“My view of the world is ironic, bitter, acid…” Son of a surgeon, De Palma is often accused of favouring technique over characters. His movies spark violence-against-women debates.
And he’s accused of superficiality because he reworks Hitchcock with added irony and gore.
But few sculpt suspense like De Palma, and Carrie – its feverish style balanced by Sissy Spacek’s tender, heart-rending performance – guarantees him a place on any list.
Must See: Carrie (1976), Dressed To Kill (1980)
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Comments
glegs
Oct 26th 2011, 7:56
You guys redeem a few of your sillier lists with this actually very good list. I wouldn't at all consider Haneke or Scorsese "horror directors" though. As for the question I would say Cronenberg is the master of horror. Would have been nice to see Takashi Miike get a mention as well.
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Jeffbiscuits
Oct 26th 2011, 9:06
As much as I would've loved to see Stuart Gordon, Larry Cohen or Sam Raimi in here, I'm glad the list generally stayed away from schlocky or slapstick comedy horror. Maybe Clive Barker is a notable omission though. A couple of his directorial efforts are among my favourite horror films.
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Hadouken76
Oct 26th 2011, 10:00
20 greatest? Out of 21? Who's letting the side down then? Wes Cravens' People under the stairs deserves a mention, a better picture than any of the Scream sequels. Polanksi may have been touched by evil, but it didnt stop him molesting a 13yr old girl. As he namesake states : "Do not be over come with evil, but overcome evil with good - Romans Chapter: 12 Verse :21.
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MrScary
Oct 26th 2011, 18:07
I'm not sure how they are viewed in the UK, but in the USA "horror" and "thriller" are two different genres. Scorsese, DePalma, and Lynch, while they all are great directors, do not make "horror" movies. The films you used as their examples are thrillers.
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Mings
Oct 26th 2011, 18:30
No Paul W.S Anderson? No Uwe Boll? What is the world coming to...
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scuzz80
Oct 26th 2011, 21:11
Great list, thank Christ Carpenter was in there and you even acknowledged his underrated jems in particular Christine and In the Mouth of Madness. I would love to see an alternative list of lesser known directors like Richard Franklin, yeah he's not a star but he's a genre star, the three titles Patrick, Road Games and Psycho 2 are a fantastic achievement. I know this is a stretch being that he only made the one film but Charles Laughton, Night of the Hunter being one of the all times greats. Fulci is my guilty pleasure, nobody ever seems to own up to loving his films, yes he made some extremely poor films but he also gave us Zombie Flesh Eaters, Don't Torture the little Duckings, The Beyond and City of the Living Dead and they can stand up and be counted on any list.
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aragorn01
Oct 27th 2011, 5:04
it's pretty ironic that TWO of the best horror movies weren't made by any of these so-called HORROR directors... THE EXORCIST...argua- naaaahhh....it's definitely a FACT that it IS the scariest hor- no, the scariest FILM of all time. it was directed by William Friedkin, the same guy who also revolutionized "cop" movies with his oscar-winning The French Connection. Second, THE OMEN. Richard Donner (better known for Superman the Movie and all those Lethal Weapon flicks) did that one..and boy, he just knew how to scare the pants outta lot of people..especially those with small children. it makes one wonder...is my kid...??? lol but, yeah...those two films i think remain to be the top scariest films of all time for me...and many others, if not everybody. Other worthy mentions are Jonathan Demme for his 1991's The Silence of the Lambs and...a guy who did a sequel to the aforementioned hannibal lecter story, Ridley Scott, who did 2001's Hannibal. however, he SHOULD be mentioned on the list for his truly terrifying work, in Alien (79). i think that and Jaws are the scariest monster movies ever.
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Igrayne
Oct 27th 2011, 22:26
Why do Americans always say "I do not know how they do it in Britain" why is geographical location important and why does being British or bloody American mean you can identify the difference between thriller and horror? Your magazine Empire talks more c**p than anyone. Total film is far from perfect (Joe Dante directed Gremlins) but it has nothing to do with them being British, you lot call c**p like Twilight a horror. Scorsese is not a horror director and Roman Polanski is probably the greatest director of all time.
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jws1272
Oct 28th 2011, 12:28
I wouldn't have had Scorsese on the list either. I know you had Mario Bava on the list, but I was surprised to see one of other Italian masters excluded.......Lucio Fulci. Also, excluded: the man who pretty much invented the splatter/gore subgenre of horror back in the early 60's, and, might I add, a great person to meet & listen to talk about the movie business: Herschell Gordon Lewis. (He was the "guest of honor" at Oct 2010 Cinema Wasteland, here in Cleveland, OH, USA) This list wasn't that well done. Just one film fan's opinion.
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mingfilm
Oct 28th 2011, 21:10
Aw come'on, no NAKED LUNCH? Have you seen the typewriter? HAVE YOU SEEN IT?
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MrScary
Oct 31st 2011, 16:52
Igrayne, It's not about geography, it's about the culture. Just reading your post, we Americans do not use the word "bloody", and your use of the word "lot", although understandable, is not used by Americans as you did. Another example would be the word "bugger", which in Four Weddings and A Funeral was changed to "f**k" in the US. And yes, things are different between UK and US cinema. The ratings are different (we have PG, PG-13, R, etc., yours is done by age I believe), and the censors are different, which is why there are different versions of the same film in each country. It was an honest question, no need to get your knickers in a bunch. Or as we say in the US...gof**kyourself.
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FBJJakob
Nov 1st 2011, 15:47
Sam Raimi?
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FBJJakob
Nov 1st 2011, 15:47
Sam Raimi?
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QuietLife
Nov 1st 2011, 23:46
I like Mings' request for Anderson/Boll content. Truly more horrific than most serial killer nightmares... What if W.S remade the whole Romero collection?... oh no, he already has (tried)...!! RUN!!
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kimmicub
May 5th 2012, 3:15
Um....where is Stanley Kubrick???
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