Rising Stars: Meet Joe Bandelli of Burbank

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Bandelli.

Hi Joe, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My path into filmmaking was definitely not a straight one. I actually started out wanting to work for the federal government. I was working in finance while going through the process of trying to get into the Secret Service, which was brutal, because finance is just not my favorite thing by any stretch. Ultimately, I discovered that I have a red/green color variation that disqualified me from the Secret Service. It was essentially my Paul Dano in “Little Miss Sunshine” moment, but I probably handled it a little better than he did. I think.

That rejection forced me to figure out what I actually wanted to do next. I had always enjoyed entertaining people and trying to either scare them or make them laugh, and I always gravitated toward film. In 2008, I decided to go back to film school in New York and give filmmaking a real shot.

After film school, I spent several years working in short-form content and making sketch comedy. It was a period where I was constantly creating and learning, even if I didn’t necessarily know where any of it was going to lead. I also got in really early to live streaming, which helped me sort of have a dual career path aka, providing me the financial stability to write and direct my first feature, “Seclusion”, and produce my first feature, “Hell House LLC”.

At the time, none of us could have predicted what “Hell House LLC” would eventually become. Stephen Cognetti and I were independent filmmakers trying to make a good horror movie with the resources we had. The film found an audience, though, and that audience kept growing. I started my production company, Marylous’ Boys, while living in Brooklyn and continued making films in New York. By 2018, we had made two “Hell House LLC” films, and I decided it was time to take the next step and move to Los Angeles.

Burbank became an entirely new chapter of my career. I produced a third “Hell House LLC” film and eventually two more installments in the franchise, while also branching out into other projects and creating more opportunities to direct. I directed “Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity” for Paramount+, produced “825 Forest Road” for Shudder, wrote and directed “Another Cabin in the Woods Movie”, and wrote and directed the horror short “The Sequence”, which won Best Horror Short at the Nightmares Film Festival in 2025. Most recently, I produced the Jessica Rothe led horror/sci fi film, “Imposters”, which premiered at SXSW in 2026 and is set to be released in 2027.

The interesting thing about my career is that I’ve always considered myself a writer/director who also produces, but producing is where I’ve ultimately found the most success. It started out as a necessity. I wanted to make movies, so I had to learn how to put them together. Eventually, that became a career of its own. Producing taught me how films actually get made, and how to build something from nothing, stretch limited resources, solve the hundred problems that inevitably come up, and somehow get a movie across the finish line. I’m still producing and incredibly proud of that part of my career, but I’m putting a renewed focus on writing and directing as well as developing the projects I want to make in this next chapter.

When I look back, it’s pretty wild to think that all of this started because I failed a color vision test. At the time, it felt like the door to the career I had planned for myself had permanently closed. Nearly twenty years later, I’ve learned that sometimes the thing that doesn’t work out is what pushes you toward the thing you were supposed to be doing all along.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Have I had any obstacles or challenges, ha, of course. The road to things you love never are easy. I don’t even know where to begin with this one, obviously the red/green color variation is the first obstacle. Being told you can’t do something because of a thing you have absolutely no control over is heartbreaking, but I’m glad I learned that lesson, because it created a very thick skin when it comes to filmmaking.

I have watched films get made by people who are extremely talented, but no one ever saw their film, and I’ve also watched mediocre filmmakers blow up and become insanely successful, when their films were never really that great. And even that comment, it’s not fully accurate because film is subjective. Unfortunately, this industry puts a lot of pressure on filmmakers to fit into a box, but the best films and the best stories are often found when people create their own box or do something new and unique.

I have had so many films and ideas rejected, and you can say that each one of them is a struggle. But all it takes is one yes to bring a story to life. And that’s something I will always hang my hat on and push other filmmakers to do the same.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have been a filmmaker for close to twenty years now, and I’d say my areas of expertise, or however you’d like to say it, fall within the writing and acting components of filmmaking. Coming from a sketch comedy background, you are always taught to think on your feet, never say no, and always create something for your counterparts to work with (Yes and). That has transcended into my film career because being adaptable to the circumstances, whether it be writing or creating work on a budget, working with other creatives who don’t always agree with you, or never taking no for an answer, has led me to be better at my job as a storyteller.

I think the obvious choice for me to say when it comes to what I am most proud of is the “Hell House LLC” franchise. Stephen Cognetti and I made five horror films for next to nothing and we were able to find an amazing and devoted fanbase that truly it has been an honor to create for. But I am also extremely proud of two films I’ve worked on. “Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity” was such a small and tight knit group of us, and it showed me that you don’t always need more money and more people to make something work. And “Another Cabin in the Woods Movie” was my favorite film to make because of all the problems, issues, and realizations I came to while making this film. It also helped lead me to working with my creative partner Nick Landa, on what we hope to be are many more horror comedies for those amazing fans to enjoy in the years to come.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
This is going to sound silly, but I truly believe that if you eat moderately well, work out or get out of the house and move your body every day, and if you work on the internal and focus on what you want to do, rather than what others want you to do, nothing can hold you back. Any app, book, podcast, or blog that help you achieve that, are always worth watching/listening/enjoying.

That being said, the Just Watch app is my go to for figuring out what platform any film is on. It’s very handy when doing research or just wanting to watch other people’s work. I enjoy reading Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” once a year and no one is going to stop me from watching the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy every December. Those help my soul. As for podcast, I’m a big sports guy, so I really enjoy the “All The Smoke” podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. That helps me take my mind off of all the no’s I regularly get haha.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.joebandelli.com/
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/TheChosenJoey
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joebandelli
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3494613/

Image Credits
Bart Mastronardi (for my primary photo and the photo of me in the red Pet Sematary shirt)