EXCLUSIVE: Smile and Twilight producer Temple Hill is teaming up once more with UK sales firm Protagonist, this time on Ben Leonberg‘s (Good Boy) next horror feature Follow Mode, which is due to be shot entirely on drones and aims to tap into the live stream generation.
Leonberg is coming off breakout horror Good Boy, which was IFC’s second-biggest theatrical opening weekend (second only to Temple Hill’s Clown in a Cornfield).
Protagonist is launching international sales at the upcoming Cannes market. Temple Hill and Verve Ventures are co-repping domestic rights. Script comes from Leonberg and Alex Cannon, who also co-scripted Good Boy.
The synopsis reads: “Consumer-grade drones now come with a “hands-free” setting that automatically directs the camera to follow you – in case you’re a surfer taking your next wave, a snowboarder back-flipping off a half-pipe, or a serial killer stalking your next victim. When a group of teens knock this drone out of the sky, they discover that it contains home movies of the killer’s brutal crimes. Now, they must race to expose the killer before becoming his next victims.”
The film is being produced by Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, John Fischer, Hal Sadoff, and Ben Levine for Temple Hill, with Protagonist Pictures’ Dave Bishop, James Pugh and George Hamilton serving as executive producers.
The project marks the sixth collaboration between Temple Hill and Protagonist, following Clown in a Cornfield, as well as Monitor (SXSW) which was recently acquired by Searchlight for a wide theatrical release in the U.S in 2027. Launched in Cannes last year, the first instalment of the horror trilogy The Rule of Three recently wrapped and Protagonist will also be screening in Cannes the SXSW title Seekers of Infinite Love.
Canine horror Good Boy, made on a micro-budget, played last year at SXSW and Film at Lincoln Center before going on to score $8.8M worldwide, including $6.6M domestically.
Dave Bishop, CEO of Protagonist Pictures, said: “Temple Hill once again proves its instinct for fresh, audience-grabbing horror. Follow Mode is the kind of bold, high-concept horror that stops you in your tracks – propulsive, original and viscerally thrilling from its first frame to its last. In Good Boy, Ben proved he is a filmmaker both comfortable pushing boundaries and mastering tension. Shot entirely with drones, delivering a strikingly cinematic experience, Follow Mode offers a new perspective on terror audiences have simply never seen before. Ben has crafted a rare, diabolical treat that feels both groundbreaking and deeply unsettling.”
Leonberg added: “The rise of hands-free drone technology has introduced a chilling new vulnerability to everyday life—anyone with a drone can become a peeping tom, a stalker, or worse… That anxiety drives Follow Mode. We’re so thrilled to be partnered with Temple Hill, whose track record in the genre makes them a perfect fit for this unsettling new take on found footage.”
Temple Hill commented: “We were blown away by Ben’s first film Good Boy and its original approach to perspective in the horror space and sought him out to find something to do together. We see Follow Mode as the next evolution of the found footage movie – playing on the terrifying reality that any of us could be followed and watched by store-bought technology. With Ben’s tremendous vision and expertise in POV filmmaking, we couldn’t be more excited to share this spine-chilling project with audiences around the world.”