You know that feeling when you stumble upon a low-budget horror flick on a streaming service and realize, midway through, that the acting is actually... good? It’s rare. Usually, these "cabin in the woods" tropes are filled with cardboard characters you can't wait to see meet their end. But Stay Wild—the 2024 (and 2025 sleeper hit) survival thriller—bucked the trend.
The cast of Stay Wild managed to take a familiar "lost in the woods" premise and turn it into a psychological character study.
Honestly, the movie lives or dies by the chemistry of its leads. We’ve seen the "influencer goes to the wild" story a million times. However, director Joseph Lavender (known for The Last Halloween) leaned into the isolation of the North Georgia wilderness, forcing his small ensemble to carry the entire weight of the 90-minute runtime. It wasn't about the jump scares. It was about the people.
Who exactly is in the cast of Stay Wild?
The film is intentionally intimate. It doesn't have a sprawling list of A-listers, which actually works in its favor because you don't have that "Oh, that's just Brad Pitt in a flannel" immersion break.
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Minnie Tyrell leads the pack as Mackenzie.
Tyrell is the heartbeat of the film. Before this, she was mostly known for her work in The Dark Red (2018), but here she plays a seasoned hiker whose competence is slowly eroded by paranoia. She has this way of expressing terror without screaming her lungs out, which is refreshing. You see it in her eyes first.
Then you have Ben VanderMey.
He plays the somewhat arrogant, definitely-out-of-his-element guy who thinks a GPS and a fancy jacket make him an outdoorsman. VanderMey has a long list of "Utility Stunt" and "Background" credits in massive productions like Stranger Things and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but Stay Wild gives him actual room to breathe as an actor. He’s the guy you love to hate until things get real, and then he becomes surprisingly tragic.
The Supporting Players
It’s a tight-knit group. You also see Crissy Chambers, who plays the social-media-obsessed character that, surprisingly, has some of the most grounded moments in the script.
- Minnie Tyrell (Mackenzie)
- Ben VanderMey (Reece)
- Crissy Chambers (Sloane)
- Don Stallings (The Stranger)
Don Stallings is the wild card here. He shows up as a mysterious figure that shifts the movie from a "survival against nature" story into a "survival against man" story. His performance is minimalist. He doesn’t have much dialogue, but his physical presence is enough to make your skin crawl.
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Why the acting matters more than the "monster"
In most indie horror movies, the budget goes to the practical effects or the gore. Stay Wild clearly spent its limited resources on finding actors who could handle long, unbroken takes of dialogue.
There is a specific scene—no spoilers—where the group is sitting around a dying fire. The tension isn't coming from what’s in the shadows; it’s coming from the secrets they start spilling. Minnie Tyrell delivers a monologue about her past that feels visceral and unscripted. It’s the kind of performance that makes you wonder why she isn't in every A24 production.
The North Georgia mountains act as the fifth cast member. It’s beautiful, sure. But the cinematography by Lavender makes the trees look like bars of a cage. The actors react to the environment in a way that feels authentic—they’re actually cold, they’re actually dirty, and they’re actually exhausted. This isn't a Hollywood set with a craft services table ten feet away.
Behind the Scenes: The Joseph Lavender Factor
Joseph Lavender is a bit of an "everything" man in the Georgia indie scene. He wrote, directed, and edited this thing. When you have one person wearing that many hats, the cast has to be perfectly aligned with the director's vision.
The cast of Stay Wild reportedly spent a significant amount of time in the actual locations before filming started. This wasn't just "show up and say lines." They were hiking. They were getting acclimated to the terrain. That "lived-in" feel is exactly why the movie started trending on social media platforms like TikTok, where users were debating if the movie was based on a true story (it’s not, but the performances are that convincing).
Where you’ve seen them before
If you’re a fan of "Atlanta-filmed" productions, these faces might look familiar. Georgia has become a massive hub for film, and Stay Wild is a testament to the local talent pool.
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- Ben VanderMey is a veteran of the stunt world. He’s worked on The Walking Dead and The Vampire Diaries. Transitioning from stunts to a lead acting role is a massive hurdle, but he handles the emotional beats of Stay Wild with a grit that most "pretty boy" leads lack.
- Minnie Tyrell has been a staple in the indie horror circuit. She has a cult following from The Dark Red, where she played a woman convinced her baby was stolen by a cult. She carries that same "is she crazy or is this real?" energy into this film.
- Don Stallings often plays the "character actor" roles—the grizzled old man, the sheriff, the mysterious neighbor. He’s the glue that holds the third act together.
Common Misconceptions about the Cast
Some people confuse this movie with other "Wild" titled films. It is not related to the 2014 Reese Witherspoon movie Wild, nor is it the Bear Grylls-style reality show.
This is a gritty, low-budget thriller.
Another misconception is that the actors did all their own stunts. While they did a lot of the hiking and physical maneuvering, the heavy lifting was handled by professionals—though, interestingly, Ben VanderMey’s background in stunts meant he could do more than your average lead actor. This allowed the camera to stay closer to his face during the action, which adds to the claustrophobia of the film.
How to actually watch Stay Wild in 2026
Depending on where you are, the film has been bouncing between Tubi, Amazon Prime, and specialized horror streamers like Shudder.
Because it’s an indie darling, it doesn't always stay in one place. If you’re looking for it, your best bet is to check the "Recent Horror" or "Survival Thriller" sections. It’s often categorized alongside movies like The Ritual or Backcountry.
Actionable Steps for Indie Film Fans
If you enjoyed the performances in Stay Wild, there are a few things you can do to support the cast and discover more "hidden gem" cinema:
- Follow the Georgia Indie Scene: Keep an eye on the credits of shows like Stranger Things or Ozark. Many of the supporting actors in those big-budget shows are the leads in movies like Stay Wild.
- Check out Minnie Tyrell’s earlier work: Specifically The Dark Red. It shows her range and why she was the perfect choice for the lead in this film.
- Watch Joseph Lavender’s "The Last Halloween": It’s a short film, but it shows the stylistic DNA that eventually led to the making of Stay Wild.
- Look for the Stunt-to-Actor Pipeline: Actors like Ben VanderMey are part of a growing trend of stunt performers moving into dramatic roles. Their physical literacy makes action scenes in indie films feel way more realistic than high-budget CGI messes.
The cast of Stay Wild proved that you don't need a $100 million budget to create a sense of dread. You just need actors who aren't afraid to get a little dirt under their fingernails and a director who knows how to keep the camera rolling when things get uncomfortable. It’s a masterclass in "less is more," and it’s exactly why the film continues to find a new audience years after its initial release.