Skrean.co: Carved from Necessity

Before Skrean became a sanctuary for cinema that still draws blood, there was The Edge —a low-budget post-apocalyptic movie I wrote and that I refused to let die quietly. After two decades of corporate content as freelancer, The Edge was my declaration of independence, a feature-length scream against creative suffocation.

The plan was guerrilla-pure: fund it, shoot it, distribute it—complete artistic autonomy from conception to consumption. But lacking a proper network, the funding stalled. In the edit room of memory, I faced a choice: abandon the vision or transform the wreckage into something larger. The distribution arm of my original plan became the seed of something more defiant—a standalone VOD platform that could house not just my own work, but every piece of fantastic cinema drowning in the endless scroll of uncurated noise.

Cut to: sleepless nights coding between day job shifts, building Skrean.co under my production banner Aegir Studio. Frustrated, dried out, and burnt out—this wasn't just pivoting—this was excavation work, digging a digital crypt for genre films that shaped generations yet find themselves dismissed by algorithms that value engagement over artistry. Horror, fantasy, science fiction, thrillers, obscure indie gems that carved their place in cinematic consciousness—Skrean exists as their sanctuary, a guerrilla operation of one built on the conviction that certain films deserve better than algorithmic burial.

Beta Phase: Proving Ground

Skrean launched with twenty public domain horror and cult classics—a curated collection that sets the tone before the real battle begins. These films run free, sustained by a single pre-roll and voluntary PayPal donations from those who understand what we're building. Behind the public-facing classics, the subscriber catalog grows in shadows, waiting for official launch, while a submit a film page stands open, ready for shorts and features that need a home worth their artistry.

Early adopters can join for €3 monthly—the price of a beer, the cost of belief. Subscribers get ad-free viewing, and those supporting with a donation during beta earn "Founding Member" status: lifetime access, credits in all future Skrean originals, special perks that survive even if they cancel later. Their support funds the platform's evolution from vision to self-sustaining ecosystem.

The Mission: Niche Over Noise

Beta ends when we secure rights to twenty modern post-2000 indie and cult films. The official launch will operate on a simple, transparent, and filmmaker-first 80/20 revenue share. 80% of all net subscription revenue is shared directly with our partners.This revenue pool is distributed based on true performance. A film earns its share only when it is watched to at least 75% completion—we reward real engagement, not just clicks. This model is core to our philosophy: we are building a curated stage, not an endless catalog, where films that truly hold an audience's attention earn their rightful share. This is a zero-risk, pure revenue-share partnership.

The ultimate vision burns clear: a self-sustaining ecosystem where memberships and donations fund modern indie licensing, then original content production—Skrean Originals with The Edge still burning in my mind as the ultimate goal and of course offering shelter to other filmmakers. It's a bet on depth over breadth, on audiences hungry for cinema that disturbs, transforms and entertains. In a landscape where algorithms bury anything that can't be easily categorized, Skrean carves out space where cult cinema thrives on its own uncompromising terms.

You can feel the platform breathing against the corporate stranglehold, offering sanctuary to films that still know how to draw blood.