What Is Followed About?
The premise of Followed in 308 words, with nothing given away. The full story follows below.
In the age of clicks and followers, a charismatic content creator known online as DropTheMike is on the hunt for the next big break. When a lucrative sponsorship hinges on a sudden surge of subscribers, he decides to turn his next adventure into a livestreamed foray into the macabre—a weekend spent inside a notorious historic hotel that has long been whispered about for its unsettling reputation. The setting is a sleek blend of downtown Los Angeles’ neon‑lit bustle and the faded grandeur of a building whose walls seem to remember every echo of its past.
Accompanying DropTheMike are his close‑knit crew: the meticulous editor Nic, the thoughtful director of photography Chris, and the sound‑savvy camera operator Dani, who also serves as the emotional anchor for the group. Their dynamic is a mix of professional ambition and genuine friendship, each member bringing a distinct perspective that both fuels the channel’s chemistry and hints at deeper personal stakes. As they set up their equipment and prepare to capture the hotel’s eerie atmosphere, the line between performance and reality begins to blur.
The film immerses the audience in a world where digital exposure collides with the unknown. Its tone is a slow‑burning tension—half‑light corridors, static‑filled live feeds, and the unsettling feeling of being watched—while the ever‑present hum of cameras and notification alerts reminds viewers of the modern desire to turn fear into content. The hotel itself stands as a character, its storied past a silent backdrop that teases curiosity without revealing its darkest chapters.
Against this backdrop, DropTheMike’s quest for viral fame becomes a confrontation with forces he never anticipated. The story asks what happens when the pursuit of online notoriety forces creators to step beyond the safety of scripted thrills and face the genuine, lingering mysteries of a place that refuses to be reduced to a mere backdrop for clicks.
What Happens in Followed?
The complete story of Followed, from the first scene to the last, in 1,085 words (about 5 minutes). Spoilers throughout. Names in the text link to 11 cast member pages.
Spoilers ahead
DropTheMike, Matthew Solomon, a controversial vlogger who vanished after visiting the Lennox Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, drives this narrative by broadcasting a single, unbroken screencast that captures every twist of the weekend. The film opens with the promise of a big payday: a sponsorship offer of $250,000 if DropTheMike can rack up 50,000 new subscribers. With that lure in mind, he heads to a hotel notorious for tragedy—tens of suicides and murders have marred its founding, and the latest chilling incident involves the burned corpse of Meghan Kim, a Korean tourist, discovered in the boiler room after suspicious elevator footage shows her behaving erratically in the hotel’s elevator. Meghan Kim, Sarah Chang, becomes a haunting touchstone for the story as the camera follows Mike’s every move.
The first major pivot comes when Mike sits down with Wallace Fleischer, an author who uncovers a dark history tied to the Lennox. Wallace, John Savage, points to David Olmos, a serial killer and Satanist who once resided in the Lennox during the 1980s. The revelation sets the tone for a weekend that will blur the boundaries between online spectacle and the haunted real world. The next day, Mike relocates with his team—Nic, the editor; Chris, the religious director of photography; and Dani, the sound and camera operator who also happens to be Mike’s close friend and unspoken love. Nic, Caitlin Grace, takes a room nearby to edit the vlogs, while Mike, Dani, and Chris settle into a top-floor suite—the very room where Olmos once carried out his murders—creating a claustrophobic nerve center for the chilling events to unfold.
As the crew settles in, they set their sights on the basement, intent on reaching the boiler room. They run into Tony, the security guard, Christopher Ross Martin, who surprisingly reveals himself to be a fan of DropTheMike and offers to fetch the basement key. Tony’s warmth soon yields to something more ominous, and the encounter hints at the hotel’s pull over the living—and the dead. Mike starts digging into the legends of the Elevator Game, a ritual that supposedly opens a doorway to another dimension when performed in an elevator. He tests the ritual alone and encounters Meghan Kim’s ghostly presence, a moment that unsettles him but he brushes off as fan obsession rather than a warning.
