Another horror story born online is being developed for cinema. Following the commercial performance of Backrooms, the creepypasta character Jeff the Killer is the subject of a new feature-film project.
Filmmaker Savanah Moss is producing the movie with Tongal, a content-creation platform that connects businesses with writers, directors and production companies. Details of the project identify Moss as a central creative figure.
Jeff the Killer’s origins
Jeff the Killer first appeared as a creepypasta in 2008. Its central character is a 13-year-old serial killer who turns to murder after bullies disfigure his face. The figure is strongly associated with a digitally altered portrait of a pale-faced man wearing an unsettling smile; an edited version of that image became a defining part of the character’s identity.
Savanah Moss moves from TikTok to feature films
Moss is a TikTok creator and filmmaker whose horror-comedy work has a surreal, “fever dream” quality. Fast editing, jump cuts and Lynchian oddness are prominent features of one of her recent videos.
Her first short film, Funny Bunny, was released in 2025. Moss currently has 11.4 million TikTok followers. She is producing the Jeff the Killer film alongside Mark Korshak and Michael McKay, who both worked on Peppermint and The Age of Adaline.
Aiming for a realistic horror adaptation
“What I’ve always loved about Jeff is how much of the character was built by the internet,” Moss said. “Jeff stuck with people and became an internet icon. Now, there are so many different versions of his story from people adding to it and reimagining it throughout the years.”
Moss says the film will use that shifting history as a starting point. Her goal is a grounded, frightening interpretation that respects Jeff’s origins without simply recreating the original creepypasta. She wants the character to feel “terrifyingly real”.
Why online horror is attracting Hollywood
The Jeff the Killer project is part of a broader industry interest in creators who have built audiences through social media and online video. Backrooms, adapted from a viral creepypasta, has earned almost $395 million worldwide from a $10 million budget. Obsession has reportedly turned a $900,000 budget into $488 million.
Both films were led by young creators who began by making horror videos on YouTube: Kane Parsons and Curry Barker. Parsons is negotiating a major contract with A24. Barker is working on Anything but Ghosts for Focus Features and Universal Pictures, has been tapped for a Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot and is developing another original horror film for Universal. He has also said he would like to make a new Freddy Krueger movie.
More creepypasta projects are in development
The rush is not limited to Jeff the Killer. Earlier in 2026, Steven Spielberg, United Artists’ Scott Stuber and Amazon MGM Studios won a bidding war for the rights to the YouTube horror series The Mandela Catalogue. Alex Kister, the series’ original creator, will direct the film.
Other projects include Siren Head, which is receiving a screenplay from Zach Cregger, Trevor Henderson’s Cartoon Cat and an SCP Foundation project tied to the V/H/S series.
What we know so far
The Jeff the Killer film has no announced release date, cast or additional production details in the information currently available. Its development nevertheless illustrates how internet horror is moving from short-form videos and image-based folklore into mainstream film.
For Australian readers interested in the wider relationship between interactive entertainment and horror culture, RETROCADE’s Arcade Blog covers arcade and gaming news. You can also browse arcade industry videos or explore DIY arcade kits for hands-on projects.
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