Searchlight Pictures Acquires New Horror Film ‘Monitor’
Disney’s Searchlight Pictures has revealed that it has acquired the distribution rights for some regions to a brand new horror film, “Monitor”, which made its world premiere at the SXSW festival last month.
The film tells the story of what happens after a disturbing video surfaces online, something begins to spread — moving from screen to screen and targeting anyone who watches. No escape. No warning. Once you’ve seen it … it’s already too late.
It stars Brittany O’Grady, Viveik Karla, Ines Høysæter Asserson, Gunner Willis, Sara Alexander and Camila Bejarano Wahlgren.
“Monitor” was created by Matt Black and Ryan Polly, who made their feature debut with the film. It was produced by Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner, John Fischer and Adrian Guerra. Executive producers on the project include Nuria Valls, Hal Sadoff, Ben Levine, Dave Bishop and George Hamilton.
Searchlight Pictures president Matthew Greenfield said in a statement regarding the acquisition:
“Matt and Ryan have crafted a visceral, modern thriller that taps directly into our collective fear of what may lurk just out of view, at the edges of our screens — delivering a truly wild ride. We can’t wait to bring it to audiences.”
Matt Black and Ryan Polly added:
“When we made the original Monitor short film. ,” said Black and Polly in a statement. “We’re beyond thrilled to be partnering with them to bring this monster to theaters, where it truly belongs on the big screen. Monitor was always meant to be experienced with a room full of people being terrified together.”
Searchlight Pictures has acquired the rights to distribute the film in the United States, the United Kingdom and Southeast Asia.
Currently, the plan is for the film to be given a release in 2027, which will be announced at a later date. We should expect the movie to be made available on Hulu/Disney+ in those regions after its theatrical release. Protagonist Pictures is handling the international sales for the project, so it could likely be released on other streaming services in other countries.
Roger’s Take: Searchlight Pictures generally have a good eye for picking up great independent films and I’m sure “Monitor” will be a great addition to the lineup, its just a shame it’s not a global deal and we’re all going to have to wait until next year to see it.
Are you looking forward to watching “Monitor”? Let me know on social media!
