Aaron B. Koontz | |
|---|---|
 Koontz on the set of Old Man | |
| Born | |
| Citizenship | American |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Notable work | |
Aaron B. Koontz is an American producer, writer and director. He is the founder and CEO of Paper Street Pictures, a film production company in Austin, Texas. [1] He is also a producer behind The Pale Door , the Scare Package franchise, and Shelby Oaks , from YouTuber Chris Stuckmann.
Koontz was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. As a child, he shot home movies and wrote numerous short stories. [2]
After moving to Florida with his family he went on to attend Full Sail University, where he was a classmate of filmmakers Adam Wingard and E.L. Katz. [3] Koontz graduated in 2001 and worked as freelance crew on various film sets including Monster and studio films The Punisher and Out of Time. [4]
In 2003, Koontz took a nearly ten-year detour where he worked in video game production as a producer and QA tester-manager for companies like EA Sports, THQ and Zynga. [5]
In 2012, Koontz left games to start the boutique genre production company Paper Street Pictures. [6] Through Paper Street, Koontz wrote and directed multiple short films including the award-winning Honor Student. [7] In 2014, Koontz was an executive producer of the SXSW hit Starry Eyes , and then in 2016, he co-wrote, produced and directed his first feature film, Camera Obscura, for NBC Universal. In 2019, Koontz lead the production team for the Shudder cult hit Scare Package , of which he also was the core story co-writer and director as well as the final segment director with Horror Hypothesis. In 2020, Aaron co-wrote, directed and produced The Pale Door , a horror-western he released with the help of executive producer Joe R. Lansdale.
In 2022, he produced five films, with the first was The Requin , starring Alicia Silverstone, followed by Revealer, [8] for which he also wrote the comic book tie-in with Vault Comics. [9] Old Man, starring Stephen Lang, came out in the fall, followed by Blood Relatives which premiered at Fantastic Fest, before releasing in select theaters on Thanksgiving week, [10] and Snow Valley. [11]
Koontz directed, produced and co-wrote Scare Package 2: Rad Chad's Revenge, the sequel to Scare Package. The film premiered at Fright Fest in August, before streaming exclusively on Shudder in December, [12] which was called a "superior and superbly silly sequel" by MovieWeb . [13]
In 2023, he led the production of Emily Hagins's Sorry About the Demon which premiered in January on Shudder. In March, he produced The Artifice Girl, starring Lance Henriksen, which had its U.S. Premiere at SXSW. It previously won Best International Feature at Fantasia in Montreal and Trieste in Italy. [14] Also in 2023, he produced the Christmas creature feature A Creature Was Stirring starring Chrissy Metz [15] and the horror thriller Trim Season starring Alex Essoe. [16]
Additional upcoming horror and thriller films Aaron lead productions on include The Bunker and Shelby Oaks. Koontz launched a Kickstarter for Shelby Oaks with Chris Stuckmann, [17] which went on to break the record as the most funded horror kickstarter of all-time, [18] and then began filming in May and June in and around Ohio. [19]
In late 2020, it was announced that Koontz had formed a new genre consulting firm, Blood Oath, with various other industry veterans. [20]
Koontz has said that he hoped to make a third Scare Package film with Shudder. [21] [22]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Starry Eyes | Executive Producer |
| 2017 | Camera Obscura | Writer, producer, director |
| 2019 | Scare Package | Writer, producer, director, concept by |
| 2020 | The Pale Door | Writer, producer, director, editor |
| 15 Things You Didn't Know About Bigfoot | Executive Producer | |
| The Pizzagate Masacre | Executive Producer | |
| The Stylist | Production Consultant | |
| 2022 | The Requin | Producer |
| Revealer | Producer | |
| Old Man | Producer | |
| Blood Relatives | Producer | |
| Scare Package II: Rad Chad's Revenge | Writer, producer, director, created by | |
| Snow Valley | Producer | |
| 2023 | Sorry About the Demon | Producer |
| The Artifice Girl | Producer | |
| Trim Season | Producer | |
| A Creature Was Stirring | Producer | |
| 2024 | Shelby Oaks | Producer Post-production |
| The Bunker | Producer Post-production | |
Michael Anthony Beach is an American actor. He has appeared in films Lean on Me (1989), One False Move (1992), Short Cuts (1993), Waiting to Exhale (1995), A Family Thing (1996), Soul Food (1997), Aquaman (2018), and Saw X (2023). On television, he played Al Boulet on the NBC medical drama ER from 1995 to 1997. From 1999 to 2005, Beach was a regular cast member in another NBC drama series, Third Watch, as Monte Parker, and as T.O. Cross in FX's Sons of Anarchy.
