‘Battle Royale’ Meets ‘Saw’ on Acid: Neon Snags Extreme Thriller ‘4×4: The Event’

Neon is doubling down on brutal genre fare.

The studio has acquired worldwide rights to 4×4: The Event, the upcoming sophomore feature from writer-director Alex Ullom, hot off the recent Neon pickup of his debut film It Ends.

Described as “Battle Royale meets Saw meets Climax,” 4×4: The Event centers on eight contestants forced into an illegal, sensory-overload livestream, where survival depends on one simple rule: kill or be killed—using only items they can order online.

According to Deadline, Neon made an aggressive preemptive deal, snapping up the project ahead of production, which is slated to begin later this year.

The film is produced by Roy Lee (Weapons, Barbarian) and Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity, Insidious) under their Spooky Pictures banner, alongside Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath of Divide / Conquer, as well as Haley Johnson and Evan Barber. Executive producers include Ben Ross for Image Nation and Jakob Pollack for Spooky Pictures.

Ullom was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2024. His feature debut, It Ends, premiered at SXSW last year and is scheduled for a theatrical release later this year, cementing him as one of horror’s fastest-rising voices.

With 4×4: The Event, Neon appears poised to unleash another high-concept, nerve-shredding descent into modern brutality—and we’re absolutely here for it.