Blair Witch Producers Join 'Influencer Project'
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- Chiara King stars as a fictionalized version of herself in the found-footage horror film, with the TikToker's 4.2 million followers on the platform (and 1.4 million more on Instagram) making her feature acting debut.
- Hades Films, founded by lifelong friends Alex Hertzberg and Ahmet Zappa — who met in kindergarten in Los Angeles and made their first horror film at age eight — releases its first theatrical feature internationally on October 2 through Point Neuf and Voltron Global Media.
- The Blair Witch Project creators Eduardo Sánchez and Gregg Hale joined as producers after being drawn to King's "raw and powerful" performance, bringing the improvisational methods behind their 1999 found-footage landmark to develop director Mike Nybroe's approach.
- The Influencer Project follows King's character to Copenhagen, where a documentary crew's footage shifts from viral content to apparent evidence of a violent crime as an obsessive stalker tracks her movements.
- King has personally experienced stalking — a 2023 study cited in the article found more than 70% of surveyed influencers had experienced online harassment or toxic criticism — and said she wanted to "stand in my power" rather than play a helpless victim.
- Director Mike Nybroe, a Danish commercial filmmaker making his feature debut, shot a proof of concept after the Danish industry repeatedly passed; the footage reached the U.S. through Zappa and a mutual friend before Hades was even officially launched.
Why it matters: Hades Films is staking its first theatrical release on King's lived experience as a stalking victim, with Blair Witch alumni supplying the improvisational scaffolding. Founders Hertzberg and Zappa call theatrical exhibition foundational to their Gen Z horror vision, making this international rollout a deliberate bet on communal horror moviegoing.
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