Love it or hate it, content creators have become an essential part of internet culture over the last few years. Whether you turn to a blog for recipes, learn new skills from TikTok, or have a favorite vlogger who dives deep into your favorite topics, consuming media that fits under this umbrella is almost part of our daily routine. So, with the renewed threat to TikTok, it felt right to celebrate a few horror movies that understand content creation culture. Most of us know there are various kinds of paths in media. However, many filmmakers paint with a broad stroke and label everyone as an influencer while projecting prejudices onto them without nuance. So, we have tons of titles featuring vapid personalities living lush lifestyles that miss the mark and treat all content creators as if they are created equal.
This is why I want to take a moment to celebrate some horror movies that understand the humor, heart, and struggle that goes into making decent video content.
#ChadGetsTheAxe (dir. Travis Bible)
Where You Can Watch: AMC+, Shudder, and Tubi
Four influencers live-stream their trip to the former home of a satanic cult. While all these kids are at different stages of their content creation journies and provide various kinds of content, they would all do very well on TikTok. Especially while visiting Devil’s Manor and with many of Chad’s viewers understandably wishing him the worst. Sadly, we know things rarely work out for influencers in found footage films, so they have many other disturbing things to worry about on this ill-advised trip. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy this scary horror comedy and wish we had each of them in our TikTok rotations. I know they would have been enjoyed by so many people in my group chats. Aside from Chad anyway, because he really is the worst. Even I was rooting for him to catch the business end of an axe.
Mind Body Spirit (dir. Alex Henes and Matthew Merenda)
Where You Can Watch: AMC+ and Shudder
An aspiring yoga influencer begins incorporating a mysterious ritual that her estranged late Grandmother left her into her practice. Anya (Sarah J. Bartholomew) is the influencer struggling the most on this streaming guide. Her content will need more than a trendy TikTok hashtag and a couple of sound cues. It would actually be less work for her to start from scratch than to try to save this sinking YouTube ship. However, if her Grandmother’s sinister plan works out, things might get spicy enough to finally get her a few followers. Mind Body Spirit is a pleasantly surprising little supernatural found footage entry following a YouTuber whose channel is DOA. This is great for the audience because that’s where some of the best comedic bits come from. The movie is also under 90 minutes, which is good because any content creator will tell you quicker is better.
Sissy (dir. Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes)
Where You Can Watch: AMC+ and Shudder
Former childhood best friends run into each other and try to reconnect. However, those plans go south once people start dying during what was supposed to be a simple bachelorette weekend in a remote cabin. Cecilia/Sissy (Aisha Dee) is a content creator after my own heart. And it’s not just because her content seems very much on brand for YouTube in the earlier part of this decade. I say that because she is lowkey the most deadly person on the list, even if it is mostly accidental. I also love that she takes her childhood trauma from the revenge stage and uses it to elevate her brand. As a firm believer that spite is the most powerful motivator, I must stan. I feel because Sissy is so adaptable that she would stumble into success on TikTok (or this new RedNote) and kill it.
Superhost (dir. Brandon Christensen)
Where You Can Watch: AMC+ and Shudder
Two travel vloggers decide to pivot away from their failing vacation home rental content and focus on their current superhost. However, they soon discover she might have plans for them as well. Making content is hard enough without the added layer of having your significant other be part of your brand. So, I knew this couple was in danger even before they met the perfect chaotic storm of Rebecca (Gracie Gillam). I would have tried to tell them to try shorter-form content and direct them to TikTok, but they had their hands full at this deadly vacation home. Superhost had the misfortune of coming out in 2021, so it didn’t get as much social media attention as it deserved. This movie is tense, fun, and bloody. It also has the added benefit of Barbara Crampton stealing a few scenes.
Tragedy Girls (dir. Tyler MacIntyre)
Where You Can Watch: AMC+, Hulu, Peacock, Plex, Pluto TV, Prime Video, Shudder, and Tubi
Two death-obsessed teens take matters into their own hands to gain more attention for their true crime blog. I love that these two young women refused to wait for the news when they could make the headlines themselves. This dark comedy puts a very fun spin on the slasher genre and gives us two of my favorite murder girls from the 2010s. I’m obsessed with McKayla (Alexandra Shipp) and Sadie (Brianna Hildebrand) for turning their morbid extracurricular activity into a brand and developing a unique business plan. I also applaud these two young professionals for knowing that even in 2017 you had to have video content to thrive as a content creator. While they went a bit further than the rest of us would go, you have to respect their hustle. These two and their booming business would have slayed TikTok.
I also really love Spree, which is only available on VOD at the moment. Because it came out during the height of the pandemic, I was late to the party. However, it’s now one of my favorite aspiring influencer films and found footage movies.
Are you planning to watch some of these movies about content creators in deadly situations as we wait to see what happens with TikTok? Then let me know which titles make you want to like and subscribe at @misssharai.
Categorized:Editorials Streaming Guides
