10 Horror Movie Directors That Quit The Genre
5. David Sandberg (Lights Out, Annabelle: Creation)
Now admittedly this one is a slightly more debatable case
of abandoning the horror genre, for reasons which will soon become clear.
Shazam helmer David F Sandberg made a name for himself via the ingenious, no budget viral short Lights Out. An infamously chilling two minute horror story, the film followed a woman plagued by a strange shape every time she flicked off the lights before bed.
It was a phenomenon so impressive that Sandberg was soon courted by Hollywood and 2014 saw him adapt the short into a surprisingly solid slice of effective studio horror. This was followed by Annabelle: Creation, a 2016 period piece prequel to the 2014 hit which followed the Ouija series in providing an unexpectedly scary, genuinely involving sequel to a pretty poorly received and outright lazy original.
These two successes saw Sandberg hired by the DC industrial complex to direct Shazam, a charming superhero comedy which won over audiences and critics alike upon its 2019 release. With an inevitable Shazam sequel requiring his services it seems unlikely Sandberg will have time for horror features any time soon.
However
he has continued to shoot YouTube horror shorts on his ponysmasher channel, so
it's nice to see the helmer hasn't strayed far from his roots.