Favorite Horror/Disturbing Movie Directors

1. Takashi Miike

Takashi Miike was born in the small town of Yao on the outskirts of Osaka, Japan. His main interest growing up was motorbikes, and for a while he harbored ambitions to race professionally. At the age of 18 he went to study at the film school in Yokohama founded by renowned director Shôhei Imamura, ...

2. Eli Roth

Producer | Thanksgiving

Eli Raphael Roth was born in Newton, Massachusetts, to Cora (Bialis), a painter, and Sheldon H. Roth, a psychoanalyst, psychiatrist, and clinical professor. His family is Jewish (from Austria, Hungary, Russia, and Poland). He began shooting Super 8 films at the age of eight; after watching Ridley ...

3. Fred Vogel

Writer | The Final Interview

Fred Vogel was born on April 18, 1976 in Warren Township, New Jersey, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for The Final Interview (2018), August Underground (2001) and Sella Turcica (2010). He has been married to Shelby Lyn Vogel since October 13, 2006.

4. Pascal Laugier

Director | Ghostland

Pascal Laugier was born on October 16, 1971 in France. He is a director and writer, known for Incident in a Ghostland (2018), Martyrs (2008) and The Tall Man (2012).

5. Olaf Ittenbach

Special_effects | Beyond the Limits

Olaf Ittenbach was born in 1969 in Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria, Germany. He is a director and actor, known for Beyond the Limits (2003), BloodRayne (2005) and 5 Seasons (2015). He has been married to Tanja Ittenbach since March 30, 2012. He was previously married to Martina Ittenbach.

6. Xavier Gens

Director | Frontière(s)

Xavier Gens was born on April 27, 1975 in Dunkerque, Nord, France. He is a director and assistant director, known for Frontier(s) (2007), The Divide (2011) and Cell (2016). He has been married to Mounia Meddour since 2005.

7. Srdjan Spasojevic

Director | Srpski film

Srdjan Spasojevic was born in 1976 in Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia. He is a director and writer, known for A Serbian Film (2010), The ABCs of Death (2012) and Whereout.

8. Tom Six

Director | The Human Centipede (First Sequence)

Tom Six was born on August 29, 1973 in Alkmaar, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. He is a director and writer, known for The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009), The Human Centipede III (Final Sequence) (2015) and The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) (2011).

9. Sion Sono

Director | Ai no mukidashi

Shion Sono is a Japanese director, writer and poet. Born in Aichi Perfecture in 1961 he started his career working as a poet before taking his first steps in film directing. As a student he shot a series of short films in Super 8 and managed to make his first feature films in the late 80s and early...

10. Noboru Iguchi

Director | The ABCs of Death

Noboru Iguchi was born on June 28, 1969 in Tokyo, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for The ABCs of Death (2012), The Machine Girl (2008) and Mutant Girls Squad (2010).

11. Yoshihiro Nishimura

Make_up_department | Tôkyô zankoku keisatsu

Yoshihiro Nishimura was born on April 1, 1967 in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. He is a producer, known for Tokyo Gore Police (2008), Meatball Machine Kodoku (2017) and The ABCs of Death (2012).

12. Tod Browning

Director | Dracula

Belonging to a well-situated family, Charles Browning fell in love at the age of 16 with a dancer of a circus. Following her began his itinerary of being clown, jockey and director of a variety theater which ended when he met D.W. Griffith and became an actor. He made his debut in Intolerance (1916)...

13. Frank Henenlotter

Director | Bad Biology

Writer/director Frank Henenlotter was born August 29, 1950, in New York City. He gleefully "misspent" his youth watching a large array of blithely cheap'n'cheesy low-budget exploitation flicks in various seedy grindhouse theaters on Mahattan's 42nd St. He began making 8mm films as a teenager. His ...

14. Lloyd Kaufman

Producer | The Toxic Avenger

Stanley Lloyd Kaufman never really wanted to make movies, he wanted to work in Broadway musicals. During his years in Yale he was introduced to "B" pictures and the works of Roger Corman. Lloyd later got the opportunity to executive-produce a short movie made by a fellow student. The film, called "...

15. Herschell Gordon Lewis

Director | This Stuff'll Kill Ya!

Only one film-maker can claim the title "Godfather of Gore." That peculiar but apt identification seems to be the exclusive property of Herschell Gordon Lewis. With an unusual background that included teaching English Literature to college students, producing and directing television commercials, ...

