SYNOPSIS
On the isolated waters of the Chesapeake Bay, a lone crabber's routine day descends into madness after he is confronted by a phenomenon beyond explanation.
Runtime: 8 minutes
Genre: Sci-Fi / Horror
Format: Digital / Color
Sound Mix: 5.1 / Stereo
Language: English (Subtitles available upon request)
THE FILM
VESSEL is an 8-minute science-fiction / horror short that blends grounded realism with paranormal dread. Inspired by the rich maritime culture of the Chesapeake Bay and classic slow-burn science fiction, the film explores isolation and one man’s encounter with the unknown.
The film has been crafted with a cinematic, practical approach that favors sustained tension, atmosphere, and gritty, tactile imagery over conventional horror. Through restrained storytelling, immersive sound design, and a gradual escalation of dread, VESSEL aims to place audiences alongside its central character as an ordinary day on the water descends into something inexplicable.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
I grew up on Maryland's Eastern Shore, surrounded by the waterways, marshes, and working communities that have shaped the Chesapeake Bay for generations. Although I spent half my life working on the West Coast, I've always felt drawn to return to the places that first inspired me.
VESSEL grew directly from those memories.
I've long been fascinated by stories where the extraordinary quietly invades the ordinary, and no storyteller influenced that sensibility more than Rod Serling. The Twilight Zone proved that the most compelling science fiction isn't about spectacle - it's about taking recognizable people in familiar places and allowing something impossible to slowly unravel their understanding of reality. That philosophy became the creative foundation for VESSEL. Rather than providing clear answers, I wanted the film to embrace mystery - to leave room for imagination and allow the unknown to linger long after the credits roll.
In many ways, making VESSEL felt like coming home. It's a short love letter to the people and places that shaped my imagination.
Eric Walter
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Written and Directed by
Eric Walter
Produced by
Mary Kerry Craven
Executive Producer
Andrew Wright
Starring
Daniel T. Kennedy
Based on a story by
Michael Rory Weeks
Eric Walter
Director of Photography
Eric Walter
B-Camera Operator
Jon Parke
Key Grip
Jason Contino
Drone Operator
Jonathan Mount
Edited by
Eric Walter
Visual Effects
Brian Carroll
Raleigh Stewart
Colorist
Borna Jafari
Re-Recording Mixer
Rob Brill
Captain of the Elfie
William Scerbo
Additional Boat Transportation
Linda Andreason
Brian Marks
Dog Trainer
Christine Preece
Locations Consultant
Ruth Stewart
BIOS
Eric Walter
Writer / Director / DP / Editor
Eric Walter is a Maryland-based director, producer, and award-winning editor whose work spans both narrative and documentary filmmaking.
His directorial debut, My Amityville Horror (2013), earned critical acclaim for its intimate, psychological take on America’s most famous haunted house.
Blending atmospheric storytelling with investigative depth, his work often explores the boundaries between reality, folklore, and the unknown. He is frequently consulted as an expert on the unexplained and has been featured on networks including ABC, A&E, History, and Discovery, where he provides insight into paranormal phenomena and unsolved mysteries.
Mary Kerry Craven
Producer
Mary Kerry Craven has built a distinguished career in the film and television industry spanning four decades, beginning immediately after graduating from Towson University in 1986. She has worked as a Line Producer, Production Manager, Location Coordinator, Assistant Production Coordinator and First AD.
Recently, she was the Locations Department Coordinator for Apple TV’s Swagger Season 2.
She was the Producer on the award-winning documentary, The Game is UP: Disillusioned Trump Voters Tell Their Stories. Additional projects include: Serial Mom, Homicide: Life on The Street, He Said, She Said, and as well as a host of regional and national commercial clients. She is an avid traveler and is currently based in Baltimore, Maryland.
Andrew Wright
Executive Producer
Andrew Wright is a Los Angeles-based Executive Creative Director known for his work with premiere entertainment marketing agencies and major Hollywood studios including MGM, Disney, Netflix, Focus Features, and Apple, and alongside top global brands such as Chevrolet, Xbox, and GEICO. He writes, directs, and produces projects from conception through completion, collaborating closely with filmmakers, clients, comedians and actors. He is a frequent creative partner of fashion icon and filmmaker, Tom Ford.
His career has taken him around the world; whether creating fast breaking improv sketches at New York Fashion Week, or shooting in crumbling castles in Prague for Nosferatu, he’s passionate about crafting compelling stories and capturing striking, cinematic imagery in a variety of formats.
Daniel T. Kennedy
Mac
Daniel Kennedy was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1960. Growing up, he was fascinated by television—especially commercials and shows like Star Trek, Batman, and The Flintstones. As a teenager, he began entertaining friends and family with impressions and briefly pursued stand-up comedy in the 1980s before working as a truck driver and taking various odd jobs. By the mid-1980s, he had entered the construction trade as a carpenter, a career he continued for roughly 40 years before retiring.
