Check Out Jon Devlin’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Devlin.

Hi Jon, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always had an interest in the performing arts. I could never settle for simply consuming art, I had to create and perform. As a shy child, I mostly kept to myself and lived in my head, spending my time writing stories and poems. High school brought the wild man out of me, and in my teens and early twenties I pursued being a lyricist and vocalist for metal bands.

That passion required a level of cooperation and availability from multiple people, so at 23 I decided to pursue professional wrestling. I had been fascinated by the art and showmanship of wrestling since childhood. At one point it felt like an unreachable dream, but the industry had changed and smaller performers were becoming the norm. I believed wrestling was something I could pursue more independently, without relying so heavily on others for success. I was somewhat right, but I eventually realized I was always more of an actor than an athlete.

After 15 years grinding on the independent wrestling circuit, I decided to pursue acting more seriously. My experience in wrestling led to me choreographing and performing a fight scene for a local production, Amazon Hot Box. That experience gave me the acting bug and completely shifted my direction creatively.

Music, wrestling, acting were all worlds built around performance, atmosphere, and emotion. Over time, those creative outlets naturally evolved into filmmaking. I started making films because I had stories and imagery in my head that I couldn’t ignore, and eventually I realized the only way to fully bring them to life was to learn every aspect of the process myself.

What began as acting gradually expanded into writing, directing, editing, producing, and eventually distribution. Working independently forced me to wear multiple hats, but it also gave me complete creative freedom. Every project became an opportunity to learn a new skill and push myself further artistically. I became obsessed not only with telling stories, but with understanding how films are assembled from the ground up, from concept and performance to post-production, marketing, physical media, and release strategy.

A lot of my work is rooted in underground horror, surrealism, and transgressive cinema. I’m heavily inspired by filmmakers and artists who challenge audiences emotionally and visually rather than simply trying to entertain them safely. I’ve always gravitated toward outsider art, experimental storytelling, and projects that feel raw, strange, confrontational, or deeply personal.

Through my production and distribution label, Dagon Films, I’ve been able to expand beyond simply making movies into curating and distributing them as well. That has become an important part of my journey. I love preserving independent and obscure cinema, especially in physical media formats that feel increasingly rare and collectible in the streaming era. Building something independently from the ground up has been difficult, chaotic, exhausting, and rewarding all at once.

At the core of everything I do is a desire to create work that leaves an impression, whether that reaction is discomfort, fascination, laughter, reflection, or curiosity. I never wanted to follow a conventional path. I wanted to build my own world and invite people into it.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
One of the biggest challenges throughout my journey has been endurance, physically, financially, and creatively. Years in professional wrestling took a toll on my body, while independent filmmaking has often meant funding projects myself and sacrificing stability just to keep creating.

Another challenge has been exposure. Creating unconventional underground art can sometimes feel like screaming into the void. But one of the most rewarding parts of the journey has been finding “my people”, the collaborators, supporters, and audiences who genuinely connect with what I do and help bring these projects to life.

At the end of the day, every obstacle has reinforced the same realization that if creating is part of who you are, you keep doing it, no matter how difficult it gets.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m an actor, writer, director, editor, producer, and distributor working primarily in independent horror and underground cinema. My work tends to specialize in horror, dark comedy, surrealism, and transgressive art.

As an actor, I’ve appeared in projects including my first lead villain role in Joe Stryker, created by members of the local horror punk band The Casket Creatures. A role in indie slasher Screw Year’s Eve from A Buck Short Productions, which premiered at the Limelight Theater this past New Year’s Eve, a lead role in Velvicide from Failsafe Productions streaming on Tubi/Fawesome/Prime, and a role in Get That Dick, coming soon from Flush Studios.

As a filmmaker, I’m especially proud of my award-winning trilogy of horror/comedy shorts, Erecting A Monster Trilogy, which just began streaming on the Up All Night Network, and my transgressive Phallacies anthology segment Punching The Clown, which won the WTF Award at the Buried Alive Film Festival 2025.

What sets me apart is that everything I do is built independently through my production and distribution label, Dagon Films. My background in music, professional wrestling, and underground art all collide into the work I create, giving it a style that’s very personal, raw, and unconventional.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
As the son of a Pentecostal preacher, my childhood was very sheltered and the world outside the church was often painted as evil or dangerous. One of the most standout memories from that time was my father showing the A Thief in the Night films at church. It was the only movie series that genuinely terrified me as a child and gave me nightmares.

Ironically, even though I’m no longer a religious person myself, I still hold those films in high regard because of the emotional impact they had on me. They taught me how powerful fear and atmosphere in cinema can be. In many ways, that experience shaped my love of horror filmmaking, and I hope one day to create something that instills that same level of fear, discomfort, and lingering emotion in an audience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dagonfilms.bigcartel.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/devlin_valek
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jon.devlin666
• Twitter: https://www.x.com/DevlinV666
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DagonFilms2025
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/dagon_films