Sean Cranston’s nautical reimagining of Dante’s Inferno brings pirates, psychological dread, and indie filmmaking grit to Empire Underground at Empire Live.
Forget the beach vacation. Sean Cranston is taking audiences somewhere far darker. With The Bottomless, the Upstate New York filmmaker brings a maritime nightmare to Albany: a shipwrecked pirate, a mermaid, and a journey shaped by Dante’s Inferno. The promotional images offer an unsettling invitation. A lone figure crosses a desolate shoreline. Hands reach from the water toward a small boat. Rendered in stark black and white, the scenes look as though the world’s warmth has drained away.
On Sunday, November 29, 2026, that world comes to Empire Underground at Empire Live, 93 North Pearl Street in Albany, for the film’s Albany premiere. Doors open at 6 p.m.; the screening begins at 6:30 p.m. Presented by Make Your Mark Tattoo, the event follows the day’s Punk Rock Flea Market, turning an afternoon out into an evening of independent horror. For Cranston, the voyage began with a very different kind of movie monster.
From Jurassic Park to Troubled Waters
“I gave my heart to movies when I first saw Jurassic Park in Cape Cod Summer 1993,” Cranston told NewsBlaze. He still measures the power of movies against that childhood experience. Decades later, Cape Cod would inspire a film of his own.
During a 2022 vacation with his partner, Lauren, Cranston began imagining a shipwrecked pirate facing off against a mermaid. He wrote a script and began shooting in summer 2024. Then the project—and the lives surrounding it—grew complicated. Loss, illness, repeated moves, financial strain, and job losses accompanied production. At one point, Cranston said, living in a bat-infested apartment meant getting rabies shots. The team kept making the movie through it all.
In 2025, an old copy of Dante’s The Divine Comedy helped him find a direction through the turmoil. The story felt personal, offering a framework for the film taking shape. The pirate-and-mermaid premise became a nautical reimagining of Inferno, with Cranston’s own struggles shaping its emotional course.
The Devil Is in The Uncertainty
Cranston’s influences suggest the unease he wanted to build. He cites The Devil’s Advocate, Rosemary’s Baby, and The Exorcist when discussing his approach to the devil: a presence you can feel without it always taking physical form. “The devil as more of a feeling than a physical character is a great concept,” he said.
The film’s black-and-white presentation reinforces that approach. Cranston chose it to reflect the protagonist’s bleak struggle, making the visual style part of the story’s emotional landscape. “True horror doesn’t come from monsters and blood; it’s the uncertainty of how things will unfold,” he said.
His creative compass also includes Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse, the 1950 Treasure Island, Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, and screen adaptations of Moby Dick. Mastodon’s album Leviathan supplied musical inspiration. Together, those references suggest a filmmaker drawn to the sea’s capacity for adventure, obsession and dread.
Making The Ocean Work
Most of The Bottomless was filmed in Cape Cod, with additional footage shot in Playalinda, Florida, and Upstate New York. Cranston said the Florida footage, filmed by lead performer Vinnie and Starr, who plays the mermaid, blended particularly well with the Cape footage. Fitting the coastal shoots into the budget proved challenging. For a story built around the ocean, though, the locations mattered.
Vinnie was Cranston’s first choice for the lead. After appearing in smaller or supporting roles in the director’s previous movies, he had asked for a chance to take center stage. This story felt like the right fit. Cranston pushed him to rethink his approach to acting and perform his own stunts. He also praised cast members Elisabeth and Keith for their contributions.
Work continued until shortly before the film’s first screening. The cave and mirror scenes Cranston is especially eager for audiences to experience were shot just a week or two before that September showing. Behind the finished film is a story familiar to many independent artists: limited resources, personal upheaval, and the determination to finish anyway.
From Averill Park to Albany
The film first screened in late September at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts in Averill Park, Cranston’s childhood hometown. The November event brings the celebration to Albany. Mike Valente, who appears in the movie, proposed holding the Albany premiere after the Punk Rock Flea Market. Cranston welcomed the idea, crediting Valente’s willingness to bring different kinds of artists into the same space.
For Cranston, that collaboration points to the stronger support he would like to see for independent work in the Capital Region. He praised organizers, including Valente and Ralph Renna, for connecting local musicians, filmmakers, and other artists with audiences. Cranston expects cast and crew appearances at the premiere, with opportunities for audience members to ask questions and get posters signed. The aim is to celebrate a film that took years to bring ashore.
The film also begins its festival journey. According to Cranston, The Bottomless won Best Feature in October at the American West Film Fest in Raton, New Mexico.
Despite the film’s dark imagery, Cranston’s hopes for audiences are straightforward: enjoy the adventure and have a great time. Albany’s invitation is just as simple: spend the afternoon at the flea market, then head downstairs and see what the tide brings in.
Attend The Albany Premiere
The Bottomless screens Sunday, November 29, 2026, at Empire Underground at Empire Live, 93 North Pearl Street, Albany, NY. Doors: 6 p.m. Screening: 6:30 p.m. The promoter lists tickets at $10.35 in advance and $15.50 on the day of the show. Tickets are available through the official event listing, which includes a purchase link, or through the Empire Live box office.
For trailers and film updates, find @TheBottomless on YouTube. Follow @makesinema or visit makesinema.com for more from Cranston’s media company.
Promotional images courtesy of Sinema LLC.
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