10 Greatest Directorial Debut Horror Movies

A movie that defined both a generation and a genre, The Blair Witch project exploded onto the scene in 1999 and infected every corner of society with a lasting effect even to this day. Although not technically the first use of the found-footage technique in a horror movie, it certainly pioneered the style and made it as popular as it is today. The simple plot of the movie follows a trio of student filmmakers investigating the local legend of a 'Blair Witch' in the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland. The movie is an impressive lesson in restraint, with a lot of the horror being implied rather than being explicitly shown, leaving the audience to dream up the frightening witch themselves (if there truly is one).

Filmmakers Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez developed a 35-page screenplay for the movie while proposing the majority of dialogue to be improvised to capture the sense of authenticity. When the movie hit theatres in 1999, audiences had seen nothing like it, with many people being fooled into believing what unfolded in front of them was a true documentary, so much so that relatives of the actors received condolences.

After the creation of their groundbreaking movie, directors Daniel and Eduardo unfortunately never reached the same dizzying heights again. The pair have continued to work in the industry on numerous smaller films with varying levels of success. Despite this however, their contribution to the genre and cinema will be remembered forever.