16. George A. Romero

Writer | Land of the Dead

George A. Romero never set out to become a Hollywood figure; by all indications, though, he was very successful. The director of the groundbreaking "Living Dead" films was born February 4, 1940 ,in New York City to Ann (Dvorsky) and Jorge Romero. His father was born in Spain and raised in Cuba, and...

17. Wes Craven

Writer | A Nightmare on Elm Street

Wes Craven has become synonymous with genre bending and innovative horror, challenging audiences with his bold vision.

Wesley Earl Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Caroline (Miller) and Paul Eugene Craven. He had a midwestern suburban upbringing. His first feature film was The Last House on ...

18. John Carpenter

Writer | The Fog

John Howard Carpenter was born in Carthage, New York, to mother Milton Jean (Carter) and father Howard Ralph Carpenter. His family moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where his father, a professor, was head of the music department at Western Kentucky University. He attended Western Kentucky ...

19. 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. He spent the 1960s as a college ...

20. Pier Paolo Pasolini

Writer | Il Decameron

Pier Paolo Pasolini achieved fame and notoriety long before he entered the film industry. A published poet at 19, he had already written numerous novels and essays before his first screenplay in 1954. His first film Accattone (1961) was based on his own novel and its violent depiction of the life ...

21. Meir Zarchi

Producer | Day of the Woman

Meir is a filmmaker most known for I Spit on Your Grave (1978) about one woman and a group of maniacs. In 2010, Steven R. Monroe directed the remake I Spit on Your Grave (2010) starring Sarah Butler & Jeff Branson. Meir executive produced the film and was an associate producer for the remake as ...

22. John Alan Schwartz

Writer | Knight Rider

John Alan Schwartz was born on November 7, 1952 in the USA. He was a writer and director, known for Knight Rider (1982), The Worst of Faces of Death (1987) and The Fall Guy (1981). He was married to Joan Alperin. He died on August 13, 2019 in the USA.

23. David Cronenberg

Actor | The Fly

David Cronenberg, also known as the King of Venereal Horror or the Baron of Blood, was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1943. His father, Milton Cronenberg, was a journalist and editor, and his mother, Esther (Sumberg), was a piano player. After showing an inclination for literature at an early...

24. Sam Raimi

Director | Spider-Man

Highly inventive U.S. film director/producer/writer/actor Sam Raimi first came to the attention of film fans with the savage, yet darkly humorous, low-budget horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). From his childhood, Raimi was a fan of the cinema and, before he was ten-years-old, he was out making ...

25. Ruggero Deodato

Director | Deathcember

Ruggero Deodato was born on May 7, 1939, in Potenza, Italy, and grew up outside Rome. One of his close friends at the time was Renzo Rossellini, the son of famed Italian director Roberto Rossellini. Knowing Ruggerio's love for the movies, Renzo persuaded him to work as a second unit director on ...

26. Umberto Lenzi

Writer | La casa 3

Born in Massa Marittima, Italy on August 6, 1931, Umberto Lenzi was a movie enthusiast since his early grade school years. During those years, he founded various film fan clubs while studying law. Lenzi started out as a journalist for various local newspapers and magazines. Lenzi put off his law ...

27. Dario Argento

Writer | Profondo rosso

Dario Argento was born on September 7, 1940, in Rome, Italy, the first-born son of famed Italian producer Salvatore Argento and Brazilian fashion model Elda Luxardo. Argento recalls getting his ideas for filmmaking from his close-knit family from Italian folk tales told by his parents and other ...

28. Stuart Gordon

Writer | Re-Animator

Stuart Gordon started his film directing career in 1985. After graduating from Lane Technical High School, Gordon worked as a commercial artist apprentice prior to enrolling at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Unable to get into the film classes, he enrolled in an acting class and ended up ...

29. James Cullen Bressack

Producer | Darkness of Man

James Cullen Bressack is an American producer, director, and screenwriter and son of three time Emmy-award winning writer Gordon Bressack and voice actress Ellen Gerstell. At the age of 18 he received critical attention from audiences and critics alike when he made his debut feature, My Pure Joy.

...

30. John McNaughton

Director | Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

John McNaughton was born on January 13, 1950 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), Wild Things (1998) and The Borrower (1991).

