Found-footage horror film casts real influencers as its leads

The makers of The Blair Witch Project are back with a horror movie built around a real social media personality. Eduardo Sánchez, who co-directed the 1999 hit, and producer Gregg Hale are behind The Influencer Project, a film starring British influencer Chiara King as a fictionalized version of herself.

King plays a character who travels to Copenhagen with a documentary crew to document her everyday life. As cameras follow her, an obsessive stalker begins tracking her movements. The film uses phones and online interactions to bring the found-footage format into the social media era.

King’s Personal Stakes

The story is partly inspired by King’s real experiences. “The stalking depicted in the film is something Chiara knows firsthand, and that comes across in her performance,” Hale said in a filmmakers’ announcement.

King called the role “deeply personal” and said she drew on her experiences for the performance.

“I was able to draw from my own experience to bring an honesty to the performance, while also exploring what it means to take back your sense of control. I’m incredibly proud of what we created, and I can’t wait for audiences to experience the film and go on this journey with us,” she said.

The Blair Witch Connection

Sánchez and Hale are also involved in the upcoming Blair Witch reboot, directed by horror YouTuber Dylan Clark. That project is separate from The Influencer Project, which tells its own story.

The film joins other horror movies built around online creators, including Milk and Serial, about two influencers whose filmed prank goes wrong, and the TikTok-inspired Skill House starring Bryce Hall.

Release Dates

The Influencer Project is scheduled for a limited US theatrical release on October 2 and a UK and Irish cinema release on October 16. A UK digital and home-video release is planned for November 30.

Comparing The Films

Each film borrows from social media culture, but the stories they tell are distinct. Milk and Serial turns a prank gone wrong into a horror premise. Skill House leans on the platform’s influence itself. The Influencer Project narrows its focus to one person and one stalker.

What The Film Offers

The Blair Witch Project used handheld cameras and shaky footage to sell a documentary-style scare. This new film takes the same approach and pushes it further into the present day. Phone footage, online chats and social media posts become the evidence of the horror unfolding.

That shift makes sense. The original film drew on the fear of being watched. Modern audiences have spent years building their own walls against that exact feeling — privacy settings, filters, the distance between a screen and a face. This movie strips away those defenses.

The use of a real influencer as the lead is a smart move. King brings a lived-in quality to the role that an actor playing a fictional character could not match. Her performance carries the weight of personal experience, and the filmmakers know it.

The film also fits a broader trend in horror. Milk and Serial, Skill House and other recent entries all borrow from the world of online fame. They treat social media as a source of dread rather than a tool for entertainment.

The Blair Witch team has made a bold choice. Instead of repeating their past success, they are adapting it to a new generation of audiences who live online. The result is a horror movie that feels current, even if it borrows the shape of an older one.

The film’s success will depend on whether King’s performance lands. She has described the role as deeply personal, and that honesty is the engine of the whole project. If audiences believe her fear, the scares will follow.

For now, the film stands as a promising entry in a crowded field. It offers a fresh angle on a familiar format.

See the video the story is built around at Dexerto.

Blair Witch · found footage · horror · influencer · movie