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Within the world of current filmmaking, a fresh generation of visionaries is stretching the edges of the scary movie genre. From cultural commentaries to intense thrillers, these eight movie-makers are crafting unforgettable adventures that redefine fear for a current generation.

Jordan Peele

The filmmaker behind Get Out has developed sharp symbolic tales examining the perils, nuances, and contradictions of Black life in the United States. Peele's influence is obvious from the sheer number of followers, with the top of them supported by the director through his Monkeypaw.

Master of Historical Horror

An expert excavator of the least known recesses of the past, this director of The Witch, The Lighthouse, and Nosferatu specializes in uncovering the foreign elements of historical periods and showing them free from contemporary revisionism. Eggers' sinister historical explorations create doorways to psychosis, longing, and elevation.

Jane Schoenbrun

The millennial director with their focus most in touch with the younger pulse, as sensitive to the loneliness, and meaningful bonds, of an online-focused era. Filtering ideas of bonding and pop culture by way of gender transition and the history of corporeal fear, films such as I Saw the TV Glow explore the eeriest fractures of the identity.

Damien Leone

The director's series of Terrifier features is this century’s significant horror triumph, testament that audience buzz can still create bona fide successes from expertly crafted low-budget gore. More than the next slasher icon, deranged figure Art the Clown is proof that the audience's thirst for gore – excessive, hilarious, unchecked – remains unslakable.

Blurrer of Realities

Blurring the boundary between hallucination and the real world, with her films Saint Maud and Love Lies Bleeding, The director has built a collection of intense female characters pushed to limits by the strength of their dedication to warped beliefs. Prone to surreal climaxes that question simple readings into doubt, her movies remain – though less like a rock in your footwear than a nail in your sole.

Danny and Michael Philippou

Emerging from the humble origins of digital platform arrived a pair of filmmakers dominating the cinema landscape with a current brand of provocation. With their movies Talk to Me and Bring Her Back, they staged atrocity exhibitions in between realistic depictions of how today’s young people behave. Cinema enthusiasts idolize them as if they’re freshly declared icons.

Arthouse Horror Pioneer

Her polished, allegory-driven blend of scary movie conventions with arthouse touches earned her a Palme d’Or, the historic moment the Cannes Film Festival awarded its top prize to a horror picture. Holding the blood-soaked flag of the French horror movement, the Titane creator delves into the desires of the alienated to spectacular outcome.

Asian Horror Visionary

A member of the most intriguing talents to come forth from Asia in recent years, the South Korean creator has directed one masterpiece of mythical fear (The Wailing) and collaborated on another (The Medium). Paced with total certainty and exact mood management, his films transforms mainstream formulas into terrifying, original shapes.

These creators signify the varied and creative future of scary cinema, propelling the edges of dread into new territories.