Move Over ‘Backrooms,’ There’s a New Viral Horror Sensation Headed to Hollywood

Now that Gen Z is the most active group of moviegoers, Hollywood is on the hunt for what will keep them in theaters. And after Backrooms blew the box office away, grossing nearly $331 million worldwide, the industry seems to have set its sights on viral memes and creepypasta as the magic key to enticing Gen Z.

As such, it looks like a Siren Head movie is on its way. A recent five-studio bidding war saw Warner Bros. Pictures acquire the underlying rights to the viral horror sensation from the late 2010s.

Part of the reason for such a massive bidding war is the talent already attached to the future film, with Zach Cregger (Weapons) and Brian Duffield (Whalefall) teaming up to co-pen the script. Duffield is also on board to direct.

What Is Siren Head?

For those who missed out on Siren Head’s internet origins, there may be questions about what exactly Siren Head is.

Canadian artist Trevor Henderson created posts on Tumblr and X (formerly Twitter) sharing Siren Head with the world in 2018. According to the lore, Siren Head is approximately 12 meters tall, vaguely humanoid with an almost skeletal shape, and has two sirens for a head. The creature uses the sirens to mimic voices, relay radio broadcasts, and more; this is how it hunts.

After Henderson created Siren Head, it wasn’t long before a group of game developers released a horror game featuring the mysterious figure. Another horror game from another developer soon followed, and Siren Head’s popularity grew. From there, came fan theories, fan-made films and art, and a huge following.

What Do We Know About the Movie So Far?

Since this allegedly seven-figure deal was just made, very little is known about what the Siren Head movie might be like.

What we do know is that Cregger will also be a producer on the film, along with Scott Glassgold of 12:01 Films and Andrew Childs and Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment (the company behind Weapons). Also known is that the deal for the rights to Siren Head included a theatrical release rather than a streaming one.

Additionally, Glassgold has a history of creative partnership with Trevor Henderson, as Henderson created the monsters for the Glassgold-produced Tarot. As such, Henderson may play a role in the creation of Siren Head’s onscreen look.

The plot is a complete unknown, but apparently, both Cregger and Duffield were attracted to Siren Head because of the way the mythology of the monster took on a life of its own. Whatever take they found to elevate the story even further was definitely enough to attract several studios’ attention, though. Hopefully, that take doesn’t alienate current Siren Head fans who have already discovered what they like about the entity.

While this may be the first deal to acquire rights to an internet sensation since Backrooms, chances are good that if this film works, Hollywood will be snatching up more viral horror memes.

(feature image: Trevor Henderson)

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