NICHOLAS PAYNE SANTOS | Writer/Director/Producer
Nicholas Payne Santos is a bi-racial (Black/white) filmmaker based in NYC. He received his MFA in Creative Producing from Columbia. The psychological thriller BURY ME WHEN I’M DEAD, produced by Santos and selected for the ‘23 Cannes Frontieres Market, will be released on July 18th by Vertical Entertainment. The horror feature BLEEDING, also produced by Nicholas, was also released in June on VOD and Screambox by Cineverse, winning Best Midnight Feature at Dances With Films and Best Screenplay at Grimmfest. In ‘24, his short STRANGE CREATURES played over fifty festivals and is available on Arrow, Crypt TV and Screambox. In ‘21, his shorts MOTHER F**KER and HOLIDAY FEAR were picked up by Arrow. His feature adaptation of STRANGE CREATURES was selected for Fantasia’s Frontieres Market. Santos’ screenplay YOU KILL ME was selected for Columbia’s Blue-List/Black-List partnership. And Nicholas produced the horror feature THE ARBORIST. In 20’ Nicholas’ feature directorial debut IT CUTS DEEP was released by Dark Sky Films. It World Premiered at Nightstream and is currently on Tubi, previously on Showtime and Shudder. The feature UNCLE PECKERHEAD, produced by Santos, was released by Epic Pictures, currently at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
New England filmmaker Nicholas Payne Santos skewers toxic masculinity, sometimes literally, in this darkly funny debut, about a man named Sam (comedian Charles Gould) who returns home with long-time girlfriend Ashley (Quinn Jackson), only for his fears about getting married and having kids to spiral out of control. When a handsome childhood friend (John Anderson) turns up on the doorstep, Sam quickly dispenses with the pleasantries as he senses a possible rival for Ashley’s affections. What initially plays like Santos’ anxiety dream about commitment soon reveals itself to be deliciously self-aware and bloodthirsty; like Josh Ruben's recent “Scare Me,” on Shudder, IT CUTS DEEP actively reconsiders its male gaze in shape-shifting between mumblecore, slasher, and psychodrama - RogerEbert.com
Is… (BLEEDING) a vampire film? Yes. But like the very best of that genre, (Andrew) Bell’s movie is more than just an exercise in empty bloodsucking. It’s a mythic coming-of-age story, underscored by the opioid epidemic. It’s a cautionary tale, warning against making assumptions about what makes a monster. It’s a stark and foreboding cinematic experience, thanks to Daniel Cho’s sublime cinematography that makes evil out of shadows. This is full-throttle horror, and one of my favorite movies of the year. - The New York Times