Full Sail Stories

Full Sail University Hall of Fame inductee Aaron B. Koontz is no stranger to suspense, and his recent projects are keeping audiences on edge across screens. Fresh off the success of his SYFY series Revival, now streaming on Peacock, the filmmaker’s latest feature, Shelby Oaks, premiered in theaters this October, earning praise for its eerie atmosphere and inventive take on the found-footage genre.

Directed by Chris Stuckmann and produced by Aaron’s company, Paper Street Pictures, the film has quickly become one of the season’s breakout horror hits. “We made [Shelby Oaks], and then I sold it to [film production and distribution company] Neon,” Aaron shared. “Neon read the original script and said, ‘You didn’t get to film these scenes… would you guys like to do it?’ So it’s actually a new ending now from our original cut.”

That new ending helped solidify Shelby Oaks as one of Neon’s most talked-about releases, backed by a viral marketing campaign that blurred the line between fiction and reality – a hallmark of Aaron’s storytelling style. “We wanted everybody to think it was found footage at the start,” he said. “I mean, it’s all this fake viral campaign that we put together where… there’s the Paranormal Paranoids, which were a 2008 YouTube paranormal investigating team that went missing… Tons of people bought into it for two years.”

While the success of Shelby Oaks marks a major milestone for the Film graduate, it’s not his only recent win. Aaron also serves as Co-Creator, Showrunner, Executive Producer, and Lead Writer of Revival, Peacock’s supernatural drama about a small Wisconsin town where the dead mysteriously return to life.

Based on the Image Comics series by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton, Revival was years in the making. “This was a very, very long time coming,” Aaron said. “It took many, many years to get made. My partner, Luke [Boyce], had the rights to the comic and was trying to get it made, and he couldn’t for probably eight or nine years.”

Now streaming on Peacock, Revival continues to reach new audiences as Shelby Oaks brings Aaron’s distinctive horror voice to the big screen.