Most influential director

[avenger00soul]

Who is the most influential horror director of all time? Someone who consistently works in the genre?

[Krzychu]

most influental director has ever exist is Alfred Hitchcock.He is favourite on my roll of honour. Apart him I will suggested following director: John Carpenter (70's and 80's) Clive Barker (Immortal !!).

[avenger00soul]

I knew someone was going to say Hitchcock so I should have been more specific when I said "someone who consistently works in the genre." Hitch is great, but he's only made two horror films. Carpenter and Barker are good answers though. I wish Barker would direct another film.

[Sean1605]

Wes Craven. Like his recent work or not, he made a lot of really influential horror movies.

Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, and Nightmare on Elm Street are all genre classics.


Tobe Hooper is another, he has done many great films but most people only recognize Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

[SCREAMERatorX]

Stan Winston,, the way he brings characters(creatures) ALIVE!

Wes and David Cronenberg, also major influential.


Tarantino has, no doubt, been the biggest mediaProduction influence 4 me, personally.
followed by Rodriguez.......
3 guesses 4 naming (one of my) favorite films.??... not hard 2pick..
The directorial combination of these 2men, is pure creative guiniess.....clooney played a nice part aswell.

[avenger00soul]

Originally posted by Sean1605
Wes Craven. Like his recent work or not, he made a lot of really influential horror movies.

Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, and Nightmare on Elm Street are all genre classics.


Tobe Hooper is another, he has done many great films but most people only recognize Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

I am going to have to agree with you on Craven. Like him or not, he's a damn genius.

[abbycomix]

Maybe not as influential as he was ground-breaking, I think Herschell Gordon Lewis 'the godfather of gore' deserves some mention. From what I understand he made the first totally bloody and gory films and some other interesting exploitation flicks. My personal fave by him is 'she devils on wheels'. (my band even covered the theme song!)

Here's a link with info on him:

http://www.phillyburbs.com/halloween2001/hgl/

[avenger00soul]

Originally posted by abbycomix
Maybe not as influential as he was ground-breaking, I think Herschell Gordon Lewis 'the godfather of gore' deserves some mention. From what I understand he made the first totally bloody and gory films and some other interesting exploitation flicks. My personal fave by him is 'she devils on wheels'. (my band even covered the theme song!)

Here's a link with info on him:

http://www.phillyburbs.com/halloween2001/hgl/

HGL just made his big comeback didn't he? Like his first film in 30 years?

[abbycomix]

Looks like Blood feast 2 is his latest project but I don't think it's been officially released yet, but I could be wrong. I also found his official web site:
http://www.herschellgordonlewis.com

[Chillbaca]

I agree with Carpenter. He has a lot of misses, but it's always pretty interesting and he's got three or four absolute classics. Halloween is still pretty untouchable as "the" slasher film.

Can anybody out there give me a list of newer directors of horror to watch? I'm interested in guys who are doing stuff that I may have missed but that definitely have a style.

An example of what I'm talking about is I heard that film "Wendigo" was good, but I don't know anything about it. Who did that? Are there any other favorites of up and comer horror directors, or forgotten great directors that are still working?

[ChaoticMinister]

For me some of the more influential directors would be Ridley Scott, Robert Rodriguez, Sam Raimi, Steven Soderbergh, Brett Ratner... Just a few that come to mind...

*FADE OUT*

[Ritualistic]

wes craven , clive barker and Tobe hooper are my picks

[Killer Clown#1]

He did'int direct a lot of horror movies but my pick is Sam Raimi, I love all of the movies he does.

[Ritualistic]

Originally posted by Killer Clown#1
He did'int direct a lot of horror movies but my pick is Sam Raimi, I love all of the movies he does.

we cant leave out the evil dead master...:)

[TorJohnsonIII]

I would have to go with George Romero by a landslide. Night of the living dead sparked so many great horror movies, along with his others, like Dawn and Day of the dead, the crazies, and so on.

[avenger00soul]

Originally posted by TorJohnsonIII
I would have to go with George Romero by a landslide. Night of the living dead sparked so many great horror movies, along with his others, like Dawn and Day of the dead, the crazies, and so on.

The Crazies is just too damn underrated. I love that movie.

[ShamSham04]

Originally posted by TorJohnsonIII
I would have to go with George Romero by a landslide. Night of the living dead sparked so many great horror movies, along with his others, like Dawn and Day of the dead, the crazies, and so on.

Gonna have to agree with you on Romero. He's an excellent director. Creepshow and Night Of The Living Dead are my favorite's from him.

After Romero, I'd pick either Craven or Carpenter.