Back in the hotel, a sequence of nerve-jangling moments heightens the sense of danger. A Skype call from Jess, Mike’s fiancée, reveals her pregnancy and injects a personal stake into the peril. The mood shifts as Chris checks on Nic and discovers her in a disturbed, self-harming state, a stark sign that the hotel’s influence is more intimate and insidious than the crew anticipated. Soon after, they glimpse a decapitated ghost roaming the corridor, prompting a chase that drives them to the rooftop where a sinister altar lies in their room—an animal’s tongue laid out on a platter, a macabre centerpiece that cements the hotel’s occult history.
On the third night, a ghostly child—the so-called Ghost Boy, Thaddeaus Ek—haunts the halls as the team pushes deeper into the nightmare. Their investigation leads them to Room 440, a space that seems to bend reality: when Mike steps toward it, he’s suddenly teleported back to the top floor. The hotel’s lore expands as Wallace reappears via a return call, explaining that Room 440 belonged to a detective who, after murdering his wife, dragged his two sons to the Lennox. The detective killed the elder son, chased the younger into the boiler room, and was himself killed by a maintenance man who encountered the son. This grim history overlays the present with a sense of fate and repetition, and as the tension escalates, Chris is attacked by a ghost from his own childhood, forcing the crew to confront the personal prices of this haunting.
With reality bending around them, the crew experiences further danger from the hotel’s residual threats. Dani is traumatized enough to leave with Chris, while Mike tries to pull Nic back from a dangerous edge, halting her from jumping out of her window. He delivers Nic back to her mother and sister, Kate Romero, Nic’s Mom / Mrs.Eply, reinserting a fragile sense of family into the chaos. In a moment of grim resolve, Mike returns to the basement, retrieving the key to the boiler room and ignoring a plea from Jess to come home. He starts a livestream, hoping to document the truth and perhaps redeem himself, but a garbled call from Wallace hints at a deeper, sinister truth: Mike is the biological son of the very detective who once terrorized this hotel.
The descent into the boiler room intensifies the film’s dread. Mike discovers the missing drone where Meghan Kim’s corpse had lain, and a laptop shows the livestream in real time alongside Tony’s occult-notebook entries. Ghosts swarm the corridors as a dead body appears and Mike flees the hotel in a panic. Back home, he attempts to pivot toward something more meaningful—announcing a hiatus from vlogging and proposing to make a documentary about homelessness—yet the house is suddenly overtaken by shadowy figures. Tony and Meghan Kim’s presence returns in a devastating form, delivering Mike his fiancée’s severed head and signaling the end of an ordinary life.
The film closes with the unsettling aftermath of Mike’s disappearance and a final, eerie postscript. Terrifying echoes spill into the online world as the TerribleTyler channel is introduced, and a chilling final moment unfolds when a message from Mike appears on his own account: “Can’t wait to meet you, Tyler.” The viewer is left with a blurred face on the laptop camera, the implication that the horror remains, just beyond the reach of the screen.
In the gallery of characters who populate the Lennox Hotel, the story threads together the ambitions and vulnerabilities of DropTheMike and his crew. The film uses the hotel as a living character—its history, its ghosts, and its occult rites all feeding into a single, inexorable pull toward the unknown. Across the cast, the performances—from Matthew Solomon as DropTheMike to Sam Valentine as Danni, Tim Drier as Chris, Caitlin Grace as Nic, John Savage as Wallace Fleischer, Ethan Alexander as David Olmos / Hacksaw Man, Christopher Ross Martin as Tony the Security Guard, and Terumi Shimazu as Meghan Kim’s Mother, among others—renders a growing sense of dread that lingers long after the final frame. The result is a haunting meditation on obsession, fame, and the price of peering too deeply into a place where history refuses to stay buried.
Followed Timeline: Every Key Event in Order
15 key events in the order they happen, from “Arrival at Lennox Hotel” to “Return home, hiatus, and the final reveal”. 15 events name a place, across 15 locations.
