‘It Follows’ Director David Robert Mitchell Adapting Horror Short ‘They Hear It’ Into Feature Film
David Robert Mitchell, who broke onto the horror scene in a big way withIt Follows, is returning to the genre withThey Hear It,an adaptation of the short film of the same name. Mitchell will write the script, but not direct. Those duties instead fall toJulian Terry, who helmed the original short film.THRbroke the news about theThey Hear Itfeature film. AfterIt Follows, Mitchell went off and made the still-unreleasedUnder the Silver Lake, but it’s nice to see he’s getting back into the horror genre.They Hear Itis an adaptation of the short of the same name, which focused on a “mysterious presence called ‘The Sound’ that once heard by anyone has terrible consequences.”
It’s become something of a trend to adapt horror shorts into feature films. Andy Muschietti, director ofIt, launched his feature career withMama– a film adapted from his original short movie. Mike Flanagan’s haunted mirror filmOculusalso started out as a short movie. Jennifer Kent turned her short filmMonsterinto the horror hitThe Babadook. AndLight’s Outalso originated as a short film, directed by David F. Sandberg. Sandberg went on to helmAnnabelle: Creation, which actually has a connection toThey Hear Itdirector Julian Terry.
Terry’s short filmThe Nursewas the winning entry in the “My Annabelle Creation Video Contest”, which encouraged filmmakers to create a short film set inThe Conjuringuniverse with the hopes of getting a chance to meet Sandberg and a New Line Cinema executive to pitch future ideas. you may watchThe Nursebelow.
Terry has another horror short available online calledWhisper, which involves a creative use of the Amazon Echo.
THR says the feature adaptation ofThey Hear itwill have “Alfred Hitchcock classicThe Birdsand Stephen King’s adaptationItas touchstones.” Neither of those films is anything like the other, so I’m not quite sure what that means. This project was initiallyannouncedin July, at which point the film was also compared toA Nightmare on Elm Street, with the focus on an “ominous presence that stalks the youthful inhabitants of a small community.” That certainly fits in withItandElm Street. Just not sure whereThe Birdsfits in. But I guess we’ll find out.
Mitchell’sUnder the Silver Lakepremiered at Cannes this year, and was originally set for a June release by A24, before being pushed to June 23, 2025 instead.
