Screamify’s Micro Horrors™ series Autonomous straps you into the back seat of a couple’s night out as it curdles into terror — inside a real self-driving car moving through real traffic. Directed by Kyle Valle and the Big Squid team and produced by and co-starring Erin Áine, the vertical series puts Domenic Jungling in the role of Derek: a good man at the end of his rope, trapped in a machine he can’t control next to the one person he thought he could rely on.

Jungling, an Atlanta-based actor and a veteran of nearly ten vertical microdramas, sat down with us to talk about playing fear in a moving car, pulling real heartbreak into the part, and why he — a self-described “scared little Girl Scout” — keeps ending up in horror. His answers are presented in his own words.

The Role & the Story

How would you describe your character in Autonomous, and where is his head at when the ride begins?

I would describe Derek as a good man at his breaking point. When everything in your life seems to be going wrong and not working out the way you had hoped, and especially when you’ve been bottling everything up inside, it’s just bound to come out eventually, right? He’s unemployed/no prospects so he’s feeling useless already. Now powerless with the integration of AI. His relationship is suffering for it; he feels the disappointment and resentment that Amy has for him. Plus now that he’s in this close car and they are just the two of them so there’s nowhere to hide or leave the situation entirely. He’s forced to confront it. He’s lost and scared and now feels alone and abandoned by the one person he thought he could rely on. So that’s when the anger finally surfaces and it all comes rushing out at once..

The whole series unfolds as a couple’s night out goes sideways inside the car. How did you and Erin Áine build that relationship so the tension feels real before the horror even kicks in?

To be fair to Erin, I was going through a real break up at the time of filming. So a lot of it for me was using what I was already feeling and allowing myself to feel all the feelings of hurt, pain, sadness, anger, etc that was very present at that time. We talked a little bit between scene set ups about our relationship (like how long we’ve been together, where did we meet, relationship milestones, etc). But a lot of it we created for ourselves.

Without spoiling it — what was the moment in the scripts where you first thought, “oh, this is actually terrifying”?

Reading the script, the first time I was like “Oh yeah I don’t like that” was when Derek is fidgeting with his phone and nothing is working. It’s scary to be like “well I guess the car is gonna do whatever it wants cause I’m literally powerless right now”. Being completely at the mercy of something that isn’t even alive and there’s literally nothing you can do makes me personally so uneasy.

Shooting Inside a Real Driverless Car

Autonomous was filmed inside an actual self-driving vehicle operating on public roads. What was that like to perform in versus a built set?

To me it was just like filming “on location” but the location was moving by itself this time. I find that it gets me “more” into the right headspace because I’m actually immersed in it.

Did being in a real autonomous car — one you couldn’t fully control — change how you played the fear? Did any of it stop feeling like acting?

It made my job easier, for sure. Like I said, being truly immersed in the experience always helps.

These episodes are shot vertically and made for your phone, in short bursts. How is acting for that format different from a traditional film or show?

So I’ve done almost ten Vertical Microdramas so far for several various platforms. I find it to be a mix between film acting and stage acting. I also think that actors with a background in stage acting actually have an advantage concerning microdramas. The format is less about subtlety and more about the drama. Keeping the audiences focus constantly. It’s about bigger reactions but still performing for a camera rather than an auditorium or theater. Bigger but still grounded and real.

Horror usually leans on space and distance to scare you — here you’re locked in a backseat. How do you create dread when there’s nowhere to go?

Really leaning into the claustrophobia is where I pulled the dread from. How can you not? I don’t need to “show” it at those moments because that’s not real anyway. When we’re scared, we don’t want anyone to see we’re scared. You’re forced to just sit in it and you can’t run away or work it off with movement.

Craft & Collaboration

What did director Kyle Valle and the Big Squid team want from your performance, and how did that shape your choices?

Kyle and the rest of the Big Squid team did what all great directors do. They let me play and explore. There were a few times where Kyle told me he needed a bigger reaction, but it was for very specific moments. He also wasn’t critical of me and my choices if he didn’t like them. It was simply “Ok I liked it, but let’s try it this way” or “Give me more this”. Even “I didn’t think of it that way but that was fantastic thank you for doing that”. Like all the great directors, he was always my biggest supporter and advocate because he believed in me.

Erin Áine produced and stars opposite you. What’s it like working with someone wearing both hats on set?

Well honestly, it meant I didn’t get to see her much outside of our scene work. She was constantly running around organizing paperwork or on her phone doing social media promotion or communicating with the show runner or helping Kyle on set. Even during our dinner breaks we’d see her for like 10 minutes and then she left to go pump for her and Kyle’s baby girl. Which obviously I was not present for. So she was constantly on the move which was entertaining to watch honestly.

What’s the strangest or funniest thing that happened during a take while the car was driving itself?

We were in the autonomous car and Kyle needed us to put a light facing us for lighting purposes, so I threw a little light in the driver’s seat. Then like a minute later, the car stopped on its own and all of a sudden we heard some lady’s voice in the car. Had no idea where it came from, but we quickly figured out this person was a service rep from the company and she was asking us if there was anything in the driver’s seat. I guess they had like sensors or something? Erin didn’t know where I put the light so she said “No there’s nothing in the driver’s seat” and I just went along with it. Also, I’m sure they had cameras in the car and could see the light in the front seat, so I just thought it was a stupid question to begin with that I didn’t feel like humoring.

The Vertical / Micro Horror Format

Did you do anything specific to prep for the claustrophobia and paranoia the role demands?

I didn’t personally. I already get claustrophobic, so I figured “It’s gonna happen anyway whether I like it or not”.

You as an Artist

How did you get into acting, and what pulls you toward horror specifically? What do you hope audiences feel — or fear — after watching Autonomous?

So I got into acting in high school with theater and musicals. I always wanted to be versatile and do a lot of different genres and characters, really explore every facet of our emotional consciousness. I will say, I’m actually not a big horror fan! I’m a scared little Girl Scout and I like my romcoms. But BEING in a horror film I’m fine with. It’s raw and fun and always creative. I have also met the best, kindest, funnest human beings on horror film sets. I found horror people are good people.

Real driverless cars are on the road right now. Did making this change how you feel about getting into one?

I have actually been in one since we’ve shot Autonomous and it doesn’t bother me at all! I rather enjoy the quiet actually.

What’s next for you, and where can people follow your work?

Best way to follow me is Instagram @domjungling That’s where I post or advertise most of my career and shenanigans. Next for me, always looking for the next adventure. I have a few singing cabaret gigs here in Atlanta coming up, and I’m still out auditioning, but I’m mostly wanting to explore and live life at the moment. I’ll be heading to Italy for the first time in September so that’s what I’m really looking forward to at the moment.