[White Rabbit]

For me it would be John Carpenter and Peter Jackson. Gory stuff.

[MovieMan]

I must push Sam Raimi... I think every modern horror movie owes a debt to the Evil Dead series. Sam redifined everything we expect from horror films. Also lets not forget Peter Jackson's early works...

[grimbrotherjake]

Lloyd Kaufman hands down. The only director with character... I mean the guy is an icon. And he does so much for the independent filmmaking community as well, as he appears in numerous indie horror flicks in cameos or whatnot. I bought the special edition "Nikos The Impaler" DVD for Lloyds appearance alone and found a fantastic director in Andreas Schnaas, whose work I've been collecting as well now. I one day hope to have lloyd in one of my projects.

And to make note on Blood Feast 2, I saw a screening of it last March and it was very entertaining. I heard theres plans on releasing a DVD soon so keep your eyes open... its worth a watch and if sales are high it might persuade ol' H.G. to make more like it...

[Ritualistic]

Originally posted by grimbrotherjake
Lloyd Kaufman hands down. The only director with character... I mean the guy is an icon. And he does so much for the independent filmmaking community as well, as he appears in numerous indie horror flicks in cameos or whatnot. I bought the special edition "Nikos The Impaler" DVD for Lloyds appearance alone and found a fantastic director in Andreas Schnaas, whose work I've been collecting as well now. I one day hope to have lloyd in one of my projects.

And to make note on Blood Feast 2, I saw a screening of it last March and it was very entertaining. I heard theres plans on releasing a DVD soon so keep your eyes open... its worth a watch and if sales are high it might persuade ol' H.G. to make more like it...

i am a big troma fan... I have so many of Llyods movies it is not even funny... I love igor and the lunatics...

and I cant believe someone else besides me on this forum knows who Andreas is....

[avenger00soul]

Originally posted by Ritualistic
i am a big troma fan... I have so many of Llyods movies it is not even funny... I love igor and the lunatics...

and I cant believe someone else besides me on this forum knows who Andreas is....

You should always believe there is at least one other person that knows obscure horror peeps.:D

[Ritualistic]

Originally posted by avenger00soul
You should always believe there is at least one other person that knows obscure horror peeps.:D
gore uppers on that one...

[Keyser_Soze]

For me #1 is Carpenter. The absolute best.

Then it's Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper.

They are some of my Heros.

[Dr.Kelvinstein]

If we're talking influential, then it would have to be Romero. The modern horror film was born in '68, no ifs ands or buts about it. Herscial Gordon Lewis might have invented the gore movie five years earlier, but it doesn't matter because only a handful of people saw Blood Feast in its initial run. So, the question would be: who influenced Romero...

Night was based on the Richard Matheson novel "I Am Legend" which Romero couldn't afford the rights to. The book had been filmed 4 yrs earlier by Sidney Salkow under the the title Last Man On Earth, but Romero says he had never seen it. Not only do I believe him, I envy him. Last Man was crap, and I love Vincent Price as much as the next guy.

Romero not only says Hitchcock is his favorite director but he had already worked with Hitch as an assistant when he made Night. Plus, visually, Psycho is obviously a big influence. So...who influenced Psycho?

Simple. That would be Clouzot's Diabolique. The critics at the time said hitch had lost the edge and Clouzot was the suspense master to watch. In response, Hitch decided to do a small, shocking, unconventional black-and-white shocker.

So, who influenced Clouzot? And now we're back in German expressionalism. So, let's keep it simple and say George A Romero is heap big dog of the horror movie.

[cjbguy87]

Hitchcock made only 2 movies!!!!!Say what?? Are you forgetting about The Birds, Psycho, Rear Window, North by Northwest, and Vertigo to name a few. Psycho is the first real horror movie that sparked a national obsession with the creepy and bloody. He is by far the most influential director in the history of horror. Hitchcock is the Father of Horror.

[avenger00soul]

Originally posted by cjbguy87
Hitchcock made only 2 movies!!!!!Say what??

He only made 2 HORROR movies. Psycho and The Birds. The rest are suspense.

Hitch is the father of suspense.

[cjbguy87]

Good point Avenger. I sometimes blur the line between suspense and horror, but I still think Psycho is the most influential horror movie ever so that would make Hitchcock the most influential director.

[avenger00soul]

Originally posted by cjbguy87
Good point Avenger. I sometimes blur the line between suspense and horror, but I still think Psycho is the most influential horror movie ever so that would make Hitchcock the most influential director.

Oh, no doubt is Psycho one of the greatest horror films ever made. I like the point that Dr. K makes though. You can keep tracing it back....

