If you were born in the late 90s or early 2000s, chances are you experienced the childhood trauma of a sibling or friend insisting they had to show you a 'video' they'd just found on YouTube. Those absolutely terrifying clips are now making their way to the big screen. Who's ready for round two of the trauma?

It's safe to say that ever since Backrooms and Obsession were released to box office success, every production company has wanted a slice of the pie. And what exactly is that pie? The YouTube filmmaker. Technically, Obsession wasn't based on a YouTube concept, but its filmmaker, Curry Barker, got his start on the platform. Since, there has been a surge in studios acquiring the rights to YouTube-born concepts for feature film adaptations. Production companies are scouring the internet in search of the next breakout success, hoping to replicate the phenomenon of them.

So, amid the frenzy to find the next viral horror hit, we've curated a list of every YouTube concept that has officially been greenlit for a feature film adaptation.

The Mandela Catalogue

Release date: Unknown

YouTube concept: The Mandela Catalogue debuted as a long-form YouTube analogue horro web series of found-footage recordings in 2021, emergency broadcasts and VHS tapes that document the spread of terrifying shape-shifting entities known as Alternates. As the horror escalates, viewers piece together the mystery themselves, uncovering a mythology that blurs the line between paranoia and reality. Each episode typically ranges from five to thirty minutes.

This concept had 11 studios in a bidding war – pretty wild – that ultimately lead to Steven Spielberg and Amazon MGM Studios to win the rights to produce it. Incredible to see a filmmaker such as Spielberg jumping on the YouTube filmmaker train. According to Deadline the film will be directed by the original creator Alex Kister and base the screenplay which he adapted with Tyler Clifton. Obtaining over 100 million views on YouTube, this makes it one of the biggest analogue horror franchises on YouTube – alongside Backrooms and Local 58 – which hasn't been snatched up by a production company yet... so perhaps that will be the next one.

Open Door

Release date: Unknown

YouTube concept: Open Door originated as a three minute sci-fi horror short on YouTube, that follows two strangers trapped in an elevator that starts to descend into an increasingly surreal and terrifying unknown. With almost no dialogue and a heavy reliance on atmosphere, suspense and unanswered questions, the minimalist film leaves viewers to imagine what is lurking beyond the elevator doors. Having almost 15 million views across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

This is an interesting one – created originally by Kevin Cate, who wrote the script with scriptwriter Charles Spano. This short is reprising the original actors and bringing them back to the feature film. Sean Anthony Baker and Mia Matthews are the two actors coming back and doing it all over again. This film will be produced by Rick Kearney and Cate’s Clinging Vine Films.

Siren Head

Release date: Unknown

YouTube concept: Siren Head actually started as an illustration by artist Trevor Henderson in 2018 before it was adapted into a YouTube horror short by fans. A bit similar to how Backrooms started from a picture and turned into videos by Kane Parsons. People started creating found-footage shorts and analogue horror videos of encounters with the siren head figure. The idea is that the figures twin sirens as its head releases an emergency broadast and mimics human voice to lure people out.

This one also has a big team on board to turn it into a feature film. Warner Bros. will produce this film with Zach Cregger who created Weapons to co-write the script and Brian Duffield to direct. It seems Cregger already had an original take in mind that ended up it going into a bidding war with five companies.

Portrait Of God

Release date: Unknown

YouTube concept: Portrait of God began as a seven minute horror short written and directed by Dylan Clark, released on YouTube in 2022. It centres around a young woman researching a mysterious painting that supposedly reveals the true face of God – but only to certain people. As she studies the artwork, her understanding of faith begins to unravel, leading to a terrifying confrontation with something beyond human comprehension. The short became a viral hit thanks to its unsettling creature design and cosmic, religious horror, earning more than eight million views.

The feature adaptation has attracted some of horror's biggest names. It is being produced by Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw Productions (who did Up and Get Out) and Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures for Universal Pictures, with Dylan Clark returning to direct and co-write the screenplay alongside Joe Russo.

Mora

Release date: Unknown

YouTube concept: Mora started as a 12 minute horror short from filmmaker Sam Evenson, uploaded to YouTube through his Grimoire Horror channel in 2025 – only very recently. The story follows a struggling artist who becomes obsessed with tracking down a mysterious woman after she repeatedly appears in disturbing AI-generated images created using a corrupted model trained on material from the dark web. The short amassed more than four million YouTube views and quickly gained a cult following.

Independent studio NEON picked up the project for a feature adaptation, with Evenson returning to write and direct. The producing team include Roy Lee (It and Weapons), Steven Schneider (Late Night with the Devil) and Jessica Biel's Iron Ocean Productions.