- 1
Arrival at Lennox Hotel
Mike, Dani, Chris, and Nic arrive in downtown Los Angeles to film a Halloween weekend vlog at the infamous Lennox Hotel. They settle into the top-floor suite, aware of the building's brutal history of suicides and murders. The news of Meghan Kim's burned body in the boiler room casts a grim backdrop for their project.
When:Day 1 Where:Lennox Hotel, Downtown Los Angeles
- 2
Olmos backstory revealed
Mike interviews Wallace Fleischer, who tells him about David Olmos, a Satanist killer who once resided at the Lennox. The tale of Olmos frames the hotel's haunted aura and provides a chilling context for the vlogs. The crew begins to sense that the hotel's past is reaching into their present.
When:Day 1 Where:Hotel lobby / Lennox Hotel
- 3
Top-floor setup and routine
Mike, Dani, and Chris settle into the top-floor room where Olmos carried out his murders, while Nic stays next door to edit the daily vlogs. They rig cameras and plan filming sessions around the building's infamous history. The location amplifies the sense that they are being watched as they work.
When:Day 2 Where:Top-floor suite, Lennox Hotel
- 4
Basement access and a fan-guard promise
On the second day they attempt to reach the basement to access the boiler room, losing their drone through chained doors. A security guard named Tony confronts them but reveals he is a Mike fan and promises to provide the basement key. The interaction hints at dangerous, intimate ties between the vlogger and the hotel.
When:Day 2 Where:Hotel basement doors
- 5
The Elevator Game and a Ghostly Encounter
While researching the Elevator Game, Mike decides to perform the ritual alone in the elevator and seemingly encounters Meghan Kim’s ghost. He writes it off as the work of an obsessive fan, even as unsettling noises echo through the hall. The encounter foreshadows that the hotel’s hauntings might be real.
When:Evening of Day 2 Where:Hotel elevator
- 6
Jess's pregnancy call and Nic’s distress
After an upbeat moment, Jess calls Mike with news of her pregnancy. Soon after, Chris finds Nic in a disturbed, self-destructive state, hinting at deeper psychological strain within the crew. The line between reality and the vlog begins to blur as tension inside the hotel rises.
When:Night of Day 2 Where:Hotel room / editing area
- 7
A decapitated ghost and a rooftop altar
Mike and the team encounter a decapitated ghost in the hallway and chase it to the roof. There they discover a satanic altar above their room with a platter holding an animal’s tongue. The discovery confirms the hotel’s ritual history and raises the stakes of their investigation.
When:Night of Day 2 – Early Day 3 Where:Hotel hallway and roof
- 8
Third night uploads and a child ghost
The mysterious user uploads the third night to DropTheMike’s channel and Mike seems to spot a ghostly child in the corridor. While Mike pursues the child, Chris and Dani are chased by Olmos’s hacksaw-wielding ghost and Mike is inexplicably teleported back to the top floor. The episode deepens the sense that the hotel is reconfiguring reality around them.
When:Night of Day 3 Where:Lennox Hotel corridors
- 9
Room 440 backstory
Mike calls Wallace again and learns that Room 440 belonged to a police detective whose presence in the hotel culminated in the murder of his wife and the haunting of his youngest son. The detective was killed by a maintenance man, sealing Room 440 as a nexus of tragedy and terror. The revelation links the hotel’s past to their current terrors.
When:After Night 3 Where:Phone call / Lennox Hotel
- 10
Chris’s childhood ghost attack and Dani’s departure
Another ghost from Chris’s childhood attacks him in the hotel bathroom, prompting Dani to leave the hotel with Chris. The crew’s frayed relationships worsen as the haunting takes a toll on their mental health. Mike tries to hold the group together as danger escalates.
