The search for the next ‘Obsession’ continues, as New Line has won a massive bidding war for horror short, ‘Jealous People are Ugly People’.
The mad scramble by studios to find the next big voice in horror continues with New Line landing the rights to the supernatural short film, Jealous People are Ugly People.
Deadline reports that the massive bidding war over the project involved at least ten parties.
Though there’s no official logline just yet, the project is based on Theo James Krekis‘ short that follows a guy named Vasilly, whose jealousy over his best friend’s sudden career success feeds a dark supernatural force growing within him.
The short premiered during the Midnight Madness section of SXSW 2026.
Krekis will write and direct the feature adaptation.
Of course, the move follows the recent trend of Hollywood scooping up horror shorts/memes left and right in an attempt to capture the success of Obsession and Backrooms.
Could Krekis be the next Kane Parson’s or Curry Barker? Time will tell.
Here’s a taste of the short:
