Daniel Kay took an interest in movies at a young age, inspired by independent films like Clerks (1994) and The Brothers McMullen (1995). After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English, Kay began making his first film, writing and directing the offbeat comedy-drama Way Off Broadway (2001). The film played at over 30 film festivals and was ultimately optioned by IFC. Kay still had to work his way up in the film industry. Early in his career he was hired by Disney to write a script for an animated direct-to-DVD project Tinkerbell 2, but that work was ultimately not used after a shift in management. He continued working production jobs that allowed him time outside of work to develop his screenplays. His next script to go into production was the horror film Timber Falls (2007), which follows a couple on a harrowing journey when they encounter violent locals during their travels. Kay built a reputation as a reliable writer of horror films, and later was approached to adapt the chilling short story Pay the Ghost by Tim Lebbon. The resulting film starred Nicolas Cage and was released in 2015.
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Biography from TMDB.
- February 7, 1978 (48)
- Iowa City, Iowa, USA
- Writer, director and producer
- 5 on MovieCove
What are Dan Kay's films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Survival.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 5
Light 1 · Serious 1 · Dark 3
Grounded 4 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 4
Steady 2 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 4
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet3
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Dan Kay's films?
As of October 24, 2026, all 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Dan Kay's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
5 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page.
What We Hide(2025)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
I.T.(2016)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
Pay the Ghost(2015)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Timber Falls(2007)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
Way Off Broadway(2001)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 5 titles from 2001 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Pay the Ghost (2015)
Highest rated
What We Hide (2025)
Most popular right now
Pay the Ghost (2015)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Dan Kay's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 19th percentile, the median of all 5; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 21st percentile for acclaim.
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
2 of their 5 titles are Mixed.
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the dialogue 34/100 and the plot and story 36/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Dan Kay's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Dan Kay work with?
People who share at least 2 of Dan Kay's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Babacar Diene shares the most, 2.
Producers
- Babacar DieneShared titles: I.T. (2016), Pay the Ghost (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Babacar Diene
- Craig J. FloresShared titles: I.T. (2016), Pay the Ghost (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Craig J. Flores
- Dominic RustamShared titles: I.T. (2016), Pay the Ghost (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Dominic Rustam
- Nicolas ChartierShared titles: I.T. (2016), Pay the Ghost (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Nicolas Chartier
