A little while back I made a post about Portrait of God by Dylan Clark and how impressive it was that such a creepy and memorable short could be made with a minimal budget. The film follows a religious student named Mia giving a presentation about a mysterious painting called “Portrait of God.” Some people who look at the painting see nothing but darkness, while others claim they can see a figure staring back at them. It’s simple, atmospheric, and incredibly unsettling.
Since that post, some pretty exciting news came out. The short is now being developed into a full-length feature by Universal Pictures. Even crazier, the project will bring together two huge names in horror, Sam Raimi and Jordan Peele, who are teaming up to produce the film. Dylan Clark is also co-writing the script with Joe Russo to expand the story from the original short.
What makes this so cool is how it all started. The short premiered on YouTube back in 2022 and has since racked up over 8 million views. Now it’s turning into a studio film with some of the biggest names in horror involved.
It’s honestly just a really great reminder of how far a strong idea and a well-made short film can go.
If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the original short and the BTS video: