My Top 5 Favourite Horror Directors!

Hi all!

Today I’m back to share my top 5 favourite horror directors of all time. These supremely talented individuals are well-known for creating some of the best spooky films in history. Well, in my opinion anyway. Before we begin, I want to give a honourable mention to Jennifer Kent, who directed The Babadook. Unfortunately my list only contains males. I would love to have included females, but there aren’t many with multiple titles to their name. I also didn’t include Andy Muschietti, who directed IT, because he hasn’t done anything else I’ve watched. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

1.) James Wan 

Right at the top of my list is Melbourne based, horror extraordinaire: James Wan. This genius of a man is responsible for the beloved Saw franchise, Insidious series (which I ranked here), Conjuring movies, Dead Silence (one of my favourite doll movies) and so much more. These are some of my most highly rated films, so it’s no secret why James is such a winner in my eyes. If you’re not into horror, James has also directed and produced movies like: Aquaman, Furious 7, Death Sentence and Mortal Kombat. I’ve seen 23 of his works and will continue to support him for the rest of my days. Stay tuned for the I Know What You Did Last Summer television series next month on Amazon Prime, for which he is an executive producer. At the moment, his latest film Malignant is getting lots of mixed reviews. I’m looking forward to making up my own mind about it.

2.) Leigh Whannell 

Following on from James Wan, is his best friend Leigh Whannell (also from Melbourne!). How great is it that two of my favourite horror directors live in the same city as me? Leigh has co-directed/written screenplays for Saw 1-3, Insidious 1-4 and Dead Silence. He has solely directed Insidious 3 and The Invisible Man, which is on my top 20 list of best horror movies of all time. Also, unlike James, Leigh starred in the first Saw film (as Adam Stanheight) and Insidious 1-3 (as Specs). My best friend Shannon is madly in love with him. I had to mention that 🙂

3.) Jeffrey Reddick 

Okay, so technically Jeffrey didn’t direct the Final Destination franchise but he created them and worked as an executive producer on Final Destination 2. I recently ranked all of the movies, which you can check out here. I also posted my 5 favourite deaths from the films, which you can check out here. If it wasn’t for him, this beloved series wouldn’t exist. Did you know, the concept of Final Destination was originally going to be a storyline on The X-Files? I’m thankful it became so much more than that.

4.) Rob Zombie 

Eccentric and quirky Rob Zombie is a very misunderstood and underappreciated horror director. He’s definitely not to everybody’s taste but I love him. If you sit down to watch a Rob Zombie film, prepare for things to get pretty gritty and wild. He’s best known for his House of 1000 Corpses franchise, which includes the former title, The Devil’s Rejects and 3 From Hell. His wife, Sheri Moon, features in the trilogy as Baby and is my favourite character. She also stars in 31, which is on my top 20 best horror movies list. More of that in a future post. Zombie is also known for his Halloween remake (which I loved), The Lords of Salem and his upcoming adaptation of The Munsters. Not only that, his music is awesome! My two favourite songs of his are: Dragula and Pussy Liquor. 

5.) Jordan Peele 

Last but certainly not least, I have to mention Jordan Peele, who has taken the horror world by storm with his excellent films. I will literally watch anything he releases. Get Out is on my top 10 best horror movies list and I thoroughly enjoyed Us. I’m dying to see the Candyman remake for which he wrote and produced as well. Unfortunately Melbourne is still in lockdown so I wasn’t able to see it in cinemas. In July 2022, his latest flick, Nope, will hit theatres. I’m not sure what it’s about but you best believe I’ll be seeing it! He also developed and narrated the Twilight Zone revival that aired in 2019. Keep promoting and amplifying POC directors!

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this post. Did you agree with my picks? What are some of your favourite horror movie directors and why? Please include females if you can.

Peace & Love xoxo