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Across the world of contemporary movie-making, a fresh generation of artists is pushing the boundaries of the horror genre. Ranging from cultural allegories to intense thrillers, these 8 directors are crafting lasting experiences that redefine dread for a modern age.

The Mind Behind Get Out

The filmmaker of Get Out has created sharp symbolic tales examining the perils, complexities, and conflicts of Black existence in the US. His influence is obvious from the sheer number of copycats, with the finest among them nurtured by the filmmaker via his Monkeypaw.

Robert Eggers

An expert explorer of the most obscure corners of the past, this director of The Witch, The Lighthouse, and Nosferatu excels in finding the foreign aspects of past epochs and showing them free from present-day reinterpretation. His sinister time machines open portals to psychosis, longing, and elevation.

Jane Schoenbrun

The modern filmmaker with their finger closest to the younger heartbeat, as aware of the isolation, and significant relationships, of an online-focused era. Channeling ideas of relationships and mainstream entertainment via trans experiences and the history of body horror, creations such as I Saw the TV Glow explore the eeriest cracks of the identity.

Gore Maestro

The director's series of Terrifier films is this century’s major horror achievement, evidence that word of mouth can still generate true successes from well-executed low-budget gore. Not just the modern horror villain, deranged icon Art the Clown is confirmation that the public’s thirst for blood – gratuitous, humorous, unrestrained – remains unslakable.

Rose Glass

Merging the line between fantasy and reality, with her films Saint Maud and Love Lies Bleeding, The director has created a portfolio of driven women compelled to the edge by the strength of their commitment to distorted beliefs. Prone to surreal endings that challenge simple readings into doubt, her movies stay with you – though not so much like a pebble in your footwear than a nail in your foot.

YouTube Sensations

From the humble origins of digital platform arose a duo of filmmakers taking over the film industry with a current brand of provocation. With their works Talk to Me and Bring Her Back, they presented violent spectacles in between realistic representations of how current young people behave. Film students look up to them as if they’re newly declared icons.

Arthouse Horror Pioneer

The director's refined, metaphor-forward fusion of genre trappings with arthouse touches won her a prestigious award, the first time the event awarded its premier award to a scary film. Holding the viscera-flecked flag of the extreme cinema wave, the Titane filmmaker delves into the desires of the isolated to stunning result.

Asian Horror Visionary

One of the most intriguing filmmakers to emerge from the Asian continent in modern times, the Korean creator has crafted one gem of mythical fear (The Wailing) and collaborated on a second one (The Medium). Arranged with total certainty and exact atmosphere crafting, his films transposes Hollywood templates into terrifying, novel forms.

These eight directors embody the diverse and creative direction of the horror genre, pushing the limits of fear into fresh territories.