Editorials
‘Camera Obscura’s’ Aaron B. Koontz’s Top Austin-based Horror Directors
“Austin has such a robust, ingrained filmmaking community that, when combined with SXSW, Fantastic Fest and the Alamo Drafthouse, was the driving factor for me relocating here back in 2011,” Aaron B. Koontz tell us during a chat about his Camera Obscura in theaters on June 9th and on VOD and Digital HD on June 13th. “I wanted to get my feet wet in a smaller community before the inevitable L.A. move and Austin has proven to be a perfect place for that endeavor. So much so, that it gets harder and harder to picture ever leaving here.
“Most when thinking of Austin Filmmakers immediately go to the usual suspects of Robert Rodriguez, Richard Linklater, Terrance Malick and David Gordon Green, and for good measure,” he explained before reciting his personal favorites, adding, “But they also have inspired an entirely new generation of Directors that I have looked up to since my Texas arrival that includes Kat Candler, David Zellner, Jeff Nichols and Andrew Bujalski. I though, want to highlight another sub-sect here, the Austin Genre filmmaker. Almost two years ago I started a small support group, an AA for filmmakers really, that was focused on Genre Directors in Austin. Since that time members of that group have gone on to create some of the most dynamic Horror and Genre products in recent memory. Four of the names on my list, come from that group.
“In no particular order, here are my top 5 Austin-based horror filmmakers:”
Benjamin Moody – Ben got started editing for GameTrailers.com and went on to do a number of short film spoofs of popular games like “Skyrim” and “Mass Effect”. In 2015 Ben and his Producer/Wife, Rachel Moody, embarked on a low-budget, character-study slasher, Last Girl Standing (available on VOD). Which might seem like an odd pairing but when you see how beautifully Ben pulls this off, it quickly is evident the talent we are working with here. I am stoked to say that I will be working with Ben on his next project as well, a Martial Arts Survival Horror film called Bar Fight that is going to really show the world how talented this Moody couple is.
Chris McInroy – As a UT grad, Chris has been making various short films and commercial products since 2002. Over the past 3 years though, Chris has separated himself from the field Writing and Directing two of the best Horror-Comedy shorts in the country: 2014’s Bad Guy #2 and 2016’s Death Metal, which went on to play at over 100 festivals worldwide including Fantasia, Fantastic Fest and Sitges. Chris is currently in post for his most ambitious and bloodiest short yet, We Summoned a Demon which should hit festivals this fall.
Steven DeGennaro – A veteran in the Austin Filmmaking scene, Steven was best known as the go to Sound Mixer for various commercial, short and feature productions. But in 2014 he set out to make his feature Directorial debut, the ambitious Meta Horror-Comedy Found Footage 3D and since their premiere at Bruce Campbell’s Horror Fest (where they won the Jury Award), everyone has been talking about, and rightfully so, this absolute gem of a film. Details on distribution are not known at this time but this will surely make its way to you, and soon, so be on the lookout.
Phillip Guzman – As a photographer and filmmaker, Phillip has made a name for himself in Central Texas as a fearless and creative Director, willing to tackle interesting and complex subject matters. His most recent Directing effort was no different with the creepy, atmospheric Horror/Thriller Dead Awake (now on VOD), written by Final Destination creator Jeffrey Reddick, featuring genre icons like Jocelyn Donahue and Brea Grant. His next project, a Horror feature about a sleep deprivation study gone wrong, 200 Hours, is currently in post-production and prepping a festival run.
Owen Edgerton – Owen is Austin royalty for many of us here. He is a renowned author, with a recent Horror screenplay of his making the coveted Blood List. A comedian, commonly working with the comedy troupe Master Pancake which is the Alamo Drafthouse’s version of Mystery Science Theater 3k, Owen can be commonly seen hosting the now legendary Debates for the annual Genre bash, Fantastic Fest, which if you are not familiar with, I encourage you to come visit us this September for a taste of this weird greatness. I though want to highlight Owen’s feature Directorial Debut, the moody, psychological body-horror film Follow starring Noah Segan. This is one of those overlooked gems that I think deserves more love.
Bonus Pick: Jeff Ray – Although it may be a stretch to call the beautiful works of this soon to be household name “Horror”, there are sensibilities to Jeff’s style that scream genre. Whether it was his shocking, survival-story viral video for Sigur Ros or his gritty, noir short Where the Red Fox Lies, you can see the inspiration here that is part Jeff Nichols and part John Carpenter. Currently, Jeff is in the final stages of a feature length script for his aforementioned short, about a tormented young woman suffering from spontaneous combustion, which I will be Producing.
Sigur Ros Video:
Chiller Films will the release Camera Obscura in theaters on June 9th and on VOD and Digital HD on June 13th, Bloody Disgusting learned. We’ve been provided with an exclusive new clip from the film that marks the theatrical directing debut Aaron B. Koontz. In it, some tooth pain turns into horror as a man begins to lose all of his teeth. Next to spiders, this is my worst nightmare…
In ‘Camera Obscura’, a veteran war photographer with PTSD sees imminent deaths in his developed photos, questioning his already fragile sanity and putting the lives of those he loves in danger.
The cast includes Christopher Denham (Billions, Argo), Nadja Bobyleva (Bridge of Spies), Catherine Curtin (Stranger Things, Orange is the New Black), Chase Williamson (SiREN, Beyond the Gates) and Noah Segan (The Mind’s Eye, Tales of Halloween).
Camera Obscura is produced by Aaron B. Koontz, Andrew van den Houten (All Cheerleaders Die, The Woman) and Amir Zbeda (Area 51, Paranormal Activity) and is executive produced by Justin Smith (SIREN, The Boy).
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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