Jose Vargas
By Tanya Forsey, What do bad guys, cops, gunslingers and a small town sheriff have in common? They have all been portrayed by award winning actor Douglas Vermeeren. Over the last several months Vermeeren has been one of the busiest actors around. He has literally been going from film project to film project without much a break in between. These projects have also taken him all over with shoots in Los Angeles, Arizona and parts of Canada.
Recently we caught up with Douglas Vermeeren at the LA Film Festival where the film TENANTS he was in won Best Picture. In horror Anthology, Tenants, Vermeeren portrayed Leonard in a segment called The Photograph alongside actress Miranda Cover. Without giving away too much Vermeeren portrays a deranged building supervisor who is infatuated with one of the tenants of his building. A dangerous episode of infatuation and stalking flips to create a very dangerous situation indeed. The film is currently touring the film festival circuit where it has been winning several awards.
The last few months have proved to be very busy for Douglas Vermeeren. The upcoming film JACKKNIFE has festival audiences very excited. The long anticipated film tells a gripping story of a black teenage brother and sister duo who get stuck in a dangerous chase through the wilderness after they go missing after a robbery and series of murders in their area. Pursuers include the police, a search party believing them innocent and the actually perpetrators of the crimes. Vermeeren plays Billy Lachance, one of the more deviant pursuers seeking revenge for his brother who became one of the murder victims. Early reviews are applauding this as Vermeeren’s best performance yet and there are rumours of multiple best actor awards for this performance. Jackknife is slated to be released to the public in mid-2024.
It’s not everyday that a small town sheriff is on a mission to keep people out of prison. But that’s exactly what happens in the upcoming horror slasher film FRESH MEAT. Douglas Vermeeren portrays sheriff Rudy Bellamy in the small town where this terrible tragedy takes place. Fresh Meat is full of suspense, thrills, jump scares and as you probably guessed… blood. Fresh Meat has one of the unique elements that it was actually shot on location in an abandoned prison that many suspect is haunted for real.
With all the action and thrills taking place in the contemporary settings Vermeeren also had time to head back in time with two additional projects. Naturally much of the information about these two projects must stay carefully under wraps until the projects are released publicly.
For the first one all we can say is that it takes place in the mid-1960’s and it will be airing later this year on the Paramount Plus streaming platform. That’s all the information we can give on that.
The second project has just finished shooting at the Mescal movie set near Benson Arizona. This western movie set was the home of the upcoming western action show BLACK CREEK. The Mescal movie set has been one of the most important movie sets in the state of Arizona. It was one of the prime locations for Tombstone, The Quick and the Dead, Outlaw Josey Wales, Tom Horn, Monte Walsh and many others. (Just an interesting bit of trivia: Douglas Vermeeren was a very visible extra in the wedding scene of the 2003 remake of Monte Walsh with Tom Sellck.) In Black Creek Douglas Vermeeren plays Hank Winslow, the bad guy who runs the disreputable fight ring and gambling in the town of Black Creek. The film features several martial arts legends like Cynthia Rithrock, Richard Norton, Don “The Dragon” Wilson, Keith Cooke and others. It also features actors like Patrick Kilpatrick and others. Black Creek is being called “ The martial arts actions star vision of what the The Expendables was to the 1980’s ac lion hero.” Black Creek is currently in post production with a projected released date of spring 2024.
Rounding out Douglas Vermeeren’s busy schedule is the new TV series UNEXPLAINED PARANORMAL FILES which will be streaming on the new service NetIndie. This show explores paranormal events and conspires ranging from Aliens, to the Sasquatch to haunted locations and super human powers. As host, Douglas Vermeeren explores the evidence and mysteries behind these bizarre tales that have been reported as true. The series is currently available to watch.
So what’s next for Douglas Vermeeren? In speaking with him he revealed that he already has a very full 2024 developing. To follow and find about more about these projects we recommend following him on social media. Insta: @douglasvemreeren
