Kier-La Janisse Wraps Haunting Narrative Debut The Occupant of the Room

Janisse brings Algernon Blackwood’s chilling tale to life in her gothic narrative debut.

Kier-La Janisse Wraps Production on Gothic Ghost Story The Occupant of the Room

Horror scholar, filmmaker, and author Kier-La Janisse—best known for her SXSW award-winning documentary Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror and her groundbreaking memoir House of Psychotic Women—has officially wrapped principal photography on her narrative debut, The Occupant of the Room.

The film, a spectral tale in the tradition of the BBC’s Ghost Stories for Christmas, is set to make its way to markets and festivals this fall. Janisse, known for her meticulous approach to horror history and folklore, brings her sharp eye and deep love for atmospheric chills to this adaptation of Algernon Blackwood’s classic short story.

The story follows a weary schoolteacher whose late-night arrival at an isolated hotel in the Alps leaves him with no choice but to take a room that once belonged to a missing guest. As the night stretches on, unsettling events begin to blur the line between the mundane and the supernatural, dragging him into a web of strange, uncanny occurrences that refuse to let him sleep.

The film stars multi-hyphenate Don McKellar (The Sympathizer, Last Night), alongside Ben Petrie (BlackBerry, Dead Lover) and Delphine Roussell (The ABCs of Death 2: “Z is for Zygote”). Cinematographer Karim Hussain, whose work on Infinity Pool and Possessor delivered some of modern horror’s most striking imagery, brings a cold, textured visual language to Janisse’s haunted vision.

The Occupant of the Room is produced by Liane Cunje (Anything That Moves) and Shannon Hanmer (In a Violent Nature) under Ruby Mannequin Films, with Janisse’s own Spectacular Optical also attached. Executive producers include David Gregory and Carl Daft of Severin Films and Rob Cotterill of Yer Dead Productions, marking a collaboration that promises genre pedigree and indie grit.

With her debut narrative feature, Janisse bridges the worlds of academia and classic horror storytelling, crafting a quiet, slow-burning ghost tale that’s as intellectual as it is eerie. If Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched was her love letter to folk horror, The Occupant of the Room is shaping up to be her personal descent into the shadows.

Expect more details and festival announcements as fall approaches—and keep an eye out for what could easily become one of the most talked-about horror debuts of 2025.