Last Updated on July 26, 2021
We all love the horror staples – gore, nudity, rampant swearing, and the general promise of having the shite scared out of us. But no element of a horror movie works well without someone to pull it all together. The director probably has more control over how kick ass, or flat, a horror movie is than in any other genre.
The problem is that a lot of horror flicks are disposable products, and talented directors often shy away from what we love best. So coming across someone who combines talent and a desire to explore the dark depths is a cause for much celebration. At the same time, the age of the internet is also an age of massive overhype, so we have to be careful before anointing the heir apparents of greats like Hitchcock, Carpenter, Craven and Red.
So who can we look to, based on current info, to carry the torch into the near future. Well I’m glad you asked because that’s exactly what we’re gonna look at this week. These are directors that have already done something amazing, and appear likely to continue that trend. Of course, if you disagree, or think I missed somebody, spit those bullets (I know you will), and let’s get this party started!
It would be hard to find a cooler, more sincere guy working in the industry. Wan is so open and enthusiastic that you want everything he does to be genius. And it hasn’t been, but all of his work has been personal, interesting, and driven by a desire to stick with what he wants to do, instead of simply cashing in on the fame of a fresh auteur. Didn’t you get a little happy in the pants when you heard he snagged CASTLEVANIA? I sure did. And that is the mark of a talent to keep a solid eye on.
I know Gunn’s a 1-credit wonder so far. Not that he hasn’t done a shite ton of work, but SLITHER is his one genre release as a director. But that one movie was such a f*cking blast that I feel like he’s already proven himself. And THE BELCOO EXPERIMENT is solidly in my most anticipated flicks because of that. I have faith in the man dammit! And if it turns out I’m wrong, oh well, we’ll always have Grant Grant.
I fully expect to catch hell for having Nispel so high on the list, but the reality is he took two beloved franchises and rebooted them for an audience that pretty much hates that shite and anyone involved in it. That he delivered anything watchable would be worth noting. The fact that he delivered two outstanding examples of how to retread hallowed ground is amazing. I am ready for him to tackle an original genre piece though.
Here’s a man who put the world on notice that the French know horror. They know it hard. So far he’s given us some of the most striking genre images of the new millennium, and isn’t scared to explore all sorts of projects. Next year he catapults us all into 3-D, and I don’t know a horror loving soul who isn’t looking forward to the ride.
Marshall set us all up with DOG SOLDIERS, and then knocked us the f*ck out with THE DESCENT. He is showing a tendency to edge away from strictly genre fare, which is a bit disturbing, but when you do horror as well as he does, that’s something that’s in the blood. He’ll keep coming back to us when the project warrants it, and it will be a frabjous day every damn time he does.
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