Deadline: Promise Developing Horror Feature ‘Touch Grass’; Dave Clark Directing, Brad Miska And ‘Backrooms’ EP Chris White Producing

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Touch Grass, a new psychological horror feature from Dave Clark, is in active development at Promise. 

Concept image from Touch Grass

Inspired by the Dead Internet Theory, a once-fringe online conspiracy that has become disturbingly relevant in the age of AI-generated content, synthetic identities, and bot driven culture, Touch Grass extends the concept into the real world and follows a young woman who designs AI personalities for a mysterious tech company. When she discovers a hidden world beneath the internet known as The Feed, she uncovers a terrifying secret: copies of people are being built from their deepest desires. The feature film will be directed by Dave Clark, produced by Chris White and Brad Miska, and executive produced by Clark, George Strompolos, and Jamie Byrne. 

The film brings together an accomplished team of genre storytellers. White recently served as executive producer on A24's blockbuster Backrooms, helping bring creator Kane Parsons and the project to Atomic Monster. To date, the film has earned close to $395 million worldwide, making it the most successful release in A24's history.

Miska will produce on behalf of Be Afraid Media, the horror media company behind Dread Central. He previously founded Bloody Disgusting, one of the genre's most influential brands.  Miska also co-developed the hit found-footage franchise, V/H/S, and has brought more than 100 horror films to the screen. 

Clark is an award-winning filmmaker whose horror short films blend emotionally resonant storytelling with groundbreaking technology. He originated the story for Touch Grass and brought the project to White and Miska. As co-founder of Promise, Clark oversees the studio's film and television slate alongside fellow co-founders George Strompolos and Jamie Byrne. 

Blending technological paranoia with the digital folklore that has fueled the rise of liminal horror and internet-born myths, Touch Grass explores what happens when our online selves become more real than we are.

"Touch Grass taps into the fear that we can no longer trust what is real," said Dave Clark.

"We leave behind digital versions of ourselves every day through our searches, conversations, and behavior online. This timely story asks what happens when those fragments become something far more powerful and dangerous."

"The best horror takes familiar ideas and pushes them just beyond the edge of plausibility. Touch Grass explores one of the defining technologies of our time through a story that's both thought-provoking and deeply unsettling," said Chris White.

Brad Miska said, "Original horror thrives on fresh mythology and timely ideas. Touch Grass combines both, creating a psychological thriller that feels uniquely of this moment."

The film will be shot across practical locations and virtual production environments using a hybrid production model that combines live-action performances, practical effects, traditional visual effects, and generative AI to realize the film's rich and expansive world while keeping the actors' performances at the center of the storytelling.

Additional production details, casting, and crew announcements will be shared at a later date.

Read more on Deadline.