5 wild movies based on internet lore currently in development — including a “Backrooms” sequel

Brianna ZiglerWed, July 15, 2026 at 4:56 PM UTC

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Renate Reinsve as Mary Kline in ‘Backrooms’Credit: A24Key Points -

Following the success of Backrooms, Hollywood is eager to turn more internet horror stories into movies.

Filmmakers Brian Duffield and Zach Cregger are attached to a Siren Head movie.

The viral SCP Foundation serves as the backbone for the next V/H/S horror anthology.

Following the critical and commercial success of Backrooms, the main takeaway for Hollywood executives doesn’t seem to be that audiences are interested in mature films made by emerging talent — it’s that we want more CREEPYPASTA MOVIES!!!

For the uninitiated, “creepypasta” broadly refers to horror stories and characters that originate online, often on forums, image boards, and social media before spreading across the internet. Previous efforts to tap into this rich vein of horror, such as 2018’s Slender Man and 2023’s Dear David, underwhelmed, but Backrooms, which began as a series of eerie YouTube shorts, has proven there’s a real audience for internet-born horror.

With the wildly positive reception to Backrooms and the viral success of Obsession — whose director, Curry Barker, first made a name for himself on YouTube — it seems Hollywood is finally waking up to the box-office potential of internet-native creators and IP. Might we remind you of last year’s mind-numbing chicken jockey phenomenon?

Ahead, we break down the five in-development movies hoping to replicate that success.

01 of 05

Backrooms sequel

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Clark in ‘Backrooms’Credit: Courtesy of A24

While a sequel to Backrooms has not been officially greenlit, Deadline reports that one is in early development. Director Kane Parsons certainly seems eager to continue the story, as he told Polygon in May that a series of Backrooms films is his “dream scenario.”

“[Sequels are] more than an option — it’s been the intention since 2022,” he explained. “I went as far as I could with the YouTube series. [Making a feature film] became an option — I thought it’d be a much slower road to get to where things are now.”

He continued: “This film is the first part in what I would desire to be several narrative steps, in terms of approaching what I consider to be the true heart of the idea. I just don’t think you could get to it in the time you have for a single movie.”

02 of 05

The Mandela Catalogue

Steven Spielberg at the TCM Classic Film Festival NYC pop-up in January 2025Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty

Like Backrooms,The Mandela Catalogue comes straight from YouTube (and also has roots in Wisconsin). The 2021 web series is set in the fictional town of Mandela County, Wis., which finds itself at the mercy of immortal, shape-shifting entities called “Alternates.” Alternates psychologically torment their victims to the point of suicide with the intent of taking on their identities as perfect clones.

The Mandela Catalogue movie has major Hollywood heat behind it, with United Artists‘ Scott Stuber, Amblin‘s Steven Spielberg and Amazon MGM Studios backing it. The trio recently won the rights after, per Deadline, “a highly competitive 11-studio bidding war.”

As Backrooms had enlisted the web series’ own Kane Parsons to direct, The Mandela Catalogue will be helmed by creator Alex Kister, based on a screenplay he adapted alongside Tyler Clifton.

03 of 05

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Siren Head

Zach Cregger at CinemaCon in April 2026; Brian Duffield at a ‘No One Will Save You’ FYC event in May 2024

The film adaptation of Siren Head already has some impressive creative talent behind it, according to The Hollywood Reporter. After Warner Bros. won the bidding war for the rights, it tapped Brian Duffield (No One Will Save You) to direct from a screenplay he cowrote with Weapons and Barbarian mastermind Zach Cregger. Josh Brolin and Austin Abrams, who both appeared in Weapons, are already set to star, perVariety.

The titular character was created by Canadian artist Trevor Henderson and depicts a towering, emaciated, faceless cryptid with two rusted sirens protruding from its neck. According to its lore, Siren Head lures unsuspecting travelers into the woods by mimicking the sounds of a human in distress. However, it isn’t technically considered a creepypasta by purists, as it’s a standalone character.

04 of 05

Cartoon Cat

‘Siren Head’ and ‘Cartoon Cat’ creator Trevor HendersonCredit: trevor henderson/instagram

Another Trevor Henderson brainchild is getting the cinematic treatment, with Sony’s TriStar Pictures recently securing the rights to Cartoon Cat. Roy Lee and Scott Glassgold, who are also producing Siren Head, will return as producers.

Similar to the creepypasta Candle Cove (previously adapted into a season of Syfy’s Channel Zero), Cartoon Cat centers on a menacing entity that uses our memories of old cartoons as a portal to wreak havoc on reality. However, like Siren Head, Cartoon Cat isn’t considered a traditional creepypasta by purists, as it originated as Trevor Henderson’s own creation rather than an anonymously shared internet horror story.

Sony already has a relationship with Henderson. He provided concept art for 2024’s Tarot, produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Screen Gems label.

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05 of 05

V/H/S: SCP

‘V/H/S/HALLOWEEN’Credit: Shudder

The found-footage horror franchise V/H/S is doing its own spin on the creepypasta sensation with V/H/S: SCP, based on the “SCP Foundation” collaborative online fiction project. Since 2008, SCP Foundation has been driven entirely by fans and already spawned video games, web series, and short films — making it the perfect jumping-off point for a feature.

In the project’s shared universe, SCP Foundation is a secret, international organization that captures, studies, and contains paranormal anomalies in order to keep them hidden from humanity. This concept is a great fit for the V/H/S world, which has already thrived as an anthology of disturbing “recovered” footage.

Per Variety,“Standalone segments in the anthology will focus on different objects, entities or events under the containment-breach narrative.”

The film is slated for a 2027 theatrical release. Its producer, Spooky Pictures co-founder Steven Schneider, said in a statement: “The horror genre continues to be a remarkable launchpad for new talent to share original creations, and the vast SCP universe has provided a vital incubator for this creativity to thrive.”

on Entertainment Weekly

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