

The 57-minute film based on Savage’s video, “Host,” released in July, exemplifies why AMC Networks’ Shudder has been able to find success in such a crowded streaming landscape. “It was 12 weeks from the time we were pitched the movie to the time it ended up on Shudder.” “We said, ‘Let’s talk right away.’ What sold us was ‘Zoom seance,'” Shudder general manger Craig Engler recalled of the timely concept. The two-minute video, now viewed over 220,000 times on Twitter, immediately sparked the interest of executives at horror streaming service Shudder.

In April, as everyone was just getting used to conducting affairs through Zoom calls, director Rob Savage had an idea: Set up an elaborate video-conference prank in which he explores the source of creepy footsteps coming from his attic, ending in a horrifying jump scare for his friends.
