7 Respected Directors Who Did Horror
Hitchcock, Kubrick and co get bloody…
BY Jul 3rd 2009 10:10AMFILED UNDER: Features
User Comments (2)
Brian De Palma
The Reputation: These days, we know him as a director of all genres – though he does tend to enjoy thrillers and dramas more than other movies.
But back in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, he was better known as a comedy director (particularly after 1969’s The Wedding Party).
The Horror Flick: Sisters (1973)/Carrie (1976)
Carrie is, of course, the much more famous entry on De Palma’s horror resume, with the chilling tale of a mousy young girl (Sissy Spacek) pushed too far on prom night, who uses her burgeoning psychic powers to strike back at the school bullies.
Sisters, which sees Margot Kidder playing twins, is the tale of two siblings separated after years of living together – and the terrifying consequences for everyone around them.
The Signature Move: De Palma's movies are usually packed full of symbolism, and layered visual style, and in Carrie it's unusually overt - blood, anyone?
He's also known for his homaging of other directors - Hitchcock is all over both Sisters and Carrie.
The Critical Response: Sisters had a mixed reaction – Roger Ebert, though, seemed taken with it. “The movie works not so much because of the twists and turns and complications as because of the performances.”
But it’s largely been seen as a B-Movie.
Carrie, on the other hand was a sensation, grabbing massively positive reviews, with New West magazine proclaiming: “It's a horror classic, and years from now it will still be written and argued about, and it will still be scaring the daylights out of new generations of moviegoers.”
Next: Kenneth Branagh
Print Comments (2)
1: ebrown2112 says
Doesn't Scorsese's "Cape Fear" count? I guess it's too early to consider "Shutter Island".
Posted: Jul 3rd 2009 // 2:09PMAlert a moderator
2: RastaFresh says
I guess Scorsese's "Cape Fear" is not included because it's a remake. The original, with Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum, was made in 1962 by J. Lee Thompson. I've seen "Shutter Island" trailer. Seams excellent!
You need to log in or register to post comments