When:After Night 3 Where:Hotel bathroom
Show the other 5 events of Followed Hide the last 5 events
- 11
Dani’s escape and drug dealer chase
An elderly woman jumps from a window and a drug dealer who had been filmed earlier stalks Mike and Dani, but Chris arrives to save them. Dani leaves with Chris, leaving Mike feeling increasingly isolated inside the haunted hotel. The surreal danger continues to close in.
When:Night of Day 3 Where:Hotel corridors
- 12
Nic’s crisis and Mike’s resolve
Mike checks in on Nic, preventing her from jumping out of her room, and tries to keep her safe. She is returned to her mother and sister, but the stress of the hotel lingers over everyone. Mike resolves to push on, believing there is a larger story to tell.
When:Night to Day 4 Where:Nic’s room
- 13
Basement key and the descent begins
With Tony’s basement key in hand, Mike descends to the boiler room to uncover the truth. He starts a livestream to document the descent, while a garbled call from Wallace hints at a larger, ominous lineage behind the hotel. The basement becomes the focal point of escalating horror.
When:Late Night Where:Basement / Boiler Room
- 14
Boiler room revelation and chase
Mike finds Meghan Kim’s missing drone and a laptop broadcasting his live feed, while Tony’s notebook spills occult imagery. He is chased by a crowd of hotel ghosts, discovers a dead body, and escapes into a panicked outside world. The horror culminates in a chaotic confrontation with the supernatural.
When:Climax Where:Boiler room
- 15
Return home, hiatus, and the final reveal
Back home, Mike announces a hiatus and plans a documentary about homelessness, but the power fails and shadow figures surround him. Tony and Kim appear with Mike’s fiancée’s severed head, and Mike disappears. The final moments hint at a longer conspiracy as Mike’s blurred face appears on a laptop camera, while the TerribleTyler channel hints at a future intrusion.
When:Epilogue Where:Mike’s home / online channels
Who Are the Main Characters in Followed?
10 characters, among them Mike / DropTheMike (Matthew Solomon), Nic (Caitlin Grace) and Danni (Sam Valentine): who each one is and the part they play in the story. Every profile links to the actor’s page.
- M/
Mike / DropTheMike (Matthew Solomon)
Played by Matthew Solomon
A controversial vlogger chasing fame and a big payday. He pursues the Lennox Hotel weekend to rack up 50,000 subscribers and a $250,000 sponsorship. His single-minded obsession drags his team into increasingly dangerous rituals. The film tracks how his drive to document the horror consumes his judgment.
- 🎯 Ambition
- 🎬 Content Creator
- N(
Nic (Caitlin Grace)
Played by Caitlin Grace
Nic is the editor on the team, providing a steady, analytical voice as the crew documents the events. She edits in close proximity to the haunting, gradually confronting the hotel's influence on her mind. Her calm, rational approach is tested as reality and vision blur.
- 🎨 Creative
- 🧭 Pragmatic
- D(
Danni (Sam Valentine)
Played by Sam Valentine
Sound and camera operator who is Mike’s close friend and unspoken love. Traumatized by the escalating horrors, she becomes a key moral counterpoint to Mike’s reckless ambitions. Danni’s loyalty is tested as the line between safety and survival grows thinner.
- 🎭 Loyalty
- 🧠 Intuition
- C(
Chris (Tim Drier)
Played by Tim Drier
Religious director of photography who remains skeptical of the supernatural while being integral to the crew’s filming. His protective stance and personal history with trauma influence how the team responds to the hauntings. His perspective anchors the group’s attempts to interpret what they’re seeing.
- 🎬 Cinematography
- 🙏 Spiritual
-
Wallace Fleischer (John Savage)
Played by John Savage
An author who uncovers the Lennox’s dark history and acts as a cautious guide through the hotel’s legends. He connects the present events to the building’s past, offering context that reshapes the crew’s understanding of what they’re experiencing.
- 🧠 Scholar
- 🔎 Investigator
- MK
Meghan Kim (Sarah Chang)
Played by Sarah Chang
A Korean tourist whose burned corpse is discovered in the boiler room, Meghan’s presence returns as a haunting touchstone guiding the crew’s fear. Her apparition anchors the supernatural element in a painful real tragedy.
