Screenwriter: Dark Comedy
Writer
THE EIGHTH HOUSE (dark comedy) – An allegedly enlightened young man, who believes his bad advice ruined the life of his former best friend, escapes a doomsday cult and decides to make amends but instead steals his old buddy’s girl and pushes him over the edge in this dark comedic romp. Set in the year 2000.
D
irector Statement:
“Storytelling, especially by way of film, builds empathy and allows us to see ourselves and others. For years, I have written and directed dramatic performances in order to impact humanity. Now, my goal is to tackle comedy and create another useful pathway to palatable, purposeful content. We can learn AND laugh, grow AND giggle with characters who depict the levity of life.” – Holly Charles-Pearson
Biography
Zack Van Eyck is a film and television writer, director and producer.
His narrative feature directorial debut, “The Hitchhiker Effect,” was officially selected by 32 film festivals (garnering 19 awards and 10 nominations) and was released on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and other streaming services Oct. 26, 2025. Among those awards, Zack was honored with the 2025 Robert Rodriguez Indie Auteur of the Year award at the 26th annual Bare Bones International Film Festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
Zack’s feature writing credits include the indie darling "Jupiter Landing" (2006), the award-winning auto racing documentary "Daytona Dream" (2010) and the romantic comedy "Three of One Kind" (2013).
Two of his original series productions for Amazon Prime, the reality show satire "Sweet Caroline" (2016) and the sports/sex spoof "Coitus of the Week” (2015), were officially selected by 19 film festivals, collecting 14 awards and nominations, including Best Director and Best Writer awards for Zack.
Zack is an energetic, prolific writer with disciplined work habits who has completed 48 feature screenplays in his career, spanning every genre. He specializes in all forms of comedy, sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal, suspense-drama, family, action-adventure, sports-related themes and stories with female protagonists. He is experienced in adapting novels for the screen and has served as a script doctor, dialogue punch-up artist, rewrite specialist, script consultant and screenwriting instructor.
He has worked for a variety of production companies as a writer-for-hire including Black Label Filmworks (Charin R. Barone), Cowboy’s Sweetheart Films (Audra Kelly), Feature Films for Families (Forrest S. Baker III), Winkler Films (David Winkler), Deverett Media Group (Jeff Deverett), High Integrity Productions (Dale Noble), David Zucker Productions (David S. Zucker), Saffire Productions (Stacy Dymalski), Radio Pictures (Ted Bonnitt), Lumenas Studios (Darin McDaniel), Amis Entertainment (Perri Pierre), Shekinah Light Productions (Victoria Liljenquist) and independent producers Dean Mavrikis, David Fanucchi and Justin Middendorf.
Zack's first novel was published when he was 12 and he began a 25-year professional journalism career at age 14 as a sportswriter for The Anchorage Times. He won the Alaska Press Club's Best Columnist award as a junior in high school and received the Grantland Rice writing scholarship to attend Vanderbilt University. He won several national awards for investigative reporting and is best known for breaking the “Skinwalker Ranch” story in 1996 while working for The Deseret News in Salt Lake City. His feature screenplay, "The Devil's Ranch," about the last family to live on Skinwalker Ranch, is available for production.
Zack is a practicing astrologer, has two amazing daughters and is a founding member of the punk rock tribute band Ramones Alive.