In the Shadows of the Trees
Stratford, New Jersey | Film Feature
Horror, Thriller
Support a South Jersey hometown horror film by the director of acclaimed short Queen of Prey. Let's make a high art nightmare on a microbudget.
In the Shadows of the Trees
Stratford, New Jersey | Film Feature
Horror, Thriller
2 Campaigns | New Jersey, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $5,010 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
25 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
Support a South Jersey hometown horror film by the director of acclaimed short Queen of Prey. Let's make a high art nightmare on a microbudget.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
A man returns to his hometown. Children go missing, and he begins seeing a mysterious figure of local legend watching from the woods. What started as a get-rich-quick social media stunt becomes a disturbing glimpse into a South Jersey community hiding dark secrets.
Intrigued? I hope so. Sure, the setup sounds familiar but this film is all about the execution: The South Jersey suburbs themselves - the woods, the quiet streets, and even children’s chalk drawings - will take on an eerie life of their own. Ordinary suburban spaces will become places of dread and achieve a dark cinematic transcendence - the very environment will become something horribly alive. I sometimes like to pitch this project as Werner Herzog directs The Blair Witch Project.
Speaking of South Jersey, that's where I'm from. It's a lot more rural than you'd expect from a state known for its industrial wastelands. The suburbs snake in and out of the woods and marshes, which become uncomfortably alive at night with the sounds of god-knows-what kinds of fauna. It's no wonder this state has a tradition of dark folktales and superstition.
And the location is a key part of what I'm trying to achieve: Real indie filmmaking. At a time when even cinema luminaries have trouble getting funding for their passion projects, I believe under-five-figure budget filmmaking is more important than ever. For years I was banging on the Hollywood gatekeepers' door, trying to get the golden ticket deal of A24 handing me a sack of money to create projects. Now, I'm out of Hollywood and realize I can't wait for that kind of deal anymore. I may not have a million dollars but I can create something with the resources I have and use my limitations inventively. At the risk of sounding pretentious, some of my key inspirations for ITSOTT are not just horror films, but micro budget landmarks such as The Killer of Sheep, Black Girl, Wanda, and John Cassavetes' oeuvre.
And that's also why I want to shoot the project. Originally I wanted to shoot the film myself to save money but, in crafting a look for the cinematography, I've fallen in love with the camera again. Nevertheless I can't do everything myself and that's where your help comes in. These wishlist numbers reflect the minimum stipends required to bring our team together. The final budget will be considerably more but the 5k raised here will get the ball rolling. Naturally anything raised beyond will be extremely helpful.
In the end I hope In the Shadows of the Trees plays at big time genre and independent festivals and, if we're lucky, at a theater near you. If you'd like to check out some of my past work, here's a link to Queen of Prey, my horror short/proof of concept that played at numerous film festivals and is featured on Film Shortage.
In the meantime, I'm going to keep writing the script, practicing my camera work, casting, and collecting props and art supplies. I intend to shoot in Spring. If you're just as impatient as I am to get this flick made, pledge, follow, and/or share right now and remember: #evilneverblinks.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Sound Recordist
Costs $2,000
Captures eerie silence, whispers, and dread; vital for atmosphere and making the horror feel real.
Lead Actor
Costs $1,000
A strong lead gives the film its heart and weight, carrying the story’s tension and emotional core.
Art Department
Costs $600
Props and set dressing build the film’s haunting world and transform everyday spaces into unsettling ones.
Makeup Artist
Costs $600
Handles on-set touchups, keeping cast camera-ready and consistent, with light creature work
Essential Gear
Costs $800
Lens, lights, and gimbal to elevate visuals, sharpen atmosphere, and achieve festival-ready quality.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Right now, the “team” is just me. My name is Michael Conroy, and I’m a filmmaker, writer, cinematographer, and editor based in South Jersey.
A little about my journey as a filmmaker: I’ve made a number of short films, but my most recent, Queen of Prey, was a turning point. It screened at Dances With Films and other festivals, and was featured on Film Shortage and Klipist. It also received coverage from sites like HorrorBuzz, which called it “a powerful and unsettling short” that showed how much can be done with atmosphere and restraint — qualities I want to carry forward into In the Shadows of the Trees.
Beyond shorts, I’ve built a wide base of experience as an editor, working on projects ranging from the Man of the Yearpodcast to the combat sports series Combat X with Alan Dawson. These experiences taught me how to balance storytelling across different formats while sharpening the technical foundation needed to sustain a feature film.
For In the Shadows of the Trees, I’m approaching the process as deliberately small and handcrafted. Instead of the Hollywood model of massive crews and inaccessible budgets, this film demonstrates that independent cinema can be made with limited resources, driven by personal vision, and built around the environments and materials at hand.
I’m shooting the film myself, both to develop my own visual style and to keep the project intimate. I’m also taking on sound design and music composition. The aim is not only to tell this story, but to prove that atmospheric, tense, and cinematic horror can still be created outside the studio system.
