10 Celebrated Horror Directors That Made Video Games

Game Credits: Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

All the way back in 2000, a stylish horror-action hybrid called Versus was taking the festival scene by storm. Many film buffs claimed its director, Ryuhei Kitamura, would be the next big thing, with an electric mix of influences ranging from Sam Raimi to Kinji Fukasaku.  Over two decades and a spotty filmography later, Godzilla: Final Wars and Midnight Meat Train stand out as fun highlights, though much of his other work has been mixed.

Back in the mid-2000s, riding that early hype, Kitamura landed a highly celebrated gig: the classic Metal Gear Solid was getting a full-blown remake for the Nintendo GameCube, and the Japanese director was handpicked to modernize and refresh the game’s iconic cutscenes. It was a major opportunity, given the pedigree of game director Hideo Kojima.

Kitamura respected the assignment, working as motion capture director as well, initially replicating the scenes as faithfully as possible to the original masterpiece. But then came new instructions from Kojima himself, who personally asked Kitamura to bring his own trademark flourishes to the table. The director responded by cranking the madness up to eleven, resulting in several fans labelling Twin Snakes as non-canon. The over-the-top action scenes - such as Solid Snake backflip dodging an incoming missile - felt more at home in a Kitamura movie than the rest of the series. The game has become something of a buried oddity in Metal Gear history, thanks mostly to his contributions.