New Line Cinema Wins Bidding War for Horror Feature Jealous People are Ugly People
New Line Cinema has secured the rights to one of this year’s most talked-about horror shorts, with Theo James Krekis’ Jealous People are Ugly People officially heading to the big screen following an intense bidding war.
The project first caught the attention of audiences and industry executives alike when it premiered at SXSW earlier this year, where its unique blend of psychological horror, dark comedy and Greek folklore quickly generated buzz. That attention soon translated into a competitive race among studios eager to land the feature adaptation, with New Line Cinema ultimately emerging victorious according to Deadline.
For horror fans, New Line’s involvement is particularly fitting. Often referred to as “The House That Freddy Built” thanks to the enormous success of A Nightmare on Elm Street, the studio has played a defining role in the genre for more than four decades. From launching Freddy Krueger into popular culture to more recent successes including The Conjuring Universe, It, Final Destination, The Nun and The Conjuring, New Line has built a reputation for recognising horror projects with strong commercial potential. The acquisition of Jealous People are Ugly People suggests the studio sees similar promise in Theo James Krekis’ unsettling concept.
Rather than handing the material over to another filmmaker, New Line is keeping the creative vision intact, with Theo James Krekis set to both write and direct the feature adaptation himself. That’s encouraging news for anyone impressed by the short, as it allows the story to evolve under the guidance of the filmmaker who conceived it in the first place rather than being reshaped by an entirely new creative team.
The original short centres on Vasilly, a man whose growing jealousy towards his best friend, Luke, begins to take a disturbing turn. Every time Luke shares a piece of good news, he is struck by increasingly strange and violent misfortune. As the pattern becomes impossible to ignore, Vasilly recalls warnings from his Yiayia about the ancient Greek superstition known as the Evil Eye, gradually becoming convinced that his own feelings of envy may somehow be responsible for the terrifying events unfolding around his friend. It’s a clever premise that explores how guilt, superstition and buried resentment can become inseparable, blurring the line between psychological horror and the supernatural.
Jealous People Are Ugly People a hit at SXSW
When the film premiered at SXSW, the festival described it as “a darkly comic psychological thriller about male jealousy, inherited superstition, and the corrosive power of repressed ambition.” Those themes, combined with the use of Greek folklore, helped the short stand out in a crowded festival programme and sparked widespread interest in seeing the concept expanded into a feature-length film.
Producing the adaptation are Jennifer Monks, Michelle Stein, Isaac Klausner, John Fischer, Ben Levine and Ethan Cappello, while Josh Mack and Lauren Botchan will oversee the project on behalf of New Line Cinema. At this stage, no casting or release date has been announced, with the project still in the early stages of development.
The acquisition further strengthens New Line Cinema’s growing horror slate. Alongside Jealous People are Ugly People, the studio is also preparing The Revenge of La Llorona, directed by Santiago Menghini, which is currently scheduled for release on 26 February 2027, while The Conjuring: First Communion is set to arrive on 10 September 2027, continuing one of the most successful horror franchises of the modern era.
Although it’s still early days, Jealous People are Ugly People already has one of the most valuable endorsements a new horror project can receive: a major studio willing to fight for it. If Theo James Krekis can successfully expand the ideas that made the SXSW short such a talking point, New Line Cinema may well have discovered its next breakout horror property.
