In the wake of a personal tragedy, a vengeful man returns to an island to hunt a creature of local legend. PARALIAN is an exploration of loss and a window into overcoming the scariest monster of all, ourselves.

Director’s Vision for ‘Paralian’

There’s something inherently haunting about the Pacific Northwest in winter. Like an eerie secret. When my DP and creative collaborator Michael Babyak and I took our first trip there, its atmosphere left a lasting imprint on us. We knew this had to be the setting for our next film.

I’ve always been drawn to non-verbal storytelling, where atmosphere and performance do the heavy lifting instead of dialogue. There’s something powerful about letting the audience feel their way through a story rather than being told how to interpret it.

That, combined with my love for cosmic horror (particularly H.P. Lovecraft) shaped this film’s DNA. As an avid scuba diver, I know firsthand how the ocean is the perfect breeding ground for the strange and terrifying.

At its core, Paralian is a cautionary tale about how far one will go for the people they love. But this isn’t a story with clear-cut answers. Unlike traditional man vs. monster narratives, where the evil is vanquished and the survivors ride off into the sunset, this film leans into ambiguity. An eerie, lingering uncertainty that’s both unsettling and hypnotic, much like the Pacific Northwest itself.