Daniel Kay took an interest in movies at a young age, inspired by independent films like Clerks (1994) and The Brothers McMullen (1995). After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English, Kay began making his first film, writing and directing the offbeat comedy-drama Way Off Broadway (2001). The film played at over 30 film festivals and was ultimately optioned by IFC. Kay still had to work his way up in the film industry. Early in his career he was hired by Disney to write a script for an animated direct-to-DVD project Tinkerbell 2, but that work was ultimately not used after a shift in management. He continued working production jobs that allowed him time outside of work to develop his screenplays. His next script to go into production was the horror film Timber Falls (2007), which follows a couple on a harrowing journey when they encounter violent locals during their travels. Kay built a reputation as a reliable writer of horror films, and later was approached to adapt the chilling short story Pay the Ghost by Tim Lebbon. The resulting film starred Nicolas Cage and was released in 2015.