David Rodriguez(XXXVIII)
- Special Effects
- Make-up Department
- Editor
David is a New York-based filmmaker and multimedia artist who doesn't just tell stories - he builds entire worlds from the ground up. With a background that spans painting, sculpture, illustration, costume design, music, and special effects makeup, his work hits that rare place where raw imagination meets gritty, lived-in realism. His voice as a director grew out of that blend: a creator who can sketch a creature by hand, sculpt it in clay, paint its skin tone, build the costume, score the scene, and shoot the damn movie like it was meant to be seen.
His films often sit right at the intersection of urban grit and stylized horror - the kind of visual storytelling that pays homage to the classics while carving out something unmistakably his. Dave's commitment to practical effects, controlled cinematic framing, and grounded performances gives his work a signature feel: dark, satirical, emotional, and always visually driven. Whether he's shooting a psychological thriller, an urban grind house nightmare, or a supernatural creature feature, he brings the same intensity and world-building obsession to the screen.
Across projects like Moonrocks, Psycho Night, The Elder Hunters, and Al Dente, Dave has earned a reputation for turning limited resources into ambitious, character-focused films with strong thematic identity. His artistic background makes him a director who thinks in layers - shape, color, texture, mood, folklore, violence, humor - all working together to tell stories about survival, fear, systems that chew people up, and the monsters (literal or not) waiting in the dark.
As he continues to build Grindhouse Cinema LLC and expand into new corners of horror and genre filmmaking, Dave remains committed to pushing the craft forward - collaborating with artists, experimenting with new tools, and creating work that hits hard, looks striking, and refuses to blend in. For him, the goal isn't just making movies - it's leaving behind a body of work that horror fans will talk about long after the credits roll.
