‘Smile’ Producers Temple Hill and Anton Team With YouTube Horror Star Sam Evenson for ‘Ignore It,’ Lily Collias to Lead Feature Adaptation of Viral Short (EXCLUSIVE)

Sam Evenson, the YouTube horror star behind the hugely popular Grimoire Horror channel, has teamed up with “Smile” producers Temple Hill Entertainment and Anton to adapt his viral horror short “Ignore It” into his feature directorial debut. The film, which Evenson will write and direct, follows a family who fights to survive living with a terrifying entity known only as ‘The Woman,’ who will kill you if you acknowledge her. As per the synopsis: “Their one rule for survival: ignore it.” Lily Collias, who was recently seen in “Roofman” and broke out in India Donaldson’s acclaimed 2024 Sundance and Cannes bowing feature “Good One,” is set to lead the cast. Anton is launching sales in Toronto. Popular on Variety “Ignore It” began as a 7-minute horror short released on YouTube in 2021, based on the viral r/NoSleep Reddit story, “You’re Going to Notice a Woman in Your Home, You Must Ignore Her,” by Jeff Speziale. Speziale’s original story has built a passionate following, while Evenson’s short has amassed over 12 million views on YouTube with an active, fast-growing fan community across TikTok’s HorrorTok ecosystem. Speziale and Evenson are now collaborating to expand the original premise and shape the story for a feature length film. Recently tipped to follow in the footsteps of Curry Barker and Kane Parsons from YouTube to feature films, Evenson has seen his channel Grimoire Horror grow past 199,000 subscribers and his short films draw tens of millions of views. He is also a VFX artist, with credits spanning the Academy Award-winning “Dune: Part Two,” HBO’s “The Last of Us” and Taika Waititi’s “Thor: Love and Thunder.” Variety recently announced that he was developing another of his viral shorts, “Mora,” into a feature with Neon, although “Ignore It” will go into production first. “Ignore It” will be produced by Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner, John Fischer, Hal Sadoff, and Ben Levine for Temple Hill Entertainment, with Anton’s Sébastien Raybaud (“Victorian Psycho,” “Fuze,” “Greenland”) and Kathy Stocker executive producing. Anton is also fully financing the film and handling worldwide sales. “Sam is a generational talent whose viral horror shorts have delighted and terrified millions,” said Temple Hill Entertainment. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to help bring his first feature to life, which will push the envelope on how cinematic language can be used to create an immersive horror experience. With Sam at the helm and Lily Collias as Becca, we can’t wait to bring this spine-chilling, emotional thrill ride of a movie to audiences around the world.” Evenson is repped by UTA, Untitled, and Ziffren Brittenham. Speziale is repped by Verve and Story Driven and VanderKloot Law. Collias is repped by CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.