PARANORMAL ACTIVITY Producer Steven Schneider Is Teaming With AI Studios for New Horror Film TERRAINIUM
The horror genre keeps finding weird new ways to evolve, and this next project sounds like it could get unsettling. Steven Schneider, the producer behind Paranormal Activity, is stepping into AI-powered filmmaking with a new horror movie titled Terrarium.
The film is currently in production and comes from writer-director Jason Zada, whose previous horror work includes The Forest.
According to the announcement, Terrarium is being described as a “hybrid horror feature.” Schneider is developing the project alongside AI-focused production companies Artlist and Secret Level.
Christina Lee Storm (Newborn) is producing the film for Secret Level, while Artlist is financing the movie and serving as Executive Producer.
For Schneider, the biggest draw was clearly Zada’s vision for the project and the unusual approach being taken to make it. Schneider said in a statement:
“What drew me to Terrarium was Jason. He has a rare ability to make audiences experience something they can’t explain, something that stays with them long after the lights come on.
“With Terrarium, he’s pushing into completely new territory. The way he’s making this film is unlike anything I’ve been a part of in twenty years of genre filmmaking.”
That’s a pretty intriguing statement coming from a producer who helped launch one of the most influential horror franchises of the last couple decades.
Paranormal Activity changed the game for found footage horror, so hearing Schneider talk about Terrarium like this definitely raises some curiosity about what kind of cinematic experiment they’re building.
Artlist, which is known as a creative AI technology platform for video production, sees the project as part of a much bigger shift happening in entertainment.
Secret Level, meanwhile, is positioning itself as an AI-native entertainment studio, putting this movie right at the intersection of traditional filmmaking and emerging AI tools.
Artlist Co-Founder and Co-CEO Ira Belsky shared his excitement for the collaboration, saying: “This partnership is an incredible milestone not only for Artlist, but for the future of filmmaking itself.
“Terrarium is proof that AI can enhance the creative process in ways that empower artists, directors, designers, and storytellers to dream bigger and execute at an entirely new level. This is about expanding creative possibilities and not replacing human imagination.”
AI in filmmaking is still a hot-button topic across Hollywood, especially when it comes to creativity and artistic ownership, but projects like Terrarium are clearly trying to present the technology as a tool rather than a replacement for filmmakers.
Whether horror fans embrace that approach remains to be seen, but if Schneider and Zada really are cooking up something audiences “can’t explain,” this could end up being an interesting horror project.
Source: Deadline