Neon Adapting Sam Evenson’s Horror Short ‘Mora’ Into Feature Film

Neon, the independent studio behind “Parasite” and “Anora,” has enlisted Sam Evenson to adapt his viral short film “Mora” into a full-length feature. The film, which Evenson will write and direct, centers around a displaced artist who becomes haunted by a mysterious woman after using an AI model corrupted by dark web images.

In addition to his work as a filmmaker, Evenson is also a VFX artist, and the creator of Grimoire Horror, a genre-based YouTube channel with over 195,000 subscribers. His viral short films have attracted tens of millions of views on YouTube, and been widely seen across social platforms. He has worked on visual effects on the Academy Award-winning “Dune: Part Two,” HBO’s “The Last Of Us”, and Taika Waititi’s “Thor: Love and Thunder.”

“Mora” will mark Evenson’s feature debut. Steven Schneider (“The Long Walk,” “Late Night With the Devil”) and Roy Lee (“Weapons,” “It”) of Spooky Pictures, Ken Kao and Josh Rosenbaum of Waypoint Entertainment’s Cweature Features (“Longlegs”), and Jessica Biel and Michelle Purple’s Iron Ocean Productions (“The Sinner”, “Candy”) will produce alongside Neon. Ben Ross of Image Nation and Addison Sharp of Iron Ocean Productions will serve as executive producers.

Neon will represent the worldwide rights to the “Mora.” It’s the latest horror feature from Neon, the studio behind “Longlegs,” the highest grossing independent film of 2024 at $75 million domestically, and “The Monkey.” It marks Neon’s third partnership with Spooky Pictures, following Alex Ullom’s “4×4 The Event” and Damian McCarthy’s supernatural horror film “Hokum” starring Adam Scott, which opens on May 1. It also marks the next film in an ongoing partnership slate with Waypoint’s Cweature Features following “Hokum,” Chris Stuckmann’s “Shelby Oaks,” and Osgood Perkins’ “Longlegs” and “Keeper.”

Evenson is represented by Untitled Entertainment and UTA.