According to Writer/Director Chelsea Lutz, Sick Days is “more than a horror film. It’s a critique of capitalism’s breaking points—of what happens when healthcare is a privilege, not a guarantee, and when toxic work culture demands sacrifice long after it stops making sense.” Her body-horror comedic short takes this concept to the extreme.
HOW IT STARTED
I found Chelsea the way most Los Angeles filmmakers meet: on Nextdoor in my search for a dog walker. We went on our first walk together in April 2021 where we discovered our shared obsession with filmmaking and some notable mutual friends. Lauren “Wilder” Ludwig and Frank Smith were key contributors on a Northwestern alumni-filled short that I made back in 2009. I eventually hired Chelsea as a PA on a TBS shoot I DP/Directed so we could share a set. That was our only creative association until earlier this year, when she asked me to help bring Sick Days to life. Having seen her earlier shorts, I was stoked to collaborate.
On July 26, 2026, all four of us finally ended up on the same set.
A LOOMING PREMIERE DATE
While we weren’t in a crazy rush to start production, we had our world premiere date set in stone thanks to a grant from the non-profit Silverlake Scream Show. As one of the seven filmmakers selected to join the 2026 class, we would screen at the big costumed gala on October 24th!
We shot a little later than anticipated, but that also allowed extra time to prep and shot list. Knowing that Chelsea would spend a large proportion of the film on screen required us to be on the same page creatively ahead of time. As a genre piece, Chelsea had a strong idea of how the film should look. That was a sharp contrast to the vérité, natural-light style Kat Foster and I used on her recent short, Earthquake Note, where we worked without a set visual framework even though Kat is in almost every frame.
ANOTHER SET OF EYES
Chelsea hoped that Wilder, who is also an accomplished writer/director, could be on set for the whole shoot, but logistics got in the way. Thankfully, they made it for our third and final day for the juiciest parts of Chelsea’s performance as Natalie. With almost no time for playback all shoot, having their eye for that one crucial day carried a lot of weight. Frank turned in another memorable role of his own and we had a blast shooting his opening scene.
OFFICE SPACE
Finding great locations that are also affordable is a nightmare in Hollywood. Chelsea’s friend, Sarah Cayer, generously opened up her law office to our production. I feared that we’d have to use a shitty standing set! Sarah also sacrificed her limited free time so we could scout and prep at the location several times. I felt an instant connection with the place when I saw their conference room covered in unique Coachella festival posters from every year, along with Desert Trip and Rage Against the Machine concert art. An elder millennial obviously designed the place!
All of the available spaces were picture perfect with the exception of Mr. Edwards’ office for the grand finale. In the original draft, the climax took place in a conference room, but our two candidates didn’t work for camera.
Chelsea re-worked the script to fit an executive’s corner office, but our best option still wasn’t ideal for filming. While its 11th floor view from Little Tokyo added production value, those windows added complications. The workspace with the best angle on downtown’s skyscrapers didn’t fit for any of our characters and this was our best/last chance to see outside. Thanks to the drop ceiling, I could rig some Aputure 4′ Infininibars (PB12) with control grids for some backlight/separation overhead, but the cramped room left little space for the actors to move or for my lighting units. We also had to awkwardly position the couch so it wasn’t flush against the back wall to allow a little depth.
IN THE DARKNESS OF NIGHT
For the second time this year, I leaned on a day-to-night structure for filming horror. On Dalton Gaudin’s Illegal Aliens, we started the film during magic hour to keep the desert visible to add suspense before transitioning to full night. Sick Days starts in the deceptively normal office daylight and as the horror elements build to the climax, we descend into darkness.
As an extremely literal person, I suggested that Chelsea add a line to justify why they would remain in the office when it’s pitch black outside. In the earlier HR scene, Heather brutally tells Greg, “don’t worry, it’s gonna be seven or eight in no time,” which also exposed an extra layer of cruel information for the audience. He doesn’t clock out at 5PM!
Grabbing those final shots of the film proved extra stressful as we couldn’t go too late into the night as one of our actors, Clayton Farris (Weapons), requested that we wrap him by 11PM. He generously allowed us to creep well past midnight so we didn’t have to sacrifice shots. Aiming my camera at the wall of windows, which reflected everything like mirrors, caused headaches. In a perfect world, I would’ve been able to use the 18mm and gotten really close to talent for that shot, but that also would’ve made spraying blood on them almost impossible.
SHOOTING IN A STEAM ROOM
Jamming 4 actors, 3 lights, 2 crew members, and 1 hot camera into a small bathroom without ventilation was a recipe for heat stroke. While we all survived, it felt like a steam room by the time we’d been filming for an hour. Our wonderful production designer, Samara Mitchell, brought in a clock with a thermometer to add a little interest to the wall. It claimed it was only 85°F, but that didn’t account for humidity or “real feel!”
Whenever feasible, I prefer scheduling the final day at a location on a small set to speed up the load out process. We also kept the kit contained with a 4′ Aputure Infininibar, Aputure MC Pro, and Amaran F21C in the bathroom. We went over 12 hours on the third day and it would’ve gone much longer had we not been able to multitask clean-up and wrap.
FUN WITH HR, FOR ONCE
One of my favorite parts of the film is when Greg visits Heather in HR. Aside from Ashna’s great comedic performance, it was nice to have the opportunity to really dial in the lighting and set dec for this contained scene. Most of the film’s lighting came in the form of broad strokes to keep things moving quickly and due to the confined spaces. Having two stationary subjects allows for precise sculpting and we had just enough time allotted to do it well.
Our PD, Samara, also used this opportunity to create a vivid sanctuary that Heather inhabits as the calm HR person for an otherwise chaotic workplace. It’s a nice visual contrast to the surrounding scenes in set design and lighting. We also leaned heavily into the wide angle close ups to highlight the discomfort of the situation.
A GREAT TEAM
Chelsea and her producer Jules assembled a really excellent crew for this scrappy film. As a recent graduate of Emerson film school, Jules recruited talented young friends to occupy many of the roles. Chelsea also called in favors from old friends to get her vision on screen. I hope to cross paths with them all soon and perhaps we can parlay this into a feature.
Stay tuned for more screenings as we hope to make the festival rounds.
Crew
Director
Chelsea Lutz — Writer / Director
Production
Jules Saggio — Producer
Skylar Siben — Producer
Griffen Siciliano — Associate Producer
Jeremy Threat — 1st Assistant Director
Sarah Cayer — Site Manager
Grace Wolski — Production Assistant
Mike Norris — Production Assistant
Gabri Torres — Production Assistant
Camera
Dustin Pearlman — Cinematographer
Jenna McDowell — 1st AC
Shriyantha Wimalasekera — 1st AC
Sage Kaustin — 2nd AC / Media Manager
Jules Saggio — 2nd AC / Media Manager
Grip & Electric
James Sowka — Gaffer
Matthew Jiang — Key Grip
Sab Dahlia — Grip
Production Design
Samara Mitchell — Production Designer
Wardrobe & Makeup
Laila Simone — Costume Designer
Clara Tanapolpaisan — MUA / Hair
Ella Brown — SFX MUA
Sound
David McKeever — Sound
Post
Sarah London — Colorist
David McKeever — Composer
Cast
Jose Manuel Sarmiento — Greg
Chelsea Lutz — Natalie
Frank Smith — Tim Striker
Ashna Sharan — Heather
Clayton Farris — Mr. Edwards
Skylar Siben — Receptionist
Jake Crammer — Co-Worker