31. Jörg Buttgereit

Director | Lexx

Jörg Buttgereit was born on December 20, 1963 in Berlin, West Germany. He is a director and writer, known for Lexx (1996), Captain Berlin versus Hitler (2009) and Nekromantik (1988).

32. Lucio Fulci

Writer | Lo squartatore di New York

Lucio Fulci, born in Rome in 1927, remains as controversial in death as he was in life. A gifted craftsman with a sharp tongue and a wicked sense of dark humor, Fulci achieved some measure of notoriety for his gore epics of the late 1970s and early 1980s, but respect was long in coming.

Abandoning ...

33. Adam Rehmeier

Director | Dinner in America

Adam Rehmeier is known for Dinner in America (2020), The Bunny Game (2011) and Snack Shack (2024).

34. Gaspar Noé

Director | Enter the Void

Gaspar Noé is an Argentinian filmmaker and screenwriter who lives in France. He is the son of Luis Felipe Noé, an Argentinian artist. He directed I Stand Alone, Irréversible, Enter the Void, Love, Climax, Carne, Lux Æterna, Sodomites and Vortex. His films are known for having a sensory overload ...

35. Ngai Choi Lam

Director | Lik wong

Ngai Choi Lam is known for Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991), Men from the Gutter (1983) and The Cat (1992).

36. Abel Ferrara

Director | Bad Lieutenant

Born in the Bronx, Ferrara started making amateur films on Super 8 in his teens before making his debut with violent exploitation films such as 'Driller Killer' and 'Ms.45'. Good reviews for the latter helped create his cult reputation, leading to larger budgets, studio funding and 'name' actors (...

37. Rolf de Heer

Producer | Bad Boy Bubby

Rolf de Heer was born on May 4, 1951 in Heemskerk, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. He is a producer and director, known for Bad Boy Bubby (1993), Ten Canoes (2006) and Charlie's Country (2013).

38. Michael Haneke

Writer | Caché

A true master of his craft, Michael Haneke is one of the greatest film artists working today and one who challenges his viewers each year and work goes by, with films that reflect real portions of life in realistic, disturbing and unforgettable ways. One of the most genuine filmmakers of the world ...

39. Alexandre Aja

Director | Haute tension

Alexandre Aja was born on August 7, 1978 in Paris, France. He is a producer and director, known for High Tension (2003), The Hills Have Eyes (2006) and Piranha 3D (2010). He is married to Laïla Marrakchi.

40. Brett Leonard

Director | Virtuosity

Brett Leonard is a film director.

Mr. Leonard has recently been named by The Producers Guild of America, in association with Variety Magazine, as one of its "Digital 25", recognizing the twenty five leading visionaries, innovators and producers who have made significant contributions to the ...

41. Fruit Chan

Director | Na yeh ling san, ngoh choh seung liu Wong Gok hoi mong Dai Bou dik hung Van

Fruit Chan was born on April 15, 1959 in Guangdong, China. He is an actor and director, known for The Midnight After (2014), Three Husbands (2018) and Made in Hong Kong (1997).

42. Park Chan-wook

Director | Oldeuboi

Park Chan-wook was born on August 23, 1963 in Seoul, South Korea. He is a producer and director, known for Oldboy (2003), The Handmaiden (2016) and Decision to Leave (2022). He is married to Eun-hee Kim. They have one child.

43. Lucifer Valentine

Director | Slow Torture Puke Chamber

Lucifer Valentine is known for Slow Torture Puke Chamber (2010), Slaughtered Vomit Dolls (2006) and Black Metal Veins (2012).

44. Matt Farnsworth

Actor | 7th Heaven

Matt Farnsworth is an accomplished American filmmaker and entrepreneur with a diverse range of talents spanning filmmaking, public speaking, marketing, and writing. He first gained recognition for his feature film "IOWA," which quickly became a cult classic. The film was an official selection at ...

45. Stanley Kubrick

Director | 2001: A Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Sadie Gertrude (Perveler) and Jacob Leonard Kubrick, a physician. His family were Jewish immigrants (from Austria, Romania, and Russia). Stanley was considered intelligent, despite poor grades at school. Hoping that a change of scenery would ...

