Hollywood is in a gold rush for internet horror IP, paying millions for memes like Siren Head
Key Points
- Warner Brothers paid more than $1 million for movie rights to Siren Head, a viral internet horror creation by illustrator Trevor Henderson, signaling studios now treat YouTube and Reddit IP as acquisition targets alongside traditional media.
- United Artists and Amblin Entertainment won a bidding war for The Mandela Catalogue by demonstrating genuine familiarity with the source material, with creator Alex Kister directing the film adaptation.
- The Backrooms, a 4chan creepypasta adapted into a Hollywood film that grossed over $100 million, triggered a studio scramble for internet horror properties that previously generated no revenue for their creators.
Summary
Hollywood's Horror Meme Gold Rush
Warner Brothers paid more than $1 million for movie rights to Siren Head, a faceless monster created eight years ago by Toronto-based illustrator Trevor Henderson. The deal marks the arrival of a new acquisition strategy in Hollywood: studios are systematically hunting internet horror IP with proven Gen Z engagement, treating viral creepypasta and YouTube properties the same way they once treated literary properties.
The precedent is Backrooms, a 4chan creepypasta that became a viral YouTube channel and then a Hollywood film grossing over $100 million. That success has triggered a full-scale scramble. Eleven Studios, United Artists, and Amblin Entertainment have all bid on internet horror concepts. United Artists and Spielberg's Amblin ultimately won the rights to The Mandela Catalogue, a psychological horror YouTube series, paying millions of dollars and letting the series' 22-year-old creator Alex Kister direct the film adaptation.
Michael DeLuca, co-chair of Warner's Motion Picture Group, frames the shift plainly: studios now view online horror properties "as a resource for adaptations the same way we look at books and other media." The competitive dynamic mirrors the script bidding wars of the 1980s and 1990s, except the IP originates on YouTube, Reddit, and Roblox rather than agents' offices.
The creator economics are stark. Henderson made no money from Siren Head for eight years despite its viral spread through YouTube films, Amazon merchandise, and video games. He described the sudden $1 million deal as disorienting after accepting financial ruin. Producer Aaron Kuntz, who made a YouTube creator film called Shelby Oaks two years ago, engineered the Mandela Catalogue deal by timing his pitch to the week Backrooms hit theaters—and by eliminating studios that couldn't demonstrate familiarity with the source material. He noted, with dry precision, that some agents simply asked ChatGPT, "What's the next Backrooms?"
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