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50 names. 1. Tobe Hooper. Director | The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Honored with many awards for his films and achievement in the horror genre, Tobe Hooper is truly one of the Masters of Horror (2005). Tobe Hooper was born in Austin, Texas, to Lois Belle (Crosby) and Norman William Ray Hooper, who owned a theater in San Angelo.
- George Romero. George Romero defined the cinematic zombie with his groundbreaking work in practical gore effects. Romero's creative use of makeup would be imitated for decades, and cinematic zombies rarely strained from the template he'd defined.
- John Carpenter. "Halloween" was hardly the first slasher movie; Hitchcock's "Psycho" helped inspire the genre, and Italian giallo filmmakers had fleshed it out amidst the '60s and '70s.
- Wes Craven. Like Carpenter, Wes Craven is responsible for creating one of the essential cinematic screen villains. Compared to many post-"Halloween" films that simply tried to replicate Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger was a unique character.
- Sam Raimi. Sam Raimi helped craft the early stages of the splatter horror subgenre with his inventive use of practical effect and makeup. Raimi showed the potential for independent horror films to reach a wide audience, and was creative with his low budget.
- Wes Craven. Yes, he's number one. Before we even got to know our best friend, and arguably most famous totem of horror supervillains (a Sir Freddy Kruger, Esq.)
- John Carpenter. He invented Halloween, one of the most profitable movies/franchises of all time (not highest grossing, profitable), which could stand alone – nothing else needs to be said.
- George A. Romero. Another genre inventor, Romero essentially invented the zombie movie for what it is today. Night of the Living Dead (1968) wasn't only terrifying to audiences when it came out – it was also one of the first films in a post Heat of the Night world to make an African American actor the hero of the story.
- Sam Raimi. He's kind of the franchise/crossover/remake king. When Raimi helmed The Evil Dead in 1981, it was a cult critical success, so much so that he went ahead and remade it practically shot for shot (but with a ton more gore and hilarity) in 1987, and just called it Evil Dead II.
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- Steve Miner
- James Wan
- John Carpenter
- Dario Argento
- Mario Bava
- Lucio Fulci
- George A Romero
- Tobe Hooper
- Wes Craven
- Terence Fisher
American director Steve Miner directed 14 movies from 1981 to 2008, with half of them being within the horror genre. His post-2008 career saw him directing episodes of TV shows, and despite his name being less recognizable than others in the genre, Miner's horror movie legacy cannot be ignored. Miner directed numerous horror sequels and remakes, in...
James Wan's contribution to the horror genre is arguably on par with such directors as George Romero and John Carpenter. Not only did he direct and co-write the original Saw that has received a whopping seven sequels so far, but he is also credited with beginning The Conjuring Universe, a series of interconnected moviesthat focus on the supernatura...
John Carpenter's influence on the horror genre is truly significant. As a director, writer, producer, and composer, Carpenter's storied history in the horror genre is one that continues to this day as an executive producer on Halloween, Halloween Kills, and the upcoming Halloween Ends. Not only did he direct and write the original Halloween movie i...
Dario Argento's lengthy directorial career began in 1970 in the Italian Giallo sub-genre, which refers to adaptations of Italian mystery and thriller novels that had yellow covers. Argento began experimenting within the genre, prompting several Giallo horror movies. RELATED: The Italian Horror Master Dario Argento's 10 Best Movies (According To IMD...
Italian filmmaker, Mario Bava, began his long career at the age of 23 as a cinematographer for multiple productions. In 1957, he started his directorial career with the release of I Vampiri, a horror movie about a series of murders that left women with their blood drained. Despite Bava's untimely death over four decades ago, his work remains the ce...
Much like Dario Argento and Mario Bava, Lucio Fulci contributed greatly to Italy's output of horror movies. Despite traversing several different genres throughout his lengthy career, including spaghetti western, thriller, and drama, Fulci evidently had an affinity for the horror genre. Fulci is widely known for his zombie films that proved Italian ...
George A Romero is perhaps one of the most recognizable horror filmmakers. His contribution to the Zombie sub-genre is arguably unmatched given how influential his original Night of the Living Deadis. Out of Romero's 19 directorial works, 13 are horror movies. RELATED: 10 Things About Night Of The Living Dead That Still Hold Up Today Despite severa...
Tobe Hooper's contribution to the horror genre is massive given that he directed 14 movies within the genre. According to the BFI, Hooper credited Romero's Night of the Living Deadfor exposing him to how complex and unique films within the horror genre could be. Hooper directed some well-known movies including The Funhouse and Poltergeist, but his ...
The late, great, Wes Craven is highly regarded for his work on the Scream franchise. However, before Scream in 1996, Craven directed numerous horror classics over the first 24 years of his career. Whether it be The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes or A Nightmare On Elm Street, Craven is arguably one of the masters of horror. While A Nigh...
The most prolific horror movie director is the British-born Terence Fisher, who directed 50 movies from 1948 to 1974, 20 of which were firmly within the horror genre. Fisher had a preference for movies about mythical horror creatures, including Frankenstein, Dracula, and Dr. Jekyll. His first horror movie was The Curse Of Frankenstein, which began ...
- Ross Phillip
- John Carpenter. To this day, John Carpenter's films stand tall—not just among the greatest films in horror, but the greatest films of all time. Carpenter certainly made a name for himself in every genre he worked in, but his efforts in horror are appreciated the most.
- David Cronenberg. David Cronenberg is the man whom even Martin Scorsese was terrified to meet. Cronenberg's films have a deep, startling fascination with the body, and he was one of the leading artists of the body horror genre.
- Ari Aster. One could argue that Ari Aster's placement on this list is too high given that he's only directed two horror films so far. However, we can't forget which two films those were!
- Jordan Peele. Despite being part of the biggest comedy duo of the last ten years, Jordan Peele also has a penchant for directing captivating horror. Get Out (2017)—which was distinguished for having the Best Screenplay of the 21st Century by the Writer's Guild of America—gave us an electrifying taster of his films that were to come, with Us (2019) and Nope (2022) continuing his successful streak of scares.
Known by many as the “Godfather of Gore”, Italian filmmaker Lucio Fulci is famed for creating horror films that were certainly not for those with weak stomachs throughout the late 70’s and 80’s.
Jul 21, 2022 · Just a few years after the first filmmakers emerged in the mid-1890s, Mellies created “Le Manoir du Diable,” sometimes known in English as “The Haunted Castle” or “ The House of the Devil,” in 1896, and it is widely believed to be the first horror movie.
