Dark Atlantic Studios has unleashed the first trailer for Strawstalker, a found footage horror outing from writer/director George Henry Horton, and this one’s got dirt under its nails.

A clout-chasing couple trades whatever shred of privacy they had left for a picture-perfect LA home, documenting every second for the algorithm. Unfortunately for them, their new neighbourhood, Oak Bridge, has other plans. Specifically: a supernatural scarecrow that doesn’t care about your follower count and has no pland to sign a release form.

Horton explores into the idea that Los Angeles, especially the San Fernando Valley, is built on layers; old farmland buried under curated lives and artificial smiles. That tension bleeds straight into the film. Oak Bridge isn’t just pristine, it’s performance pristine. And when something starts lurking behind the hedges, it’s not just there to spook, it’s there to call out every fake move people make.

At the centre of it are Henry and Haley, two rising content creators who treat their new life like a nonstop broadcast. They’re all angles and egos, and utterly unlikable. So when a scarecrow pops up like the world’s least friendly lawn ornament, they just assume it’s a stupid prank. Which turns out to be a big mistake. A monumental life-ending big mistake.

Indie Rights will release Strawstalker later this spring, bringing with it a found footage setup where the real monster might be the camera and the need for likes, but also the walking bundle of hay with a personal vendetta.