Jordan Downey

1986-05-16 · Newark, Ohio, USA

Jordan Downey is a writer and director from Granville, Ohio. He moved to Los Angeles at eighteen to study film at Loyola Marymount University, where he began his professional career interning at Midnight Pictures, the production banner co-founded by Wes Craven. After making his feature debut with the cult horror comedy ThanksKilling, Downey developed a distinctive filmmaking style rooted in atmosphere, economy, and bold genre storytelling. His medieval thriller The Head Hunter brought wider recognition, earning multiple festival awards and numerous Best Actor honors for breakout star Christopher Rygh. Its success led to larger opportunities, including Stork, his segment in the Critics Choice Award-nominated anthology V/H/S/Beyond. Downey’s largest film to date, The Cycle, starring Deborah Ann Woll and Jeffrey Donovan, is slated for release through IFC Films and Shudder in 2026, while his latest feature, the sci-fi survival thriller Oversear, stars Academy Award-nominated actress Maria Bakalova and Frank Grillo. Across his work, Downey remains drawn to ambitious worlds, strong emotional stakes, and the strange possibilities of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.