‘Resident Evil’ Director Zach Cregger Confirms He’s Co-Writing a ‘Siren Head’ Movie, Says the Story Stands on Its Own
Hollywood’s fascination with internet-born horror has only intensified since ‘Backrooms’ proved that a viral creepypasta could translate into genuine box office success. Studios have spent the months since scrambling to secure the rights to whatever internet urban legend seems primed to be next, with bidding wars breaking out over properties that started as little more than fan-made illustrations and YouTube explainer videos.
That scramble reached a fever pitch back in July, when Warner Bros. won a five-studio bidding war for the rights to ‘Siren Head,’ the viral horror creation from Canadian illustrator Trevor Henderson. The character, a towering, skeletal figure with two sirens for a head that blares distorted audio to lure its prey, has racked up billions of views across TikTok, YouTube and Roblox since Henderson first unveiled it back in 2018.
That project now has one of horror’s hottest names attached to it, and he’s opening up about why he took it on. Zach Cregger, fresh off directing ‘Weapons’ and currently promoting his upcoming ‘Resident Evil’ adaptation, is co-writing the ‘Siren Head’ script with ‘Whalefall’ director Brian Duffield, who is set to direct the project.
Cregger addressed the meme-based origins of the project directly, making clear his interest in the story goes beyond simply chasing an internet trend. “Whether it was an internet meme or not, I would be interested in telling this story,” Cregger said, according to Deadline, adding that a good concept should be able to stand on its own regardless of where it originated.
That sentiment cuts against a common criticism leveled at studios rushing to adapt internet phenomena, namely that the appeal lies entirely in preexisting brand recognition rather than genuine storytelling potential. Cregger’s comments suggest he and Duffield found something in Siren Head’s mythology worth exploring on its own terms, rather than simply banking on the character’s massive online following to sell tickets.
That online following is substantial by any measure. Siren Head first gained mainstream visibility through YouTuber Markiplier, who began covering the character on his channel back in 2020, helping push the mysterious cryptid into a fixture of horror content across social media platforms.
Warner Bros. clearly sees the character as its answer to A24’s ‘Backrooms’ success, which similarly began as a piece of internet creepypasta before becoming a genuine theatrical hit. The studio beat out competition from Sony, Universal, Paramount and Disney’s 20th Century Studios to land the rights, according to reports, with the deal reportedly reaching into the low seven figures before producer and talent packages were finalized.
Duffield brings his own genre credentials to the project, having directed ‘Spontaneous’ and ‘No One Will Save You’ to positive reviews, along with his upcoming survival thriller ‘Whalefall,’ starring Josh Brolin and Austin Abrams. Cregger, meanwhile, continues riding a wave of momentum following ‘Weapons,’ which earned Amy Madigan an Academy Award, and his forthcoming take on the ‘Resident Evil’ franchise.
Cregger and Duffield are producing ‘Siren Head’ alongside Roy Lee and Andrew Childs of Vertigo Entertainment, the production company behind ‘Barbarian,’ along with Scott Glassgold of 12:01 Films. Henderson himself is attached as an executive producer, giving the character’s original creator a direct hand in how his creation makes the leap to the big screen.
No release date, casting details or plot specifics have been announced for the project, which remains in relatively early development following its rights acquisition. Given how quickly ‘Backrooms’ moved from viral phenomenon to theatrical release, though, it wouldn’t be surprising if ‘Siren Head’ follows a similarly fast-tracked path toward production.
With two established genre filmmakers now publicly committed to treating the material as a story worth telling in its own right, ‘Siren Head’ looks positioned to be one of the more closely watched horror projects moving through Hollywood’s pipeline. Whether the finished film can match the sprawling online mythology that’s built up around the character remains to be seen.
Are you excited for a Siren Head movie?
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