Taglines: Terror goes viral.
Dear David movie storyline. Shortly after comic artist Adam responds to Internet trolls, he begins experiencing sleep paralysis – while an empty rocking chair moves in the corner of his apartment. As he chronicles increasingly malevolent occurrences in a series of tweets, Adam begins to believe he is being haunted by the ghost of a dead child named David. Encouraged by his boss to continue the “Dear David” thread, Adam starts to lose his grip on what is online… and what is real. Based on the viral Twitter thread by BuzzFeed comic artist Adam Ellis.
Dear David is a 2023 American supernatural horror film directed by John McPhail, based on Adam Ellis’ Twitter thread of the same name. It stars Augustus Prew as Ellis with Andrea Bang, René Escobar Jr., Cameron Nicoll, and Justin Long in supporting roles. The film is the third project between BuzzFeed Studios and Lionsgate Films.
In the film, Ellis (Prew) retaliates against trolls; this results in a haunting from a demon-possessed spirit of a boy. Dear David was released in theaters and to streaming and digital formats on October 13, 2023, by Lionsgate, to generally negative reviews from critics.
Dear David was based on a Twitter thread created by former BuzzFeed writer Adam Ellis in which he describes his encounter with a ghost. The story was updated between August 7 and December 12, 2017, and went viral online, gaining Ellis over 1 million followers on Twitter. In February 2018, Ellis left BuzzFeed for independent ventures, leaving the story on hiatus.
On June 6, 2018, BuzzFeed Studios announced its plan to adapt the story into a feature film, with Mike Van Waes writing the screenplay. In an interview, Ellis said his story was based on actual events and that he had “never been interested in convincing anyone that ghosts are real – I just wanted to tell my story.” In November 2018, New Line Cinema acquired the rights to the story.
In July 2020, BuzzFeed Studios and Lionsgate Films announced a partnership to produce and distribute a number of feature films.[7] In November 2021, BuzzFeed and Lionsgate acquired the rights to the story from New Line Cinema and hired John McPhail to direct.[8]
Production took place in Toronto, Canada, and wrapped in December 2021. McPhail, in an interview with Screen Rant, stated that practical effects were extensively used to “make everything feel just that little bit more real”. One such example is the blood rig on the knife, so it’s cutting across and blood would appeal. Originally, the film was set for a 2022 release, however Lionsgate pushed back the release date to October 13, 2023.
About the Story
In 1996, David gets bullied over a crude drawing on instant messaging, and retaliates against them. In 2017, two teenagers enter the late David’s chat room, trolling him. After asking a third question about their future cause of death, the teenager gets killed later that night.
At BuzzFeed, Adam heeds his boss Bryce’s request to create “authentic original content”. Adam retaliates against trolls— prompting a response from David calling him “mean”, which Adam ignores. In the next morning, Adam’s rocking chair moves on its own, later seeing David on it in a hallucination, continuing with a vision of David and his past life.
Evelyn encourages Adam to get sleep— he instead researches “Dear David” and paranormal activity. Adam encounters David in a dream and asks who he is, with David answering he’s “just a follower”. In the next night, Adam moves to a unit upstairs in the same apartment complex, however, his hallucinations persist.
In the next day, everyone at BuzzFeed celebrate the success of the Dear David thread. Bryce tells Adam to add multimedia, and after hesitating, makes the Dear David story interactive by adding a vote on what to do if David appears again— an exorcism was chosen. Trolls continue to berate Adam; he claps back. On an early morning, Adam asks what David wants with him, later waking up with a nosebleed after David slams a typewriter at his face last night. While hunting for David, he encounters Kyle, who comforts him.
Adam recounts his situation to Kyle, who resents him for his unresponsiveness, eventually leaving him in disappointment. Adam later posts that David may want him dead. After initially ignoring the unknown caller, Adam answers— the caller has his voice. At night, he gets dragged to where David is shown disturbing photos. His father scolds him for this, after which David chokes him. Linda kills David.
Dear David (2023)
Directed by: John McPhail
Starring: Augustus Prew, Andrea Bang, Justin Long, René Escobar Jr, Cameron Nicoll, Rachel Wilson, David Tompa, Tricia Black, Aviva Mongillo, Vickie Papavs, Sarah Swire, Rachel Risen
Screenplay by: Mike Van Waes
Production Design by: Joshua Turpin
Cinematography by: Stephen Whitehead
Film Editing by: Glenn Garland, David Arthur
Costume Design by: Olga Barsky
Art Direction by: Helcio Pugliese
Music by: Tommy Reilly, Roddy Hart
MPAA Rating: R for violent content, language and a sexual reference.
Distributed by: Lionsgate Films
Release Date: October 13, 2023
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