jason blum

The documentary will explore the harrowing story of Dr George Kenney, the former principal at a Florida high school.

True crime fans can expect to see the documentary series airing very soon.

The limited ITV series, titled Look Into My Eyes, will delve into the chilling case of Dr George Kenney, who was once a beloved principal in a high school.

However, his reputation started to unravel when it was revealed he had been practising hypnosis on students.

A synopsis reads: “In 2011, three students died in separate incidents, prompting widespread scrutiny and a national news story.

“The series examines the events surrounding these deaths and the questions that followed, including the extent of Kenney’s influence and the debate over responsibility.

In the documentary, viewers will hear interviews from the victims’ families, along with experts, eyewitnesses and other people connected to the case.

It’ll also look closely into the events leading up to their tragic deaths and the lasting impact it had on the community.

Directed and executive produced by Brent Hodge, the person behind the 2021 documentary Pharma Bro, ITV viewers can expect it to air on August 18.

Look Into My Eyes has been produced by Blumhouse Television and Anchor Entertainment, with Jason Blum being one of the executive producers. He’s best known for being involved in the horror films Insidious, The Conjuring and The Purge.

An investigation into Dr George Kenney was escalated after three of the students he hypnotised had died, two by suicide and one in a car crash.

Although it’s believed that hypnotised between 70 and 75 students since 2006, all of the students that died were 16 years old, with Wesley McKinley killing himself a day after being hypnotised by the former principal.

Meanwhile, Brittany Palumbo sadly took her own life a month before, with Marcus Freeman dying in a car crash a month before Brittany.

After an investigation by the Florida Department of Health, the former principal resigned in June 2012 and pleaded no contest to practising therapeutic hypnosis without a license.

While he served no jail time, Dr. George Kenney was sentenced to two consecutive sentences of six months of probation and was given 50 hours of community service.

The parents of the students who died sued the school board in December 2012 for the wrongful death of each of the teens.

In the end, each family received the maximum sum of $200,000 in October 2015 when both the families and the school board settled.

Look Into My Eyes is available to watch on ITV from August 18

Two of the biggest box-office standouts of 2026 so far were not made by established studio directors or built on franchise IP.

“Obsession” and “Backrooms” — horror films from internet-native directors in their 20s — have outperformed far more expensive studio releases.

The breakout success of these films has ignited debate across Hollywood about what made these movies so popular, especially among Gen Z moviegoers who haven’t been flocking to cinemas in recent years. Here’s what to know:

The numbers

”Obsession” was directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker, who got his start on YouTube with sketch comedy and horror shorts. Released May 15 by Focus Features, the film was made for just $750,000 but opened to a staggering $17 million and has improved on its debut every weekend since.

“Obsession” set an all-time horror record for the biggest fourth weekend for a film at the domestic box office, raking in $25.4 million. It now ranks as the year’s fifth most popular film, nearing $200 million domestically and roughly $295 million worldwide — ahead of Pixar’s “Hoppers” ($166 million) and Paramount’s “Scream 7” ($121 million), per Box Office Mojo.

“Backrooms,” from 21-year-old Kane Parsons — known on YouTube as Kane Pixels — drew on an online fascination with liminal spaces, leading audiences through an endless run of nearly indistinguishable rooms.

Released May 29 by A24 (known for such acclaimed films as “Moonlight” and Everything Everywhere All at Once”) on a reported $10-million budget, it opened to $81 million and crossed $100 million in under a week.

Within two and a half weeks, it had outgrossed the entire theatrical runs of horror films “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” “Smile” and “Scream 7.” It sits as 2026’s eighth-highest-grossing film.

Who is watching?

The audiences are young. In recent weeks, nearly 90% of “Backrooms’” viewers were under 35, with more than half under 25. Over “Obsession’s” first few weekends, 75% of the audience was 17 to 34, which is significant at a time when major studios have struggled to consistently get younger viewers to trek to the multiplex.

Why it’s working

Audiences have clearly latched onto the stories, said Jason Blum of Blumhouse–Atomic Monster, who worked on both films.

“There’s been an audience kind of waiting to get back to the movie theaters, and we in Hollywood really have not landed on what would get them back,” he told The Times in an interview this week.

Blum, who upended horror genre with the “Paranormal Activity” franchise, ties the success of “Backrooms” and “Obsession” to a connection to the directors’ origins.

Because the films were made by creators who speak to younger viewers daily on YouTube, he said, that generation “feels like they’re being spoken to.”

David Gross, an analyst at FranchiseRe, framed it as a new pipeline of talent and material. Creators can build large followings very inexpensively, he said, and their stories arrive further developed — which expedites the development and discovery process. He called internet-based storytelling “another additive source for material for movies.” Blum added that the films’ success could make studios more willing to bet on undiscovered directors who “might not have been considered” before.

Rosie Ramirez, chief marketing officer at Galaxy Theatres, said a young first-wave audience tends to generate buzz. More than a month after “Obsession” was released, she said, the Nevada chain’s four California locations are only now seeing a second wave of moviegoers curious about the hype.

Notably, the rise of these two films has unfolded in the shadow of major releases like Disney’s “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” and Mattel’s “Masters of the Universe,” both of which returned underwhelming numbers in their respective opening weekends.

Is it a trend or an anomaly?

Whether this marks a lasting shift or a fluke is unclear. May crossed $1 billion in box office — with “Backrooms” and “Obsession” doing much of the heavy lifting. Despite the improvement, the box office has yet to full return to pre-pandemic levels, with the summer tracking roughly 3.5% behind summer 2019, said Comscore’s Paul Dergarabedian.

And Dergarabedian questioned how the industry could replicate a success that, in his words, was “authentically and organically created” rather than manufactured: “It just happened,” he said.

Ramirez argued the broader summer slate — franchise tentpoles like “Toy Story 5” alongside some original surprises — points to a healthy box office regardless, a reminder that “it doesn’t always have to be the big summer blockbuster.”