson (Harajuku), Gunner Willis (The Bondsman), Sara Alexander (Call the Midwife), and Camila Bejarano Wahlgren (The Sandhamn Murders).
“When we made the original Monitor short film eight years ago, we never imagined it would one day find a home at Searchlight Pictures,” said Black and Polly in a statement. “We’re beyond thrilled to be partnering with them to bring this monster to theaters, where it truly belongs on the big screen. Monitor was always meant to be experienced with a room full of people being terrified together.”
Stated Searchlight Pictures president Matthew Greenfield, “Matt and Ryan have crafted a visceral, modern thriller that taps directly into our collective fear of what may lurk just out of view, at the edges of our screens, delivering a truly wild ride.”
Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey and Isaac Klausner, who produced horror hit Smile, produced Monitor along with John Fischer and Adrian Guerra.
Executive producers include Nuria Valls, Hal Sadoff, Ben Levine, Dave Bishop and George Hamilton.
Searchlight will also distribute the movie in the U.K .and Southeast Asia.