Brendan Eugene Sexton III is an American actor.
Alexandre Jouan-Arcady, known professionally as Alexandre Aja, is a French filmmaker best known for his work in the horror genre. He rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film Haute Tension. He has also directed the films The Hills Have Eyes (2006), Mirrors (2008), Piranha 3D (2010), Horns (2013) and Crawl (2019).
Robin Bartlett is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in two NBC sitcoms The Powers That Be and Mad About You.
Johannes Roberts is a British filmmaker, screenwriter and producer. He is known for directing horror films such as The Other Side of the Door, 47 Meters Down and its sequel, The Strangers: Prey at Night and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.
Camille Sullivan is a Canadian actress. She has starred in various films and television series. Among her notable television appearances are Rookie Blue, Da Vinci's Inquest, Intelligence and Shattered. She won a Leo Award for her role in Normal. She was also nominated for a Gemini Award for her portrayal of the character of Francine Reardon in Intelligence, who is the cocaine and alcohol addict ex-wife of a West Coast crime boss.
Radio Silence Productions is an American film and television production company, founded in 2011 by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez and Chad Villella. The group is known for the horror films Ready or Not, Scream and Scream VI, as well as their previous work together as Chad, Matt & Rob.
The Babadook is a 2014 Australian horror film written and directed by Jennifer Kent in her feature directorial debut, based on her 2005 short film Monster. Starring Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West, and Ben Winspear, the film follows a widowed single mother who with her son must confront a mysterious humanoid monster in their home.
Mike Flanagan is an American filmmaker, best known for his horror work. Flanagan wrote, directed, produced, and edited the horror films Absentia (2011), Oculus (2013), Hush, Before I Wake, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald's Game (2017), and Doctor Sleep (2019). He created, wrote, produced, and served as showrunner on the Netflix horror series The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Midnight Mass (2021), The Midnight Club (2022), and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023), also directing and editing some episodes of each.
Christopher Michael Stuckmann is an American filmmaker, YouTuber, author, and film critic.
Shudder is an American over-the-top subscription video on demand service featuring horror, thriller, and supernatural fiction titles, owned and operated by AMC Networks. The streaming service offers original films, TV series—such as Creepshow, based on the 1982 film same of the name—and documentary series. Shudder's library also features non-original programming, including well-known horror films, and annually airs a Halloween "Ghoul Log".
Scare Package is a 2020 American anthology horror comedy film created by Aaron B. Koontz and Cameron Burns. It features a series of horror shorts written and directed by Aaron B. Koontz, Courtney Andujar, Hillary Andujar, Anthony Cousins, Emily Hagins, Chris McInroy, Noah Segan, and Baron Vaughn.
Shelby Oaks is an upcoming American supernatural horror mystery film produced, written and directed by Chris Stuckmann in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Camille Sullivan, Brendan Sexton III, Michael Beach, Robin Bartlett, Keith David, Charlie Talbert, Emily Bennett and Sarah Durn. The film is produced by Aaron B. Koontz and Paper Street Pictures.
Camera Obscura is a 2017 horror film directed by Aaron B. Koontz in his feature film directorial debut, with a script written by Koontz and his writing partner Cameron Burns. It stars Christopher Denham, Nadja Bobyleva, Noah Segan, Catherine Curtin, Chase Williamson, and Andrew Sensenig.