‘Smile’ Filmmaker Parker Finn Launches Genre Production Banner Bad Feeling (Exclusive)

Parker Finn, the filmmaker behind horror hit Smile, has launched Bad Feeling, a film and television production company, with Jonathan Fass named as the banner’s head of development.

The company will be based at Paramount, the studio that released Smile and with whom Finn signed a first-look deal earlier this year.

Bad Feeling has a definitive mission statement as it enters the space of scary movies and beyond. The company plans to shepherd distinct, high-end genre fare for audiences craving bold, boundary-pushing experiences. The goal is to event-ize the unusual while bringing a bespoke, craft-centric approach to commercial genre storytelling.

Finn’s Smile grossed over $216 million worldwide and was the biggest horror hit of 2022. The movie was the first original horror title to hold the no. 1 position at the domestic box office for two weeks since 2016. Paramount and Finn are already working on a sequel, which has a release date of Oct. 18, 2024. 

Finn working with Fass is a reunion several years in the making. The executive was a producer on Laura Hasn’t Slept, the original short film that served as the basis for Smile. Fass has spent the last four years at Sister, the independent production studio founded by Stacey Snider and Elisabeth Murdoch.

“Jonathan has impeccable taste and a razor-sharp approach to genre storytelling, and I am beyond excited to be launching Bad Feeling together,” said Finn in a statement.

Stated Fass, “Parker has been a collaborator and a friend for many years, and I could not be more thrilled to be partnering with him to build Bad Feeling into a premier home for fearless modern genre filmmakers.”

Horror remains one of the genres that delivers at the box office. It also helps that most movies tend to have more modest budgets than normal studio fare, meaning the upside is greater. The Nun II has grossed over $233 million worldwide since its release Sept. 8 while this past weekend audiences witnessed Saw X open to almost $20 million domestically while also winning critic support, a franchise first.

Earlier his year, Paramount stabbed high with Scream VI while on streaming, Hulu is garnering raves for sci-fi horror No One Will Save You and Amazon found an unexpected hit with the indie acquisition Black Demon.

Finn and Bad Feeling are repped by CAA, Grandview, and Jeff Hynick at Jackoway Austen.