46. Jason Eisener

Director | Hobo with a Shotgun

Canadian filmmaker Jason Eisener directed, co-wrote and edited the sci-fi horror adventure "Kids vs. Aliens," his second feature film, inspired by his own childhood and shot on location near his hometown of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He made his directorial debut with the 2011 Canuxploitation ...

47. Alexandre Bustillo

Writer | À l'intérieur

Alexandre Bustillo was born on August 10, 1975 in France. He is a writer and director, known for Inside (2007), The Deep House (2021) and Among the Living (2014).

48. Julien Maury

Writer | À l'intérieur

Julien Maury is known for Inside (2007), The Deep House (2021) and Among the Living (2014).

49. Shane Ryan-Reid

Producer | RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop

Shane Ryan-Reid began making films at the age of 7 after his father introduced him to video editing at the age of 5. He made action films in hopes to be like and appear in Jean-Claude Van Damme movies, but at the age of 14 he decided to delve into dramas and movies about troubled kids. Shane ...

50. Lars von Trier

Writer | Dancer in the Dark

Probably the most ambitious and visually distinctive filmmaker to emerge from Denmark since Carl Theodor Dreyer over 60 years earlier, Lars von Trier studied film at the Danish Film School and attracted international attention with his very first feature, The Element of Crime (1984). A highly ...

51. Harmony Korine

Director | Gummo

Harmony Korine was born in 1973 in Bolinas, California. His family moved to the east coast of the United States when he was five, and he spent his early years in Nashville, Tennessee, and New York. At the age of nineteen, he wrote the critically acclaimed screenplay Kids (1995) for director Larry ...

52. Jee-woon Kim

Director | Joheunnom nabbeunnom isanghannom

Kim Ji-woon was born in Seoul, South Korea. He began his career as an actor before becoming a stage director with productions such as "Hot Sea" in 1994 and "Movie, Movie" in 1995. He then began scripting for films, his first work, 97's "Wonderful Seasons" won Best Screenplay award at Korea's ...

53. Ken Russell

Director | The Devils

Ken Russell tried several professions before choosing to become a film director; he was a still photographer and a dancer and he even served in the Army, but film was his destiny. He began by making several short films which paved the way for his brilliant television films of the 1960s that are ...

54. Darren Lynn Bousman

Director | Repo! The Genetic Opera

Darren Lynn Bousman was born on January 11, 1979 in Overland Park, Kansas, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008), Saw II (2005) and Abattoir (2016). He has been married to Laura Bousman since January 2, 2010. They have two children.

55. James Wan

Writer | Saw

James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian film producer, screenwriter and film director of Malaysian Chinese descent. He is widely known for directing the horror film Saw (2004) and creating Billy the puppet. Wan has also directed Dead Silence (2007), Death Sentence (2007), Insidious (2010)...

56. György Pálfi

Director | Taxidermia

György Pálfi was born on April 11, 1974 in Budapest, Hungary. He is a director and writer, known for Taxidermia (2006), Hukkle (2002) and Free Fall (2014).

57. Maurice Devereaux

Director | End of the Line

Maurice Devereaux is known for End of the Line (2007), Blood Symbol (1992) and Lady of the Lake (1998).

58. Nick Palumbo

Director | Murder-Set-Pieces

Nick Palumbo attended film school in Los Angeles. He wrote, produced, and directed one of the most notorious horror cult films of all time; Murder-Set-Pieces. Shot on location in Las Vegas on 35mm and screened for its theatrical world premiere at the prestigious Sitges International Film Festival ...

59. Rob Zombie

Writer | Grindhouse

Robert Bartleh Cummings, more famously known as Rob Zombie, was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts on January 12, 1965. He is the oldest son of Louise and Robert Cummings, and has a younger brother, Michael David (aka Spider One; b. 1968), who is the lead singer of Powerman 5000. Growing up, Zombie ...

60. Clive Barker

Writer | Nightbreed

Born in Liverpool, England, UK, Clive Barker is an English writer, director, and visual artist, best known for his works in the genres of horror and dark fantasy. His mother Joan Ruby (née Revill) was a painter and school welfare officer and his father Leonard Barker was a personnel director for an...

61. Oliver Stone

Director | JFK

Oliver Stone has become known as a master of controversial subjects and a legendary film maker. His films are filled with a variety of film angles and styles, he pushes his actors to give Oscar-worthy performances, and despite his failures, has always returned to success.

William Oliver Stone was ...