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Horror has long been filled with inspiring voices and terrifying imaginations. The genre has been around since people were able to tell stories on screen, and the 70s and 80s birthed some of the most iconic horror directors of all time, most of whom are still working to this day.
Horror fans are well-versed in the classic directors that are considered the fathers of the genre. Names like John Carpenter, Wes Craven, and George A. Romero all stir up images of the horrific characters they made popular. Without them, there wouldn’t be iconic slasher personalities like Michael Myers and Ghostface. As the years have passed though, the genre has welcomed an array of new directors. And while they will never take the place of the classic directors of years past, they certainly have a familiar feel to them.
David Lynch and Robert Eggers
David Lynch has become synonymous with bizarre visuals, otherworldly thematic concepts, and surrealist filmmaking that depicts subconscious desires. Many horror fans view him as one of the masters of cinema, with his anxiety-riddled body horror and hallucinatory phantoms of plots. His creations, like Eraserhead and Twin Peaks, have been direct inspirations for many working filmmakers today.
Robert Eggers matches a lot of Lynch’s surrealism and powerfully disturbing imagery. Eggers’ films, like The Witch and The Northman, are often based on old folktales and visions from the past. Like Lynch, he expertly weaves strange symbolism and dreamlike visuals to create a film that will leave you questioning your existence.
Clive Barker and Jordan Peele
Clive Barker has competed with Stephen King for the title of “Master of Horror,” for years. Barker is not only a horror fiction writer and playwright, but he has adapted many of his own screenplays and books into movies. He is best known for birthing the horrifying Pinhead in the Hellraiser series and invoking fear with mirrors in Candyman.
It’s easy to draw a comparison between Barker and Jordan Peele simply because Peele wrote and produced a remake of Candyman in 2021. Peele also possesses some of the great talents of Barker though. Peele began in the entertainment industry as a comedian and eventually worked his way up to writing and directing two of his own #1 horror films, Get Out and Us. The two share a love for creating distinct characters and villains that are well-rounded and based on the social struggles of black and LGBT+ people.
David Cronenberg and Julia Ducournau
David Cronenberg is an expert on body horror. With films like Naked Lunch, Videodrome, and The Fly, the auteur has crafted some of the most grotesque films to come out of the genre. They turn people’s stomachs and open up the imagination to bodily terrors that you never would have dreamed of.
It seems right that Julia Ducournau cites Cronenberg as a major influence in her life and work as a director. Ducournau’s Raw and Titaneswept audiences into speechless husks of themselves when they were released. The two movies were examples of extreme horror done right and catapulted Ducournau to the top of the best new horror directors. Like Cronenberg, her movies are filled with bizarre symbolism and use the human body as a way to focus on identity struggles.
John Carpenter and James Wan
John Carpenter is the father of slashers and horror classics, with his movies like Halloween, The Thing, and Christine being well-renowned around the globe. Michael Myers paved the way for memorable slasher villains, whose only goal was to kill their target in the most brutal way possible. Carpenter is also an icon in the music world, having composed most of his film’s music. He has infiltrated every part of horror pop culture.
In the same vein, James Wan has created pop culture horror icons for a newer generation. Director of films like The Conjuring and Saw, Wan is one of few modern-day filmmakers to bring in new villains to the realm of horror icons. He created characters like Jigsaw, The Nun, the doll Annabelle, and The Man with the Fire in His Face. His movies have arguably been the most successful horror franchises of modern times. Wan’s name will be remembered in horror circles just like Carpenter’s.
Sam Raimi and Leigh Whannell
Sam Raimi made his debut in the horror industry with The Evil Dead series which catapulted him to cult favorite over the years. The Evil Dead movies are still considered must-watch classics for any budding horror fan, and the practical effects that were used in the films inspired many well-known horror directors today. While he moved on to superhero movies in recent times, nearly every one of his films still has that Raimi horror touch to them, like in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Much like Raimi, Leigh Whannell has co-directed and written films in major franchises, like Insidiousand Saw, and has gone on to direct his own creations like Upgrade and the successful remake of The Invisible Man. The two directors share a common style of controlled chaos and use recurring collaborators to ensure all of their films have a distinct style to them.
Tobe Hooper and Ti West
Tobe Hooper is the king of the “Final Girl” – a trope in horror referring to the last woman alive to confront the killer and tell her story at the end. Hooper created the unforgettable Leatherface and his family of inbred cannibals. They have gone on to star in various remakes and sequels. The popularity of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre comes from its kooky characters, quirky underlying humor, and an absolutely horrifying villain that is more realistic than most since he is not tied to any sort of supernatural.
Like Hooper, Ti West thrives in classic, retro-aesthetic horror. His newest film, X, seems directly influenced by Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. With its southern 70s style, gritty slasher kills, and a love letter to the horror and pornographic film communities, the movie is a rotten good time. And just like Hooper, West makes sure to use lots of gore and blood in his films.
Dario Argento and Panos Cosmatos
Dario Argento remains one of the most colorful directors in horror, with vivid movies like Suspiria and Deep Red. Nearly all of his films turn into a stylistic and colorful array of dreadful settings with extreme color palettes and lots of first-person POV shots. He was an incredibly important director in the 70s and 80s in the subgenre of Giallo and was later referred to as the “Master of Thrill.”
Panos Cosmatos is also a director that doesn’t shy away from vibrant and dramatic color palettes in his films. Beyond the Black Rainbow and Mandy became cult classics among horror fans because of their candy-colored aesthetics and surrealist characters that blur the line between dream and reality.
Brian De Palma and Ari Aster
The filmography of Brian De Palma is masterfully diverse. The director started in horror and eventually branched out to other genres, but always kept a horror element in them. In films like Carrie, Phantom of the Paradise, and Blow Out, De Palma carries a distinct aesthetic that was influenced by Alfred Hitchcock. His style is heightened and grandiose as opposed to the gritty and grounded movies of other popular horror directors. De Palma always found a way to give realistic voices to his characters and their everyday struggles – like high school prom.
Ari Aster walks the same path of relatability in his characters. While his movies, Hereditary and Midsommar, are both grotesquely horrifying and involve the supernatural, the main characters deal with life-changing trauma that they try to overcome. Like De Palma, Aster uses gore and violence pointedly instead of excessively. His films always have a pronounced style to them as well, like Midsommar’s bright color palette to contrast the darkness of the characters.
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