Halloween will be here before you know it. And what better season is there to watch scary movies than spooky season. As the leaves turn colors and the weather gets chilly, it’s time to cuddle up and get scared. No one has inspired more nightmares than some of the directors listed below. For decades these men have not only been bringing our worst fears to life but also inspiring new ones along the way.
Here at Costume SuperCenter, we take Halloween seriously. Just take a look at our huge inventory of scary costumes if you don’t believe us. Many of the costumes we carry were inspired by these notable horror directors. If you’re looking to plan a horror movie watch party, these directors are a good place to start. Wow your friends with facts about the top 13 horror directors of all time.
Wes Craven
Directed: 26
First Movie: The Last House On The Left (1972)
Last Movie: Scream 4 (2011)
Highest Rated: Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Lowest Rated: Deadly Friend (1986)
Personal Quote: Horror films don’t create fear. They release it.
Fact: Others, like Danny Boyle, Robert Rodriguez and Sam Raimi, were approached to direct Scream but Craven was the only one who didn’t see the film as a comedy.
John Carpenter
Directed: 22
First Movie: Dark Star (1974)
Last Movie: The Ward (2010)
Highest Rated: Escape from New York (1981)
Lowest Rated: Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
Personal Quote: Movies are pieces of film stuck together in a certain rhythm, an absolute beat, like a musical composition. The rhythm you create affects the audience.
Fact: Instead of horror or fantasy, Carpenter’s favorite genre is Western films.
Eli Roth
Directed: 8
First Movie: Cabin Fever (2002)
Last Movie: The House With A Clock In Its Walls (2018)
Highest Rated: The House With A Clock In Its Walls (2018)
Lowest Rated: Death Wish (2018)
Personal Quote: If I don’t come home covered head to toe in fake blood then I haven’t done my job as a horror director.
Fact: After watching Ridley Scott’s Alien, Roth started shooting films at the age of 8. With the help of his brothers, he made 100 short films before graduating high school
Jordan Peele
Directed: 2
First Movie: Get Out (2017)
Last Movie: Us (2019)
Highest Rated: Get Out (2017)
Lowest Rated: Us (2019)
Personal Quote: I’m such a horror nut that the genre confusion of Get Out broke my heart a little. I set out to make a horror movie, and it’s kind of not a horror movie.
Fact: According to Peele, the scariest villain of all time is Halloween’s Michael Myers because “he’s not even evil, he’s just curious. You know you can’t talk him out of whatever he wants to do.”
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Directed: 20
First Movie: Kandagawa Perverts War (1983)
Last Movie: Foreboding (2017)
Highest Rated: Tokyo Sonata (2009)
Lowest Rated: Pulse (2006)
Personal Quote: What I appreciate with horror is that you can ask questions about the issue of death in a process like trial and error through a film.
Fact: Contrary to popular belief, he is not related to fellow filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.
Rob Zombie
Directed: 10
First Movie: House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
Last Movie: 3 From Hell (2019)
Highest Rated: The Devil’s Rejects (2005)
Lowest Rated: House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
Personal Quote: I think so much about everything. I’m obsessive.
Fact: Zombie’s parents worked the carnival circuit, which resulted in he and his brother working in the spook houses and haunted rides.
Clive Barker
Directed: 5
First Movie: Salome (1973)
Last Movie: Lord Of Illusions (1995)
Highest Rated: Hellraiser (1987)
Lowest Rated: Nightbreed (1990)
Personal Quote: All I’ve ever wanted to do is darken the day and brighten the night.
Fact: Stephen King called Barker “the future of horror.”
George A. Romero
Directed: 17
First Movie: Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Last Movie: Survival of the Dead (2009)
Highest Rated: Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Lowest Rated: Survival of the Dead (2009)
Personal Quote: I’m like my zombies. I won’t stay dead!
Fact: After graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, Romero nabbed his first filmmaking job working on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
Sam Raimi
Directed: 17
First Movie: It’s Murder! (1976)
Last Movie: Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
Highest Rated: Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn (1987)
Lowest Rated: For The Love of the Game (1999)
Personal Quote: I look at myself as an entertainer, more than anything else. I wanted to make the movie a little more different than the previous films.
Fact: In the 80’s, Raimi lived in an apartment with Bruce Campbell, Scott Spiegel, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Holly Hunter, Frances McDormand and Kathy Bates.
Dario Argento
Directed: 22
First Movie: The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970)
Last Movie: Dracula 3D (2012)
Highest Rated: Deep Red (1975)
Lowest Rated: Dracula 3D (2012)
Personal Quote: Horror by definition is the emotion of pure revulsion. Terror of the same standard, is that of fearful anticipation.
Fact: Argento follows the “style of substance” approach to filmmaking which means he values his shot compositions over the what’s happening with the plot.
Alfred Hitchcock
Directed: 65
First Movie: Number 13 (1922)
Last Movie: Family Plot (1976)
Highest Rated: Rear Window (1954)
Lowest Rated: The Shame of Mary Boyle (1930)
Personal Quote: There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.
Fact: Despite 16 of his films getting nominated, Hitchcock never won an Oscar.
James Wan
Directed: 10
First Movie: Saw (2004)
Last Movie: Aquaman (2018)
Highest Rated: The Conjuring (2013)
Lowest Rated: Dead Silence (2007)
Personal Quote: You can’t scare people if they see the seams.
Fact: Wan is the first Asian director to have two films and the first Australian director to have one film earn a billion dollars at the box office.
Tobe Hooper
Directed: 21
First Movie: Eggshells (1969)
Last Movie: Djinn (2013)
Highest Rated: Salem’s Lot (1979)
Lowest Rated: The Mangler (1994)
Personal Quote: You’ve got to send a physical sensation through and not let them off the hook.
Fact: Despite being banned in several countries due to its portrayal of violence, Texas Chainsaw Massacre was the most profitable independent film of its time.
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