Genre: Key Directors

There are many important directors who have worked in the slasher genre. Horror film directors who have a distinguishable style and deal with social issues are known as horror auteurs.


Some key directors include:


Wes Craven:  Wes Craven has played an important role in the development of the horror genre. His works include A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Hills Have Eyes and the Scream franchise. Like most directors that I mention in this post, his work explores the nature of reality and his style is distinctive to him, so he is considered by many to be a horror auteur. 

Talking about horror movies: "It's like boot camp for the psyche. In real life, human beings are packaged in the flimsiest of packages, threatened by real and sometimes horrifying dangers, events like Columbine. But the narrative form puts these fears into a manageable series of events. It gives us a way of thinking rationally about our fears."

Alfred Hitchcock:  Alfred Hitchcock is said to have started the slasher genre with his film Psycho in 1960. Initially reviews for this film were mixed, however it is now considered a classic and by some, the greatest slasher film of all time. Hitchcock was already a well established director prior to Psycho, with films such as Rear Window and North by Northwest. Many would argue that he is the greatest ever director.

"There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it."

 John Carpenter:  John Carpenter has worked on many different genre films and has taken different roles in the production process, however his most notable film is Halloween, which he directed. Other horror films he has directed include 'The Fog' and 'The Thing', which were both quite well received. He has become known as the 'Master of Horror', after his Masters of Horror TV series, which ran for two seasons.

"Movies are pieces of film stuck together in a certain rhythm, an absolute beat, like a musical composition. The rhythm you create affects the audience."

Michael Powell:  Michael Powell only ever directed one slasher film, and it was one that was so controversial that it almost ended his career as a successful film director. The film was Peeping Tom and was the first slasher film to ever be released (soon followed by Psycho). The film explored the voyeurism of a killer. At the time this was something that hadn't been done before and was shocking to the audience. I think that this film alone has been one of the most important in establishing expectations of slasher films.

"The great innovators have always been fearless"