By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The independent production is ready to get rolling this spring.
Actor and producer Daniel John Kearney (WOLF HOLLOW, CRUST) gave us the first word that he’s gearing up for his directorial debut on the “deeply experimental” genre feature THE ITINERANT. A co-production of Mezek Films, Showstopper Cinema, Black Ave Films and Stag Mountain Films, it was scripted by Kearney and BJ Mezek, an executive producer on the project with Ronald Black and Gareth “Slasher Trash” Morgan. The movie will co-star Kearney and Mezek along with Hannah Fierman (V/H/S, SIREN, BYSTANDERS), Chanda Rawlings, Jeremy Hirsch and Scott Ward. TJ Robinson will serve as director of photography, editor and postproduction supervisor on the movie, which will begin shooting early this spring in Connecticut. The synopsis, according to Kearney: “The story involves an eccentric man who is lost in time and reintroduced into a community he was taken from 30 years prior. Whether from nurture or nature, this causes a desperately dark and disturbing descent into madness that leaves no stone unturned.”
“The central theme has existed within me since 2022,” Kearney tells us. “I’ve written five full versions of the script, and all are vastly different! This film is deeply disturbing—not in the ways of gore, but in relation to human nature. I wanted to create something visceral but relatable, terrifying but thought-provoking. I think the real horror is right outside everyone’s door nowadays—a bit of darkness to it all—and we are definitely embraced a bit by it in everyday life. I mean, nobody is knocking on doors anymore, asking to borrow a cup of sugar, and every door is locked. There’s a distance now that wasn’t there in the ’90s.”
Adds Mezek, “We needed to make this film, and in the shotgun style Daniel plans. The story is deeply dark. The descent is hideous. It has all the elements of a slasher, but done in such a surreal way; it’s just bizarre. You can’t put your finger on it at any time. It’s fresh. It hasn’t been done like this before.”
“I cannot stress enough how thankful I am for this cast and crew,” Kearney says. “Their belief in the art of it all, and the sacrifices made. This piece could never be brought to production without them.” He also notes that directing THE ITINERANT represents the next step in his career. “Telling stories is definitely the direction I’m going in. When you make independent films like this, you give so much of yourself, a piece of you that you will never get back. It’s like a currency, and there’s only so much of it. I’m going to spend it wisely.”
