The Best Horror Movie Directors

From Alexandre Aja to Rob Zombie, this is our definitive A to Z of horror movie directors. These are the auteurs that have left their bloody fingerprints all over horror, whether that be James Whale pioneering the genre with Frankenstein in the 30’s or James Wan creating a succession of terrifying blockbusters in the 21st century.

At HorrorRated we deeply understand how these maestros of the macabre have influenced horror movies over the years and have catalogued individual filmographies for each of them.

So, if you are looking to learn from the giallo guile of Dario Argento or barf at Tom Six’s fetid imagination, we’ve listed all of the notable horror movie directors for your convenience right here

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John Carpenter

There is no denying that John Carpenter is a true Master of Horror. With classics like Halloween (1978) and The Thing (1982) - to mention just a few - to his name, Carpenter has left an indelible mark on the horror genre. He first proved his worth on Dark Star (1974). Working with a shoestring budget, Carpenter took on directing, producing and writing duties as well as composing the score - something he would continue to do for many of his movies. [read more...]

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Wes Craven

The late, great Wes Craven is unique amongst our Masters of Horror in that he not only reinvented the horror genre once, but twice. First with A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and again over a decade later with Scream (1996) and its sequels. However, Craven's career as a horror film auteur began much earlier than this. [read more...]

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George A. Romero

In 1968, with a paltry budget, George A. Romero changed the horror genre forever. He gave us zombies. Night of the Living Dead (1968) was unlike anything that had come before and cemented Romero’s name in the annals of horror forevermore. Initially the film received a lukewarm reaction and commercially was far from successful. However, negative press calling for an all out ban on the movie due it its graphic content ironically boosted the film's popularity which has led it to become one of the most important and groundbreaking horror films in cinematic history. [read more...]

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Sam Raimi

Despite his wide-ranging directorial efforts taking on the western, superhero and crime genres, Sam Raimi has been, and probably always will be, best known for his contribution to the horror genre. Out of all our Masters of Horror, Raimi is the director with the smallest number of horror flicks to their name. But this makes him no less significant nor important than his peers, in fact, perhaps quite the opposite. [read more...]

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David Cronenberg

David Cronenberg made his name in the horror genre early on in his career with low budget titles such as Shivers (1975), Rabid (1977) and The Brood (1979). His early offerings were critically and commercially well received and paved the way for what would become one of the defining sub-genres of the '80s: Body Horror. A recurring theme in all of Cronenberg’s horror movies: the transformation, degeneration, mutilation and disfigurement of the human body in some form or another. Nice, right? Well, if you’re weak-stomached you might want to try and just suck it up otherwise you’ll be missing out on some of the smartest, most influential and undeniably twisted films in the annals of horror history. [read more...]