Mike Macari, executive producer behind the The Ring trilogy, is teaming up with rising director Virat Pal to bring the viral 2018 short The Bells to the big screen. The original short has amassed nearly 10 million views on YouTube, and now it’s set to become a feature-length supernatural horror.
Watch the original short below:
The story centres on a deadly curse: victims hear mysterious bells tolling before meeting a grim fate. With the short being compared to the likes of The Ring and Smile, The Bells looks set to serve up a blend of suspense and deeply unsettling supernatural horror. Pal co-wrote the screenplay with Danny Barclay (who also starred in the original short) and will direct, making his feature debut, while Alex Elliott also joins as producer.
Pal is no stranger to genre filmmaking. He recently directed “Dream Girl,” a segment for Shudder’s V/H/S Beyond, which infused sci-fi horror with Bollywood aesthetics and earned a Critics Choice nomination for Best Movie Made for Television. His previous shorts, including 2023’s Night of the Bride, have won awards at Fantasia and Overlook Film Festivals and screened at Fantastic Fest 2025.
“I’ve been a fan of Virat’s work since I first saw his V/H/S segment,” Macari said. “When I read his script for The Bells, I was immediately hooked. The concept of the bells tolling is deeply unnerving and lingers long after the film ends. What Virat and Danny have created is both terrifying and emotionally resonant.”
Macari brings decades of horror experience to the project. Beyond producing the American adaptations of the 1990s Japanese classic Ringu (The Ring, The Ring Two, Rings), he has worked on titles including John Hyam’s anxiety-inducing kidnap chiller Alone and Alex Noyer’s sui-generis slasher, Sound of Violence, so it’s a pretty safe bet to assume that The Bells is in capable, genre-savvy hands.
