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In the world of contemporary filmmaking, a fresh wave of artists is expanding the edges of the scary movie category. From social commentaries to intense thrillers, these eight filmmakers are crafting memorable adventures that reimagine terror for a modern generation.

Jordan Peele

The creator behind Get Out has created spring-loaded metaphors examining the risks, subtleties, and paradoxes of Black life in the America. Peele's impact is clear from the sheer number of imitators, with the best among them guided by the director through his studio.

Robert Eggers

A skilled explorer of the least known recesses of the bygone eras, this filmmaker of The Witch, The Lighthouse, and Nosferatu specializes in uncovering the foreign aspects of distant history and depicting them free from present-day alteration. Eggers' unholy historical explorations open portals to madness, desire, and elevation.

Voice of a Generation

The contemporary filmmaker with their pulse closest to the generation’s heartbeat, as aware of the isolation, and meaningful bonds, of an online-focused age. Filtering ideas of connection and popular media through trans experiences and the history of corporeal fear, creations such as I Saw the TV Glow delve into the strangest fissures of the identity.

Damien Leone

Leone’s three-part saga of Terrifier features is this century’s great scary movie success story, testament that word of mouth can still produce true hits from well-executed microbudget bloodshed. Beyond the new horror villain, deranged icon Art the Clown is evidence that the audience's thirst for violence – excessive, comical, unrestrained – remains insatiable.

Blurrer of Realities

Blurring the boundary between hallucination and the real world, with her works Saint Maud and Love Lies Bleeding, The director has assembled a collection of intense women compelled to the edge by the intensity of their dedication to twisted values. Given to surreal climaxes that challenge straightforward readings into question, her movies remain – though less like a pebble in your shoe than a spike in your foot.

Danny and Michael Philippou

From the primordial ooze of YouTube came a pair of siblings conquering the cinema landscape with a zeitgeisty style of provocation. With their works Talk to Me and Bring Her Back, they staged atrocity exhibitions in between realistic portrayals of how current teenagers act. Film students pray to them as if they’re recently made saints.

Arthouse Horror Pioneer

The director's polished, metaphor-forward blend of scary movie conventions with arthouse flourishes won her a Palme d’Or, the historic moment the event awarded its top prize to a terror movie. Holding the blood-soaked flag of the New French Extremity, the Titane filmmaker delves into the appetites of the disconnected to spectacular outcome.

Na Hong-jin

One of the most exciting talents to emerge from the Asian continent in recent years, the Korean filmmaker has directed one gem of mythical fear (The Wailing) and collaborated on another (The Medium). Arranged with total assurance and precise atmosphere crafting, his work transforms Hollywood templates into terrifying, original forms.

These eight filmmakers represent the wide-ranging and creative future of scary cinema, pushing the limits of dread into new territories.