EXCLUSIVE: Temple Hill Entertainment, the producers behind box office horror hits Smile and Smile 2, and UK sales outfit Protagonist Pictures, are teaming up on horror Monitor.
Written and directed by Ryan Polly and Matt Black (I Bet You’re Wondering How I Got Here) for their feature debut, the film is based on their short of the same name.
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.
In Monitor, 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. Casting discussions are underway.
Protagonist Pictures is launching worldwide sales at the upcoming American Film Market, with production scheduled to begin in spring 2025. This is the latest collaboration between Protagonist and Temple Hill, which began with the slasher horror Clown In A Cornfield which sold out at AFM 2022.
“Our friends at Temple Hill have an incredibly successful track record for making films that connect with global audiences. They deliver once again with this audacious and bold film that is sure to scare the hell out of cinema goers worldwide,” said Protagonist Pictures’ CEO, Dave Bishop. “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 added: “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.”
“We’re thrilled to introduce Matt and Ryan’s terrifying filmmaking vision to the world,” the producers shared in a joint statement. “Monitor is a chilling and timely exploration of how digital reality can begin to overtake real life. To us, it is The Ring for the social media generation and we can’t wait for audiences everywhere to experience it.”
In addition to Monitor, writer-directors Ryan Polly and Matt Black are in development on multiple feature film projects including the feature-length adaptations of their short film Pizza Time.
Founded by Godfrey and Bowen in 2006, Temple Hill Entertainment is the prolific banner behind a number of blockbuster film franchises, including the 2022 successful sleeper hit, Smile, followed by the box office chart-topper, Smile 2, both released by Paramount Pictures. Their book-to-film adaptations, The Twilight Saga and The Maze Runner trilogy, have grossed more than $5B and $949M worldwide respectively.
Polly and Black are represented by Jon Kee at Circle Management + Production, and Raymond Tambe at JSSK.