10 Horror Movie "Facts" That Aren't Actually True

4. Alfred Hitchcock Was A Horror Director

Jason Mask
Shamley Productions

Ask anyone to name a famous horror director and the same names always come up. Wes Craven. George A. Romero. James Whale. Tobe Hooper. And of course, who could forget about the Master of Suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock.

But there is one teeny-weeny problem. Alfred Hitchcock was not a horror director. Upon hearing this, most people think, "That's impossible What about Psycho?! That's his most famous movie!? The Birds is unmistakably a horror flick, isn't it?!"

But it's not that simple. Hitchcock spent over half a century making psychological thrillers like Strangers On A Train, Vertigo, Shadow of Doubt, Rope, North by Northwest, Lifeboat, Dial M for Murder, and Rear Window. Imagine if Steven Spielberg was only known for making scary movies because he directed Jaws and Jurassic Park?! Although those films can be categorised as horror, they only make up a small amount of Spielberg's diverse repertoire.

Because Psycho was his most successful and highly-praised film and it was followed up by his only other true horror flick, Hitchcock has been permanently stuck with the inaccurate label of a "horror director."

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows