Starting at a young age, Ian has had an interest in movies and superheroes, all culminating in his first debut short film “Nighthunter.” Drawing from various inspirations and using his experience from internships, camps and co-directing, Skertchly began the filming in early September 2025 and finished filming in November. The film first shown as a double feature with Max Galante’s “Charrington’s Hall.”
Thank you, Ian, for the chance for the great insight into your inspiration and process, and this is inside the mind of the maker of “Nighthunter,” Ian Skertchly.
What inspires you?
“I think what most inspires me are characters like Batman and Spiderman from DC and Marvel. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve liked superheroes and those stories of vigilantes and where it was a lot more gritty. Another thing I take a lot of inspiration from is Berserk. The first time I watched berserk was at 15 years old and I really like how Guts was an example of how suffering forms you as a person. I think that, along with superheroes and especially Batman: how he is just a man in a world full of super powered beings and still can go toe-to-toe with those guys and rise above the odds. Movies such as Taxi Driver and more neo-noir movies.”
How have these influences assisted in the development and love of your craft?
“I think that, like I said, ever since my childhood I have grown up with these things, and in times where I have felt I had no hope and no one to look up to, those fictional characters as weird as it sounds, were there for me; there were always people I could admire and their moral paradigms; they were things I could follow. Also, the noir films that I’ve watched, Taxi Driver, L.A Confidential, the Batman movies, Scarface, taught me more about how life is not always happy, there is always suffering when it comes to life, there is always a sense of anticipation, at any given moment, you don’t know what’s coming next; life is a constant rollercoaster and one day it could be good and another day it could be bad, at the end of the day you need to trust yourself. What I think is most important about this film (Nighthunter), is that it is a story about myself.”
How have your friends and family aided in your love and development for your craft?
Little more personal here, recently, one of my best friends of all time passed away and that sort of showed me that even through times of suffering and even through time where I literally thought that—I had no motivation, during those following weeks I was completely distraught and I was automatically doing things, I wasn’t thinking. And at the end of my grief, I sort of came to a conclusion that it didn’t matter what was going on because at the end of the day I know God has my back, and that Jesus is always there for me. And a big part of the religious influence on my life has been my dad, I look up to my dad a lot and he was one of the people that I know always has my back. When a lot of people go into film and industries like this, a lot of peoples parents will be like “that’s not a real job” and “ that’s not something that will make you a lot of money,” my parents have always been ‘ do what makes you happy” and they have always told me to pursue what I want to do and I am very glad for that.
What part or aspect of the movie would you say you are the most proud of?
For my first time ever writing a script I think it was pretty good actually. I really liked how the script turned out; it was good. Cinematography was also good. I really liked it, it was my second time ever doing cinematography for something and I think it turned out really good. I like the look of the film.
What would you say defines you as a director?
Well, I think the thing with Nighthunter is that it’s a story— obviously no one will do the things Grayson (main character) will do in the film, being a serial killer and going around killing criminals. Some people do do that, but not to the extent to which it happens in the film, and I think it’s really grounded, but it’s also a bit fantastical because in a way [it] sort of blends what I was talking about earlier with inspirations, like in English class we talk about the tragic hero and I think Grayson exemplifies that. He thinks he’s doing good and thinks he’s working toward justice but at the end of the day he is becoming the exact thing he is fighting against, a dangerous criminal. And I think a part of the uniqueness in the way I directed this film was, all the greatest stories take inspiration from their authors. I think part of that, part of Grayson, was influenced by things that have happened in my life and the things I’ve had to go through in recent years, especially with the death of my grampa and the death of my best friend, they showed me a side of myself I didn’t know was there. I think the uniqueness in that is it is also a story about humanity because you see the main character interact with his sister, you see him interact in his workplace and you see how ultimately how his trauma shapes him as a character. Here I took a big inspiration from the hero’s journey and how suffering really forms a person into who they are meant to be.
What would you like people to take away most from the film?
I think ultimately, it’s a warning against violence. We live in a world where a lot of people resort to violent action, a lot of violence in our world today and I think that the thing people should take away from this film is, instead of being vengeful and instead of being angry at the world, instead we should treat others with respect and try to love others the best that we can. So yeah, I think that there are some redeemable qualities about Grayson but ultimately, he is the tragic hero, and he does have a lot of flaws, so I do think it is more of an example of what not to do than an example of what to do. There are a lot of themes of family and about how we should keep our relationships with our family and not isolate ourselves because the big thing about Grayson is that he isolates himself and sort of puts himself into a place with vengeful temptations and when he reconnects with his sister, we see that spark, the spark of the boy that was still there. To avoid spoilers, you are going to see that he does these things not because he feels he needs to kill people, he is not a psychopath, he is a man who is trying to find the boy in him before he went through his transformation and eventually became the vigilante. He thinks he is doing the right thing, but is not.
How did you get into making films and directing?
Okay so ever since I was a kid, I always knew I wanted to tell stories, and at first the dream was being an actor, I really wanted to be an actor. And then, in my 8th grade year, I didn’t really have the courage to step on stage again. I don’t know why I think it was just the pressure of high school and everything and trying to be quote on quote “cool” and trying to fit in with everyone because none of my friends that came to Jesuit did theater. I think that what got me into directing was, January of 2025, I felt like I needed to go back to the theatre in some way, and so I auditioned for The Play that Goes Wrong and I got a really good part and that set the momentum. Then, my first ever job on any film was being assistant director for Max Galante’s “Highbinder” this last year and that sold me on wanting to tell stories. I saw how the cast and the crew and how they just came together and they created this wonderful story, it’s a great film as well, and through that experience I was able to get into more opportunities. Through that experience I was able to do an internship over the summer with Thaddeus D. Matula, the Emmy award winning director. Me and Max interned for him and that was a life changing experience as well. But yeah, like I said, all this really does lead back to all the comics I read as a kid and the shows that I used to watch, and wanting to tell those same stories because Stan lee and Scott Snyder and all the mangakas that write inspire me. Growing up watching Dragonball Z and watching the Batman animated series and Spectacular Spiderman, all these stories really just inspire me a lot. Even in my early years of high school, freshman and sophomore year, I would create stories in my head— like I have them all in google docs and I’m going to turn them into scripts eventually, and I’ve always known I wanted to tell stories.
Another thing is my love for films and movies and the movie that really changed my life was Matt Reaves’s The Batman. I watched it in theaters the day it came and I remember my dad took me with the whole family and I saw so much passion through the cinematography, through the dialogue, how Bruce Wayne and batman conflicted with each other even though they are the same person; I saw that story develop and it inspired me to want to do things like that. I want to be in the place Matt Reaves is in right now, he is literally making stories about arguably the greatest character in fiction and one of the most beloved characters ever and I want to be able to create things like that, and i want to be able to show the world the good sides of life and the bad sides.
Final Notes
This interview offered me a great experience talking to Ian and comprehending the process and ideas that go into the creation of a film. Connecting the thematic choices and aesthetics of the film to the various genres and series that have inspired him throughout his life gave me a deeper appreciation of the film and Ian himself; I hope it did for you as well. Thanks again for the interview Ian and we can’t wait to see what you make next!
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