Mouthwashing is getting the movie treatment. Sony Pictures has acquired the film rights to the indie horror game from developer Wrong Organ and publisher Critical Reflex, and Karyn Kusama is attached to direct for Screen Gems, Deadline reported.
Kusama, whose credits include Jennifer’s Body, The Invitation and the pilot of Yellowjackets, will work from a script by Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay, her longtime writing collaborators. Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill and Vince Cheng are producing through Crooked Highway, the company behind The Black Phone films.
There is no word yet on casting, a release date, or how closely the movie will follow the game’s story, which leans heavily on its claustrophobic setting and a slow reveal of what really happened aboard the ship.
Released on PC in 2024, Mouthwashing follows the five surviving crew members of a stranded space freighter, the Tulpar, as supplies dwindle and their captain lies gravely injured. The story jumps back and forth in time to reveal what led to the crash, and its unsettling, low-fi visuals and dark subject matter made it one of the most talked-about indie horror games of its year. It had sold more than 500,000 copies on PC alone as of February 2025, according to Eurogamer.
The deal arrives right as the game reaches a much bigger audience. Mouthwashing launched on consoles on Oct. 29, including a day-one release on Xbox Game Pass that was confirmed during this month’s ID@Xbox Showcase.
Indie horror has proven it can work in theaters. Markiplier’s Iron Lung movie, based on another small horror game, earned about $21 million worldwide, and studios have been looking for the next breakout. With Screen Gems behind it and a horror-savvy team attached, Mouthwashing now has one of the more promising setups among recent game adaptations.
Wrong Organ, meanwhile, is already working on its next game, the co-op tank horror title Carcass Clad.
