Found footage horror has come a long way since THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT changed the game in 1999, and now two of the people behind that landmark film are heading back into the format with a very modern nightmare.
Icon Film Distribution has announced that THE INFLUENCER PROJECT will arrive in UK and Irish cinemas nationwide on Oct. 16, bringing Blair Witch co-creator Eduardo Sánchez and producer Gregg Hale back to their found footage roots.
This time, the camera isn’t wandering through the woods looking for a witch. It’s following an online influencer whose millions of followers have turned her life into a nonstop stream of content, creating a very different kind of horror. That alone sounds terrifyingly great.
WATCH THE TRAILER FOR “THE INFLUENCER PROJECT BELOW”
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: British beauty and lifestyle influencer Chiara King stars as a fictionalized version of an online celebrity facing the darker side of internet fame. King brings some real-world experience to the role, having previously spoken about her own experiences with stalkers. She currently has more than 4.2 million followers on TikTok and 1.4 million on Instagram.
The film follows Chiara as she travels to Copenhagen with a documentary crew promising an unfiltered look at the reality behind her glamorous online persona. The cameras capture her every move, while her devoted followers watch from behind their screens.
Someone else is watching too.
As an obsessive stalker begins closing in, the documentary takes a much darker turn, forcing the filmmakers to confront the difference between what is being recorded for content and what could become evidence of a real threat.
The film also marks the directorial debut of Mike Nybroe, working alongside Sánchez and Hale as the filmmakers return to the format they helped bring into the mainstream.
Parasocial relationships, online celebrity culture and stalking have become increasingly familiar parts of the social media landscape, making the premise feel uncomfortably close to reality.
THE INFLUENCER PROJECT arrives in UK and Irish cinemas on Oct. 16.