15 Greatest Horror Directors Of All Time
2. John Carpenter
Notable films: Halloween, The Thing, The Fog, In The Mouth Of Madness
Whenever the "CGI vs Practical Effects" debate rolls around, someone will invariably cite the comparison between John Carpenter's 1982 version of The Thing over the 2011 remake as "proof" that practical effects win hands down. While this comparison isn't enough to generalise, you'd be hard pushed to find a horror film with more impressive - and grotesque - monster effects.
While The Thing failed to light up the box office (few films this macabre ever smash any records) it has amassed a well-deserved cult following; four years earlier, however, Carpenter really changed the horror landscape with the culturally iconic slasher movie Halloween, the template for countless copycat movies in the years since. Never again would anyone look at William Shatner in the same way after seeing his whitened mask looming out of the shadows on the head of the towering killer Michael Myers.
Carpenter continues to influence countless directors, with last year's horror highlight it Follows wearing its debt to Halloween proudly, while the influence of his minimalistic electronic scores can be heard on the soundtrack to some of the great modern horror movies such as The Guest.