- 👻 Ghost
- 🧿 Trauma
- TT
Tony the Security Guard (Christopher Ross Martin)
Played by Christopher Ross Martin
Initially warm and accommodating to DropTheMike, Tony gradually reveals a darker, more ominous side. His curiosity about the crew’s intentions hints at occult knowledge and heightens the sense of danger surrounding the group.
- 🎭 Fan
- 🗝️ Gatekeeper
- NM
Nic's Mom / Mrs.Eply (Kate Romero)
Played by Kate Romero
Nic’s mother provides a grounded emotional anchor amid the hotel’s chaos. Her presence reaffirms family ties and personal stakes, reminding the team of real-world consequences beyond online fame.
- 👪 Family
- 🧭 Anchor
- DO
David Olmos / Hacksaw Man (Ethan Alexander)
Played by Ethan Alexander
A serial killer and Satanist who resided in the Lennox during the 1980s; his dark history threads through the present events. The crew’s discoveries of his legacy deepen the horror and lend a grim, historical weight to the haunting.
- 🧪 Evil
- 🔪 Murder
- GB
Ghost Boy (Thaddeaus Ek)
Played by Thaddeaus Ek
A haunting child figure that roams the hotel corridors, intensifying the dread and reminding the crew of innocence lost within the building’s violent past.
- 👶 Ghost
- 🌀 Mystery
Where and When Is Followed Set?
Followed is set in Lennox Hotel and Downtown Los Angeles (Present day). Here is why the time and place matter to the story.
When
Present day
The events unfold over a single weekend in contemporary times as a vlogger pursues a big payday. The crew films in real time, turning danger into online spectacle. The hotel’s violent past from the 1980s surfaces as a guiding force behind the supernatural events.
Where
Lennox Hotel, Downtown Los Angeles
The Lennox Hotel in downtown Los Angeles serves as a haunted, living backdrop. It is notorious for suicides and murders since its founding, and its elevator and boiler rooms become key sites of fear. The building's occult history and the ghosts that inhabit it drive the crew's weekend-long nightmare.
- 🏨 Haunted Hotel
- 🌆 Downtown Los Angeles
What Are the Themes of Followed?
3 ideas the story keeps returning to, among them Fame & Obsession, Haunting & History and Reality vs Screen.
-
01
Fame & Obsession
DropTheMike’s plan to rack up subscribers and a sponsorship cashes in on real danger and sensationalism. The film critiques how online fame can push people to gamble with others’ lives. As the line between reality and performance blurs, the consequences become terrifyingly tangible.
-
02
Haunting & History
The Lennox’s past crimes and ghostly inhabitants are more than scares; they reveal a repeatable pattern of violence that lingers in the present. Meghan Kim’s apparition and the Elevator Game rituals anchor the haunting in a real, historical trauma. The crew’s intrusion into the hotel awakens a force that resists being documented away.
-
03
Reality vs Screen
The livestream drives the story’s momentum, turning the hotel into a spectator sport. What the audience sees on camera is manipulated by the building’s uncanny will, challenging the crew’s grip on truth. The film questions the price of exposure and whether footage can ever capture real horror.
What Kind of Film Is Followed?
Dark in tone, with steady pacing and a moderate story, going by the plot summary.
- Tone
- Dark
- Pacing
- Steady
- Story
- Moderate
- Intensity
- High
- Ending
- Bleak
A found-footage horror film that follows a social media influencer's terrifying ordeal at a haunted hotel, blending supernatural elements with a dark, relentless tone.
- found footage horror
- found footage
- supernatural horror
- supernatural
- horror
- ghosts
- social media influencer
- haunted hotel
- supernatural forces
- internet fame
Content notes: supernatural horror, death, supernatural elements, satanic rituals, ghostly apparitions.
Quiz
How well do you remember Followed? Test yourself on the story.
