Shelley Duvall sadly died on July 11, 2024, from diabetes complications at age 75, but her work still continues to inspire fans. On July 7, 2025, a long-lost film featuring the iconic scream queen finally premiered at the River Oaks Theatre in Houston, TX, 25 years after it was shot and on what would have been Duvall's 76th birthday.
The film, Dreams in the Attic, was meant to be a TV movie directed by Texas Southern University professor Robert Willems, but after shooting the film in 1999, Disney Channel decided to pass on airing it.
According to the theater, the movie featured Duvall "as Aunt Nellie, the eccentric owner of a costume shop whose magical attic trunk allows anyone who tries on its costumes to bring their dreams to life." It also starred Haylie Duff, Mary McDonough, and Vanessa Lee Chester.
The Houston Cinema Arts Society Presents unearthed the film, and set up the premiere event 25 years later. “It’s just been sitting under lock and key for 25 years,” Willems told Houston Life.
“She was an amazing talent,” the director told the Houston Chronicle of working with the former Shining star. “To direct her was a dream. I mean, she was so easy to work with. We would ask her, ‘Could you do it this way?’ And she would even make suggestions because she's been on set so many times, and that's the type of actor you want to work with.”
Fans came out in droves for the premiere event, which sold out immediately and required more showings to be added over the following week. The premiere event included a post-film talk with Willems, stories from other cast and crew members, and a conversation with Sarah Lukowski, a friend of Duvall's and the founder of the Shelley Duvall Archive.
The theater even set up some memorabilia from the actress' life, which fans enjoyed seeing. "Such a new set-up going on here at the DREAMS IN THE ATTIC premiere. Proud to say I’m now a sticker-carrying member of the Shelley Duvall Fan Club," said one X user who attended the event. After the event, the same fan wrote, "DREAMS IN THE ATTIC was such a treat! As much a time capsule of the late ‘90s made for TV style as it is an earnest, silly warm hug. Seeing my city preserved like this was special."
Duvall rose to fame in 1970 after appearing in Brewster McCloud, but reached the peak of her career when she starred in The Shining 10 years later. She continued to be a prolific actor in horror and children's films and TV shows, but quit acting in 2002.
Dreams in the Attic would have been her second-to-last film before her acting hiatus, had it aired. However, Duvall made a comeback in 2023 in the horror film The Forest Hills. It would be her final project before passing away in 2024.
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