Ethan Samuel Dunlap
Directing
Biography
Ethan Samuel Dunlap is an American independent filmmaker. Born and raised in the South Shore of Massachusetts, Dunlap cut his teeth as a teenager making shorts and no-budget television series while working at SCTV, his hometown's public access TV channel. His first attempt at feature filmmaking was at age 15, when he directed 2011's THOSE GUYS IN THE HALL -- a 60 minute Clerks homage set in his high school. It was only screened for close friends. Still based in New England, Dunlap carved out a niche making regional micro-budget genre films -- shooting his films locally with a regular stable of actors and crew members. His first, 2019's SEE YOU NEXT WEEKEND, was an experimental coming-of-age thriller set in Scituate, filmed with a budget of $200. His second, the detective thriller WHO GOES THERE, is currently in post-production. His other works include the experimental science fiction noir short HOP, several music videos, and A BEACH IN NEW ENGLAND -- a ground-up re-cut of his first feature.
Known For
Two former kid-detectives, now in their late twenties, reunite a decade after their final case ended in tragedy.
Who Goes There?
A charismatic cult leader holds court at a local movie theater.
This Film Told Me To.
The Midnight Ghost Shows were a gimmick used by movie palaces in order to entertain the populace, as entertainment was the one of the people's only outlet during this time. These shows involved techniques of mixed media such projections, stage performances, and bioluminescent paint to name a few. The highlight of these shows featured a blackout section, in which the power in the whole building would be shut off in order to get perfect darkness. A perfect time for a robbery.
Cinèster
In the infancy of the 1960s, a Presidential blunder radically changes the course of the Space Race.
Shoot the Moon
A no-budget student short film directed by high schooler Ethan Dunlap, co-written with star Bobby Whitehouse. Loosely adapted from the Ambrose Bierce story 'The Moonlit Road', Dunlap and Whitehouse proceeded to add a comedic element, slapstick, a chase sequence, an 80s pop soundtrack, and a musical number.
Billy Zabka Saves The Universe
Three kid detectives leave the sleuth game behind. Until, two days before their high school graduation, they find a body in the woods. The full, uncut, thirty-minute prologue of WHO GOES THERE.
Goodbye, Old Paint
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29th, 2017: three local teenagers stumble on the aftermath of a grisly crime. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1st, 2017: two people are dead, a boy is in intensive care, and the most notorious narcotics dealer in the South Shore is in custody. 6 YEARS LATER: a novelist, a retired FBI detective, a public-access documentary program, and a survivor try to make sense of it. A director's cut/remix of SEE YOU NEXT WEEKEND.
A Beach in New England
A lost & abandoned feature film by Ethan Samuel Dunlap, who directed it when he was 15. A rough cut was assembled in 2011 and screened to close friends, then shelved permanently when the director deemed it "unwatchable". Plot is believed to be largely a riff on CLERKS but set in a high school.
Those Guys in the Hall
Brock and Sid used to be pretty good contract killers. Now they're less-good gentleman thieves.
HOP
Seeking one final crack at adolescent glory, Bloom Beesly and his friends walk into what they hope to be the party of the century. What they find is a corpse, a gun, and a very dangerous white bag.
See You Next Weekend
An experimental short made out of B-roll footage and nonverbal emotional beats from WHO GOES THERE.