🔍 Read the full analysis: Hollow House: The AI Horror-Comedy We Made In A Night on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
Thorsten Meyer says Hollow House, a 97-second AI-generated horror-comedy, was made overnight from October 27 to 28, 2026, after three versions. His account describes how character references, faster cuts and human editing decisions shaped the final short, while also documenting limitations in generated speech and action.
Thorsten Meyer has published Hollow House, a 97-second AI-generated horror-comedy made overnight from October 27 to 28, along with an account of how he produced it in three attempts. The project illustrates a practical challenge for AI video makers: Meyer says the images looked good early on, but the first edit felt boring because its shots moved too slowly for comedy.
Meyer’s account says the short follows a real ghost joining an extreme haunted-attraction crew, where staff respond to the supernatural intruder as if it were a workplace issue. A guest says the safe word, “cotton candy,” but the scare does not stop; the shift lead then asks whether the ghost signed a waiver. The story also includes an attempted exorcism and the ghost later working at the entrance.
The final film followed two discarded edits. The first used 20 shots over 2 minutes 15 seconds, an average of 5.6 seconds per shot. Meyer says that version looked polished but lacked comic pace. A second, faster attempt ran 2 minutes 21 seconds and used 66 cuts. For the third version, he says he generated three 30-second segments using one model with references for the full cast; the resulting cut is 1:37.
Before generating video, Meyer created reference images for eight characters using Google’s Nano Banana 2 image model through Higgsfield. He then used Google’s Veo 3.1 fast mode to animate images and generate dialogue and sound. The account puts total spending at 2,220 Higgsfield credits, estimated at about $95 under his plan, plus roughly 2,100 ElevenLabs characters for music and effects. These are figures reported by Meyer, not an independent audit.
Why the First Cut Fell Flat
The production account offers a small, concrete example of how AI-generated footage still depends on human editorial judgment. Meyer says the first cut’s visuals and character consistency were acceptable, but its 5.6-second average shot length did not support the quick exchanges and interruptions the comedy needed. The change was not simply generating more imagery: it was restructuring the edit and improving its pace.
His process also shows how reference images can be used to limit visual drift across generated scenes. Meyer describes character sheets as a way to keep details such as hair and costumes consistent, while noting that models did not reliably follow every requested action. The account is one creator’s production report, not evidence that the same workflow or cost will apply to other projects.
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From Character Sheets to Final Edit
Meyer says the idea combines the conventions of an extreme haunted attraction—including waivers and a safe word—with a ghost that ignores those rules. He credits the structure to inspiration from an AI horror-comedy short shared on X, while saying the script, characters and jokes for Hollow House are his own. The source account does not identify the earlier short, so its relationship to this project cannot be independently assessed from the material provided.
The production began with still images rather than video. Meyer says each of the eight reference pictures took two Higgsfield credits at 2K resolution, and that he made them in under two minutes. He used them when generating the film’s start frames, then animated those frames with Veo. To check the dialogue, he says he ran clips through OpenAI’s Whisper speech-recognition model and compared the transcripts with the script.
The first two versions revealed several problems Meyer says he had to work around. Veo spelled out a shouted “HEY!” as separate letters, failed to produce a planned 180-degree head turn, and changed a requested backward bend into a forward hunch. One attempt to show a guest being lifted was blocked; a reworded request for the person to float passed, but produced little lift. Meyer says he instead used a still image with the character’s head already turned and added a bone-crack sound effect.
““terribly boring and amateurish””
— Thorsten Meyer, describing the first version
What the Production Account Leaves Open
The available source is Meyer’s own account, and the reported production time, credit use and costs have not been independently verified. It does not provide a full itemized budget, a reproducible prompt log or a comparison of the final output across models. The approximately $95 figure is tied to his stated Higgsfield plan price and should not be read as a general cost for making a short of this kind.
The article also does not establish how much human work went into scripting, selecting generations, editing and sound design beyond the decisions it describes. Nor does it provide independent assessments of the finished film or the tools’ performance. Meyer says the characters, voices and sets are AI-generated, but the account identifies human choices—including the script, selecting the successful version and final colour grading—as decisive.
The Short and Its Workflow
Hollow House is presented as a completed short, and Meyer’s October 28 account includes a link to the film and behind-the-scenes material such as character references, start frames, failed attempts and a contact sheet of the final cut. The source provides no announced sequel, release schedule or follow-up production. For now, the documented next step is viewing the short alongside the process images and comparing Meyer’s account with the finished 1:37 edit.
Key Questions
What is Hollow House?
Hollow House is a 1:37 horror-comedy short about a ghost joining an extreme haunted-attraction crew. Meyer says its characters, voices and sets were AI-generated.
How long did it take to make?
Meyer says production ran from the evening of October 27, 2026, to about 1:30 a.m. the following morning. He says the finished version came after three attempts.
What tools did Meyer say he used?
His account names Nano Banana 2 for character references and start frames, Google Veo 3.1 for animated clips, Whisper for checking dialogue transcripts and ElevenLabs characters for music and sound effects.
How much did the production cost?
Meyer reports using 2,220 Higgsfield credits, which he estimates at about $95 at his plan price, plus roughly 2,100 ElevenLabs characters for music and effects. Those are his estimates, not independently verified costs.
Why were the first versions replaced?
Meyer says the first version’s shots averaged 5.6 seconds and made the film feel slow. The later versions used more cuts; he identifies pacing and editing, rather than image quality, as the central challenge.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
