Horror has always been considered a B-movie genre. There’s a misconception that to find powerful performances, sharp storytelling, and impactful visuals, audiences should avoid horror movies and stick to awards-baiting dramas. But from George A. Romero to Jordan Peele, some of the most insightful social commentary in film history has been delivered through the prism of horror.
In recent years, as horror films have become more prevalent on the arthouse scene, the genre has started getting a little more respect. But critics have still felt the need to coin the term “elevated horror” to make themselves feel better about praising scary movies.
10 James Wan – The Conjuring (86%)
Although he’s been branching out into different genres recently with the action blockbuster Furious 7 and the superhero epic Aquaman, James Wan’s roots are firmly in the horror genre.
After making a name for himself with the original Saw movie (which is much smarter and better-crafted than its many lazy sequels), Wan launched arguably the most successful non-Marvel cinematic universe with 2013’s The Conjuring.
9 Sam Raimi – TIE: The Evil Dead & Evil Dead II (95%)
Sam Raimi broke new ground for independent horror cinema with his breakout hit The Evil Dead. The movie created the cabin-in-the-woods trope that’s since been done to death and, more importantly, inspired a whole generation of budding horror filmmakers to scrape together a shoestring budget and shoot their own features.
After becoming an overnight sensation with The Evil Dead, Raimi helmed a sequel, Evil Dead II, that daringly remade the original while switching genres to horror-comedy. Raimi has since brought his pitch-black comic sensibility to the underrated Drag Me to Hell and filled his awesome Spider-Man trilogy with horror imagery.
8 Guillermo Del Toro – Pan’s Labyrinth (95%)
Guillermo del Toro’s ability to push social commentary through genre stories is unparalleled, whether he’s tackling the bleak realities of Francoist Spain through fairy tales in his most-acclaimed movie Pan’s Labyrinth or comparing the otherization of an Amazonian fish-man to ‘50s-era prejudice in America in his Best Picture winner The Shape of Water.
Del Toro is also a highly visual director, bringing the worlds of his movies to life with unforgettable cinematic imagery, like the sumptuous gothic aesthetic of Crimson Peak.
7 John Carpenter – Assault On Precinct 13 (98%)
Although his highest-rated work on Rotten Tomatoes, Assault on Precinct 13, is actually an action thriller that recontextualizes the story of the Alamo in a modern police station, John Carpenter is one of the most legendary names in horror cinema. His second highest-rated movie, Halloween, is a minimalist masterpiece of horror that set the template for the modern slasher.
In addition to helming terrifying horror movies like The Thing and Christine, Carpenter has mastered a few other genres: he nailed dystopian sci-fi with Escape from New York, martial arts action comedy with Big Trouble in Little China, and allegorical satire with They Live.
6 Tobe Hooper – The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (89%)
Although it’s remembered as one of the grisliest horror movies ever made, Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is actually relatively bloodless. Hooper didn’t need gore to scare his audience; instead, he created a palpable sense of dread around Leatherface that was much more effective than any blood-soaked dismemberment scene would’ve been.
And launching the Texas Chainsaw franchise is hardly Hooper’s only contribution to the horror genre. He also helmed Poltergeist and the fantastic TV adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot.
5 Mario Bava – Black Sunday (86%)
One of Italy’s most celebrated horror filmmakers, Mario Bava is credited with creating the “giallo” genre and has been named an influence by such revered directors as Federico Fellini, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Ford Coppola. Bava’s highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes is Black Sunday, about a witch who was burned at the stake returning from the dead to exact revenge.
Bava is also the filmmaker behind such twisted gems as Twitch of the Death Nerve and Blood and Black Lace, and directed Black Sabbath, the anthology movie that inspired the rock band of the same name and the structure of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.
4 Jordan Peele – Get Out (98%)
Apparently dissatisfied with just being praised as one of the all-time greatest sketch comics, Jordan Peele turned his sights to horror cinema and, with just two features under his belt, is already being celebrated as one of the all-time greatest horror filmmakers.
While Peele’s sophomore directorial effort Us was filled with flourishes of satirical genius and fiercely original scares, he set a very high bar with his Oscar-winning debut, Get Out, which changed the global conversation surrounding race and singlehandedly revived the “social thriller” genre.
3 Wes Craven – A Nightmare On Elm Street (94%)
Wes Craven is so inextricably tied to the horror genre that he laid the groundwork for a lot of its tropes in early works like The Hills Have Eyes and Last House on the Left and ended up deconstructing those tropes with meta later works like Scream and New Nightmare.
Craven’s top-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes is, unsurprisingly, A Nightmare on Elm Street, the movie that put him on the map and one of the most inventive, original horror films ever made.
2 George A. Romero – Night Of The Living Dead (97%)
While he’s best known for creating the modern zombie, George A. Romero’s influence on horror cinema isn’t confined to that one subgenre. Romero was one of the horror genre’s greatest satirists. He used horror tropes and imagery to convey social commentary.
Romero reflected racism in Night of the Living Dead, consumerism in Dawn of the Dead, biological warfare in The Crazies, alienation in Martin, and a pessimistic view of humanity in Monkey Shines.
1 Dario Argento – Deep Red (96%)
Hailing from the Italian “giallo” subgenre of horror cinema that blended crimes and mysteries with the macabre, Dario Argento is one of the true masters of horror. His most famous movie is Suspiria (sitting in second place on Rotten Tomatoes with a 93% rating), a blood-drenched opera of paranoia and paranormal activity, but he has a ton of masterpieces under his belt.
His top-rated movie on the Tomatometer is Deep Red, which tells the story of a medium and a pianist investigating a string of murders perpetrated by a killer in black leather gloves.
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