[Leslie Daher]

wes craven has only made one film that i consider to be genius and that's nightmare. i absolutely was not a fan of last house on the left though i can give it it's props...it helped to create a genre but IMO wes craven has a tendency to keep re-making the same film over and over and over again. he seems to be idea bankrupt.

to name the most influential director of all time is tough b/c as directors go everyone has their hits and misses. i personally love john carpenter. i get his style and agree w/ a lot of his points of view. overall, i tend to like his pictures more than the others out there. he seems to have more hits than misses for me.

[KRUGERKID13]

Tarantino is my favorite director but i dont consider him as horror. So as for horror director its Wes craven hands down.

Then its probably Carpanter, Hooper, and more recently Ronny Yu.

[Elvis_Christ]

Hitchcock for pyscho
Romero for NOTLD
Carpenter for Halloween/The Thing
Tobe Hooper for TCM
H.G Lewis for Blood Feast
William Lustig for Maniac

[Maerlyn]

Sam Raimi: for esp. Evil Dead 2
Romero: Night of the Living Dead
Peter Jackson: DeadAlive
Wes Craven; just for Nightmare on Elm Street
Clive Barker: Hellraiser
Brian Yuzna: Necronomicon, Dagon (with Julio Fernandez)
John Carpenter: Halloween

And of course Toby Hooper; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

[Cortonesi]

mmm...

Frank Henenlotter for Brain demage & Basket case
Carpenter for The Thing
Cronenberg for Videodrome
Aronowsky for Pigreco
Romero for Zombi
W. Lustig for Maniac
Deodato for Cannibal Holocaust
Hopper for TCM
Fulci for All...

Francesco Cortonesi

[Elvis_Christ]

Originally posted by Cortonesi
Frank Henenlotter for Brain demage & Basket case


He's awesome. All his films rank among my favorites. Brain Damage is a brilliant/offbeat film. NY film at its finest.

[AmericanManiac]

Please bear with me my reply is long but very helpful !

Romero not only says Hitchcock is his favorite director but he had already worked with Hitch as an assistant when he made Night. Plus, visually, Psycho is obviously a big influence. So...who influenced Psycho?

Robert Bloch influenced Psycho. For those of you who don't know who Robert Bloch is He received encouragement from his pen pal and muse, who ? Horrormeister H. P. Lovecraft.He specialized in tales whos macabre twisted endings make them read like extended sick jokes. Psychopathic killers figure prominentle in his fiction. One of his best-known stories is titled, " Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper ."

In 1957, Bloch- who had relocated to Los Angeles to wrtie screenplays-moved back to Wisconsin so that his ailing wife could be close to her parents. He was living in the town of Weyauwega, less that thirty miles from Plainfeild. Wait didn't something happen in Plainfeild, Wisconsin ?? Oh yeah thats right Police broke into the tumbledown farmhouse of a middle-aged bachelor named EDWARD GEIN. Fascinated by the incredbile circumstances of the Gein affair-particularly by the fact ( as he later put it) " that a killer with perverted appetites could flourish almost openly in a small rural community where everybody prides himself on knowing everybody else's business"- Bloch hit the idea for a horror novel. The result was his 1960 thriller, Pyscho. However when he died, on September 23, 1994, the headlines of his obituaries invariably identifed him as the Author of Psycho. As interpreted by Hitchcock, this pioneering piece of serial-killer literature set the pattern for all cinematic slasher fantasies of the past 45 years.

So looks like all slasher films can give a thank you to Mr. Ed Gein, if it wasn't for you ED this probley would never be possible !

[Dar]{eyes]

What's about Dario Argento ? I think he made somes kickass horror movies like Suspiria or Opera

[The STE]

F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu and Faust)
Fritz Lang (M)
Robert Weine (Cabinet of Dr. Caligari)
Romero (*Dead trilogy)

[bwind22]

Hitchcock
Romero
Fulci
Craven
Carpenter

[AmericanManiac]

For your hitchcock lovers I thinks its the TCM channel this week they will be playing all of his movies on there.

[Zero]

Originally posted by Elvis_Christ
Hitchcock for pyscho
Romero for NOTLD
Carpenter for Halloween/The Thing
Tobe Hooper for TCM
H.G Lewis for Blood Feast
William Lustig for Maniac

Thats funny - I read a pretty cool book on the history of horror films - Projected Fears - and the guy lists the ten most influential horror films - three of which are on your list.

But, if the book is right, then the most influential director would be Todd Browning who made Dracula which, according to this guy, is the first real American horror film.

(but, I'm more tempted to go with Hitchcock)