Zepotha is an obscure cult classic that earned its own cult following on TikTok, after disappearing in the early 90s and being revived by the platform.
Zepotha is a 1987 horror movie revolving around six teenagers who need to find out who amongst them is the killer terrorizing their town. Between compelling characters, infamously terrifying scenes, and widely revered cinematography, Zepotha is a classic you don’t want to miss.
However, the biggest plot twist is that this movie doesn’t exist.
Zepotha was created by musician Emily Jeffri when she posted a TikTok proposing a comment chain on other TikToks, telling creators that “you look like___ from Zepotha,” in attempt to gaslight the rest of the platform into believing the movie exists. The bit ended up exploding, with art of faceless characters, “official” trailers, references to scenes that don’t exist, and fake Wikipedia pages being made. The Zepotha tag itself has hundreds of TikTok videos showing cosplays, favorite scenes or characters, character “look-alikes” and edits, and extreme confusion from those who have no idea what’s going on.
Ironically, this isn’t the first time the internet has tried to manifest a movie via gaslighting. In 2022, social media platform Tumblr created Goncharov, a 1973 mafia movie “starring” Robert de Niro as Goncharov, a Russian hitman trying to escape his past. Although both “movies” have art, posters, trailers, and origins as jokes, Goncharov gained more concise characters and plotlines, a “cast” and director, and a full creative community.
Going beyond a passion project for some and a joke for others, Zepotha has developed into an impressive marketing strategy. Jeffri’s original Zepotha video featured their song, “Do You Remember Me”, and Jeffri later posted a video saying that their new album – Soundtrack For An 80s Horror Movie – is the official album for Zepotha. As the beloved horror movie grows, so does Jeffri’s songs and album recognition; creating seemingly unintentional, but immensely effective, marketing.
However, there has been a fair share of criticism surrounding TikTok’s pet project; largely about Goncharov, ads, and confusion (oh my). Many of those who worked on Goncharov consider Zepotha to be uncreative and unoriginal, as it isn’t as put-together as Goncharov is. Not to mention, many call Zepotha a “free marketing stunt” with all the recognition Jeffri’s songs get from the “movie.” Moreover, a plethora of TikTokers are annoyed at the amount of Zepotha comments flooding their feed; leading to mass gaslighting and anxiety.
Even so, TikTok’s favorite horror “movie” is one to behold, for better or for worse.