As the project grows, I’ll bring on collaborators where needed, but the foundation remains one person building a feature with the tools at hand. That’s what makes this project possible — and personal.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
A man returns to his hometown. Children go missing, and he begins seeing a mysterious figure of local legend watching from the woods. What started as a get-rich-quick social media stunt becomes a disturbing glimpse into a South Jersey community hiding dark secrets.
Intrigued? I hope so. Sure, the setup sounds familiar but this film is all about the execution: The South Jersey suburbs themselves - the woods, the quiet streets, and even children’s chalk drawings - will take on an eerie life of their own. Ordinary suburban spaces will become places of dread and achieve a dark cinematic transcendence - the very environment will become something horribly alive. I sometimes like to pitch this project as Werner Herzog directs The Blair Witch Project.
Speaking of South Jersey, that's where I'm from. It's a lot more rural than you'd expect from a state known for its industrial wastelands. The suburbs snake in and out of the woods and marshes, which become uncomfortably alive at night with the sounds of god-knows-what kinds of fauna. It's no wonder this state has a tradition of dark folktales and superstition.
And the location is a key part of what I'm trying to achieve: Real indie filmmaking. At a time when even cinema luminaries have trouble getting funding for their passion projects, I believe under-five-figure budget filmmaking is more important than ever. For years I was banging on the Hollywood gatekeepers' door, trying to get the golden ticket deal of A24 handing me a sack of money to create projects. Now, I'm out of Hollywood and realize I can't wait for that kind of deal anymore. I may not have a million dollars but I can create something with the resources I have and use my limitations inventively. At the risk of sounding pretentious, some of my key inspirations for ITSOTT are not just horror films, but micro budget landmarks such as The Killer of Sheep, Black Girl, Wanda, and John Cassavetes' oeuvre.
And that's also why I want to shoot the project. Originally I wanted to shoot the film myself to save money but, in crafting a look for the cinematography, I've fallen in love with the camera again. Nevertheless I can't do everything myself and that's where your help comes in. These wishlist numbers reflect the minimum stipends required to bring our team together. The final budget will be considerably more but the 5k raised here will get the ball rolling. Naturally anything raised beyond will be extremely helpful.
In the end I hope In the Shadows of the Trees plays at big time genre and independent festivals and, if we're lucky, at a theater near you. If you'd like to check out some of my past work, here's a link to Queen of Prey, my horror short/proof of concept that played at numerous film festivals and is featured on Film Shortage.
In the meantime, I'm going to keep writing the script, practicing my camera work, casting, and collecting props and art supplies. I intend to shoot in Spring. If you're just as impatient as I am to get this flick made, pledge, follow, and/or share right now and remember: #evilneverblinks.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Sound Recordist
Costs $2,000
Captures eerie silence, whispers, and dread; vital for atmosphere and making the horror feel real.
Lead Actor
Costs $1,000
A strong lead gives the film its heart and weight, carrying the story’s tension and emotional core.
Art Department
Costs $600
Props and set dressing build the film’s haunting world and transform everyday spaces into unsettling ones.
Makeup Artist
Costs $600
Handles on-set touchups, keeping cast camera-ready and consistent, with light creature work
Essential Gear
Costs $800
Lens, lights, and gimbal to elevate visuals, sharpen atmosphere, and achieve festival-ready quality.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Right now, the “team” is just me. My name is Michael Conroy, and I’m a filmmaker, writer, cinematographer, and editor based in South Jersey.
A little about my journey as a filmmaker: I’ve made a number of short films, but my most recent, Queen of Prey, was a turning point. It screened at Dances With Films and other festivals, and was featured on Film Shortage and Klipist. It also received coverage from sites like HorrorBuzz, which called it “a powerful and unsettling short” that showed how much can be done with atmosphere and restraint — qualities I want to carry forward into In the Shadows of the Trees.
Beyond shorts, I’ve built a wide base of experience as an editor, working on projects ranging from the Man of the Yearpodcast to the combat sports series Combat X with Alan Dawson. These experiences taught me how to balance storytelling across different formats while sharpening the technical foundation needed to sustain a feature film.
For In the Shadows of the Trees, I’m approaching the process as deliberately small and handcrafted. Instead of the Hollywood model of massive crews and inaccessible budgets, this film demonstrates that independent cinema can be made with limited resources, driven by personal vision, and built around the environments and materials at hand.
I’m shooting the film myself, both to develop my own visual style and to keep the project intimate. I’m also taking on sound design and music composition. The aim is not only to tell this story, but to prove that atmospheric, tense, and cinematic horror can still be created outside the studio system.
As the project grows, I’ll bring on collaborators where needed, but the foundation remains one person building a feature with the tools at hand. That’s what makes this project possible — and personal.