The studio feeding frenzy for established internet IPs is going full force. It’s confirmed that filmmaker Savanah Moss and the studio Tongal are developing a movie based on Jeff the Killer. Given that Jeff is a cornerstone piece of the creepypasta genre, it’s not really surprising it’s being adapted. What is surprising is that they are keeping some of the collaborative elements that went into the character’s creation.
In 2008, YouTube user Sesseur posted a video titled “Jeff the Killer” on YouTube. It tells the story of a teenager who burns his face with a chemical while trying to clean a bathtub. Later on that same month, the user KillerJeff popped up on Newgrounds. Both the user’s avatar and the YouTube video featured a heavily distorted face with a wide grin, sunken black eyes, and ghostly pale skin. (Pictured below)
Like all creepypasta, the internet soon spawned plenty of collaborative fiction and spinoffs like Jane the Killer. The image itself became fodder for different jump scares in various prank videos and games. The lore around Jeff has evolved into him being a 13-year-old serial killer who is disfigured after being burned by some bullies. He often says the phrase “go to sleep” before killing.
Now, Moss and Tongel are asking fans “to help us establish what makes him tick kill. Submit your written ideas for his motivation, vibe, and killing technique” here. Most studios don’t solicit this kind of fan feedback for a developing project. However, creepypasta has, by nature, always been highly collaborative. So carrying the philosophy into the development process at least shows that they understand the medium to some degree.
From Internet Shorts to Feature Film
Moss is probably best known for her “Fever Dream” shorts on TikTok, which often blend comedy and strange visuals. While Jeff The Killer is her feature-length debut, she recently wrote, co-directed, and starred in the short film Funny Bunny.
Her work on TikTok has already shown she can stylistically bring Jeff the Killer to the big screen. The fact that she is familiar with the lore behind the character doesn’t hurt either.
“I grew up reading Jeff the Killer and all of the creepypasta horror stories, so there’s definitely a nostalgic connection for me. I’ve even used Jeff in some of my ‘Fever Dream’ videos in the past, so it’s crazy to fast-forward to now and actually have the opportunity to help turn this character into a feature film,” Moss told TheWrap. “What I’ve always loved about Jeff is how much of the character was built by the internet. 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. We have this unique opportunity to take the character everyone knows and loves and create a truly terrifying, grounded horror film, while still staying true to Jeff’s origin. I don’t just want to recreate the creepypasta — I want to make Jeff feel terrifyingly real.”
A Popular Guy
But the love for the character doesn’t end with Moss. “I’ve been a huge fan of creepypasta for a long time and was exploring titles around 2017 with a network partner of ours, so it was on my radar. Then, when Michael and Mark brought Jeff the Killer, it was an easy decision,” says James DeJulio, Tongal co-founder and CEO. “First, Jeff the Killer ‘jumpscare’ has to be in the hall of fame of internet folklore. Second, the story and ambiguity around the original photo, and the ‘Is it real’ history, lent itself perfectly to working with both the fanbase and our filmmaking community to turn it into a feature.”
Online to The Big Screen
The recent success of films like Obsession and Backrooms has sparked a rise in studio projects made by online creators or based on internet-created IP. “Creators have spent years learning how to tell stories, build audiences and figure out what actually connects with people — just in a different format,” Moss said. “I believe the line between a ‘creator’ and a ‘filmmaker’ is starting to disappear. Now you’re seeing creators take everything they’ve learned and apply it on a much bigger scale.”
Many online creators handle every aspect of their work from start to finish (or at least when they’re starting out). So it makes sense that those skill sets would transfer well to making a feature film.
“This has been the biggest sea change in Hollywood since the original studio system broke up. It’s been pretty obvious that the studios have been out of touch with the fans and audiences for some time now. And when two scrappy young filmmakers prove that they can not only build an audience outside of the system, but they can also bring that audience into theaters, it’s a massive wake up call. The last thing I can think of that can hold a candle to these is ‘The Blair Witch Project ‘— another scrappy horror title where the audience had a huge impact on how and where it was distributed. Jeff the Killer is going be a home run.”
explains DeJulio
A New Hope
Fans have been telling studios for years that we are sick of bloated franchises and remake after remake. Obsession and Backroom are just the latest and greatest hits in a growing trend of original IPs striking gold at the box office. Smaller studios could theoretically see huge returns by giving lesser-known or first-time feature filmmakers modest budgets for more unique films. Which is the trend NerdBot has basically been begging for. We are fans just like you, and we are also so sick of the same thing over and over again.
There is no release window set for the Jeff the Killer movie just yet. We’ll keep you posted on updates about the project as it develops. Don’t forget to submit your ideas to Moss and Tongal here.