A lifelong astronomy enthusiast, Dan had first met filmmaker Eric Walter and his father years earlier at a telescope presentation at Salisbury University, when Eric was twelve. The two would not cross paths again until March 2026, when Eric approached Dan about appearing in his short film, Vessel. Having always wanted to act on film, Dan finally had the chance to cross that dream off his bucket list.
Jon Parke
B-Camera Operator
Born in the frozen tundra of Minnesota, Jon began a life filled with snow, lake fishing, and fresh air. After ten rotations around the sun it was time to move east and explore Maryland's vibrant eastern shore. In 8 short years he mastered the ancient art of picking crabs and understanding the dialect of the local islanders, and so it was time to head off to college. Becoming a bachelor of the arts came naturally to Jon and he quickly thrived in an environment of free ideas and communication.
After college, Jon took his knowledge and enthusiasm to a local TV station where he studied the studio arts under Master Ken Lavish. Jon has continued his dream of bringing bright visuals and enjoying fun productions as a Team Lead for a multimedia team in DC.
Jason Contino
Key Grip
Jason Contino has worn many hats on many different productions ranging from no budget indie films to Emmy winning television. Some of the titles he has worked on include House of Cards, Task, The Last Airbender, VEEP, We Own This City, 21 Bridges, and Law Abiding Citizen.
Typically he is a grip or gaffer, but has produced the independent films Lebanon Pa and The Murder Game as well as being the director of photography on several features and documentaries.
Raleigh Stewart
Visual Effects
Raleigh Stewart serves as Herzog & Co.'s Creative Director with over 20 years of professional experience in entertainment design, marketing, and visual effects. Raleigh is a self-taught powerhouse with a diverse skill set.
Originally from the Bay Area, the tattoo-artist-turned-motion-designer/CG-generalist has been featured in the New York Times, The Art of the Title, SXSW, and many other publications and film festivals. His unique visual style and intense passion for making art is as inspiring as it is infectious.
If he isn't spending his free time with his wife and daughters he is most likely in his workshop making something crazy, weird, or just plain awesome.
Brian Carroll
Visual Effects
Brian Carroll is an award-winning filmmaker and animator, known for his modest collection of successes and failures.
He's currently on tour with his animated satire, LOOK OUT! but otherwise lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two cats where he can usually be found drawing comic strips and fighting for justice in local politics. He might have won an award or two, but he's not particularly sure how that works.
Borna Jafari
Colorist
Borna Jafari is a colorist based in Los Angeles, grading features, documentaries, and commercials. He started in production, moved to post, and found his way to a color suite, where he stayed. He’s been at it for over a decade, built finishing departments from the ground up at two post houses in Los Angeles, and graded work for clients ranging from Cadillac and Burberry to Disney, Warner Bros., and Paramount. Along the way, four Clios, six Gema Awards, and a Golden Trailer Award.
Most of the job is problem solving. But every so often the images, the collaborators, and the headspace all line up, and the whole thing flows like music. You chase that for the rest of the year.
Rob Brill
Re-Recording Mixer
Rob Brill is a veteran post-production sound mixer and audio engineer with more than three decades of experience across television, film, and music. His extensive credits include work on acclaimed network and streaming productions such as FBI: International, Law & Order: Organized Crime, FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, Chicago Fire, Abbott Elementary, and Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin.
Throughout his career, Brill has worked across re-recording and mix engineering, bringing years of technical expertise to productions ranging from episodic television to documentary and feature projects. His work reflects a long-standing career dedicated to shaping polished, immersive sound for the screen.
Christina Garofalo
Key Art / Graphic Designer
Christina Garofalo is a Los Angeles-based Graphic Designer & Illustrator who specializes in entertainment marketing.
She has spent her career working on campaigns for major Hollywood studios - developing concepts, designing key art, and shaping visual direction for film & TV across theatrical and streaming releases.
While she loves the scale and creativity of entertainment marketing, Christina especially enjoys working on short films and collaborating directly with filmmakers to help bring their unique vision to life. Outside of design and illustration, she enjoys hands-on creative hobbies like crochet, journaling, and sewing.
Jonathan Mount
Drone Operator
Jonathan Mount is a Baltimore-based Director of Photography and photographer with more than 15 years of experience shooting documentary, commercial, branded, and broadcast work for PBS, Amazon, Discovery+, HBO, and others.
He’s also an FAA Part 107-licensed drone operator, which means he’s legally allowed to put expensive cameras in the sky and stress about them from the ground. Jonathan is equally comfortable with a full crew or a small run-and-gun team, and has filmed everywhere from polished corporate offices to boats, glaciers in Alaska, desserts of Mexico and places where the nearest bathroom was more of a philosophical concept.
BEHIND THE SCENES
