Sony Lands Mouthwashing Rights, Taps Karyn Kusama — SkimNews
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- Sony Pictures acquired feature-film rights to Mouthwashing from developer Wrong Organ and publisher Critical Reflex.
- Karyn Kusama was attached to direct the adaptation, with Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay serving as the adapting scribes.
- Crooked Highway is the producing banner for Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill and Vince Cheng, and has a deal under Sony’s Screen Gems.
- Mouthwashing follows five crew members stranded aboard the space freighter Tulpar, where dwindling supplies, isolation and mounting paranoia expose fractures among them.
- Mouthwashing uses a first-person, nonlinear narrative about responsibility, denial and the consequences of unchecked power, while the film’s storyline remains under wraps.
- Mouthwashing debuted in 2024 with an 88 Metacritic score, sold close to 1 million units and won Best Narrative and Players’ Choice at the Horror Game Awards plus Best Hidden Gem at the New York Game Awards.
- Mouthwashing content generated 63 million YouTube views and close to 1 billion TikTok views.
Why it matters: Sony gains film rights to a game with close to 1 million sales and close to 1 billion TikTok views, giving it a feature adaptation backed by a sizable existing audience. Wrong Organ and Critical Reflex gain a feature-film extension for a 2024 hit that scored 88 on Metacritic and won two Horror Game Awards.
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