9 Horror Directors Who Deserve An Honorary Oscar

9. Dario Argento

When a killer wearing black gloves stabs a young woman to death in close-up moments before binding her with a cord and hanging the body in mid-air to the accompaniment of a thunderous Goblin score, the viewer has no doubt that they’re watching a film directed by one of the most distinctive filmmakers in Italian cinema.

So distinctive are his set pieces, in fact, that his gialli had a profound impact on several American filmmakers. In Deep Red (1975), Argento’s POV camera prowls through dark corridors in much the same way as it would years later in Halloween (1978), and it’s not difficult to imagine Michael Myers as the Americanized version of that film’s black gloved killer. Also, note the similarities between Argento’s kill scenes and those in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies. Doesn’t the lopped off arm in Tenebrae look familiar?

As a producer, Argento was instrumental in getting George Romero’s Dawn Of The Dead (1978) made and is indirectly responsible for that film’s enormous impact on the genre. He’s also fostered some amazing talent, including Lamberto Bava, who he hired to direct fan favourite Demons (1985) and Michele Soavi, whose horror pictures owe no small debt to Argento.