Cineverse is teaming with Trevor Henderson, the horror creator behind viral characters like Siren Head and Cartoon Cat, to adapt his podcast “Mayfair Watchers Society” into a feature film, Variety can reveal exclusively.
Launched in 2022 as part of Cineverse’s Bloody FM network, the “Mayfair Watchers Society” podcast is “presented as a collection of found tapes and audio accounts, each episode focusing on different residents encountering Henderson’s iconic style of monsters,” according to an official description. The film will be a found footage anthology following different stories and creatures from the podcast, including “The Needle,” “Creekman,” “Owls with Teeth,” “Mr. Bag,” “Anxious Dogs,” “Scissors” and “The Clatter.”
Henderson is set to produce the “Mayfair” movie and be part of the writing team.
“The Cineverse and Bloody Disgusting teams have been great partners on the podcast, and I’ve long been impressed with the film side of the company, and its indie philosophy,” Henderson said. “I look forward to being very hands-on with adapting the podcast into a feature, and look forward to working closely with them as we develop the film, select the directing and writing teams, and get closer to bringing this to fans.”
Henderson has been one of the major benefactors of Hollywood’s rush towards digitally native IP, spurred on by the success of A24’s $400 million hit “Backrooms.” Rights to Henderson’s Siren Head, a mysterious urban predator disguised as a towering siren post, went to Warner Bros. after a competitive bidding war and is now getting the big-screen treatment from director Brian Duffield and screenwriter Zach Cregger. Just a few weeks later, TriStar Pictures scooped up the rights to Henderson’s Cartoon Cat for a feature adaptation.
Cineverse is the genre studio behind films like “Terrifier 3,” “The Toxic Avenger” remake and “Silent Night, Deadly Night.” Recent releases include the 20th anniversary presentation of Guillermo del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth,” which hit theatres Oct. 8.
Trevor Henderson is represented by Verve, Redshift and Marios Rush. The deal was negotiated by Macias and Cineverse VP Creative Development and Filmmaker Relations Steven Peros.