Famous horror film directors

Certain directors are known for a particular genre that they are better at. Here I have found some directors that are well known for their contribution to horror. I have been interested in studying horror as it allows for a number of special effects to be used which I can contribute to my trailer. I have been interested in the costumes and the make-up which make the characters scary. However, the special effects and use of shots is what adds tension and keeps the viewer on edge. Here I have decided to look at directors who have accomplished making a name for themselves as a vital addition to a successful horror film.

The directors I have decided to briefly look at are Brian De Palma, John Carpenter and Alfred Hitchcock.

Brian De Palma

Brian De Palma is known for horror as well as other contributions to films. One of the films he has made which has been rememberable is 'Phantom of the Paradise' in 1974, which was a romance film. William Finley played Winslow Leach, which is the Phamtom.The plot to this film is a disfigured musician sells his soul for the woman he loves so that she will perform his music. This wasn't as popular as Scarface, the film which he ended his career on with actor Al Pacino (1983).
Scarface may have been Brian's most successful movie, but it wasn't as horror centered as some of his other works, it would be considered more mainstream.
It was more the cliche of typical action films, Men and their guns, attracted women.
However, horror would still be considered the more centered genre for Brian, creating films such as 'Carrie' in 1976 and 'The Fury' in 1978.
Carrie was based around a Stephen King Novel. The plot is about actor Sissy Spacek who plays Carrie White, who is meant to be a nice girl with a crazy mother. She is meant to become something else than just a nice, sad girl at prom.
Brian De Palma enjoyed working with novelists, as 'The Fury' was based on the John Farris novel.
This horror film is about government agent, his son and kidnapers with powerful psychic abilities.
He has many different tastes to creating his films whilst still focusing on the plots, and this is interesting to me. I like the idea of connecting another genre to my trailer or having a plot to my film, which I can take as inspiration from Brian. 

John Carpenter

John Carpenter is best known for his directing skills, but he is also well known as a screenwriter, producer, composer and an actor. At a young age, from 1962- 1969 he was known for a range of short horror films, some not as successful as others. Some examples were:
- Revenge of the Colossal Beasts (His first work)
- Terror from Space
- Gorgon, the Space Monster
- Gorgo Versus Godzilla
- Warrior and the Demon
- Sorceror from Out Of Space

It was after this in 1978 when he wrote a screenplay and directed it as well. His screenplay was called Halloween, known as 'his masterpiece'. The plot of this film was a psychotic murder who was institutionalised since childhood for mudering his sister. He escapes, then stalks a 'bookish' teenage girl and her fiends while his doctor chases him through the streets. Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie Strode) and Donald Pleasence (Dr. Sam Loomis) were the lead actors.

Other successful films that John Carpenter is known for include:

- The Thing (1982) -  The plot evolves around scientists in the Antarctic that are confronted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of the people that it kills.

- Christine (1983) - A nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it.

- Prince of Darkness (1987) - A research team finds a mysterious cylinder in a deserted church. If opened, it could mean the end of the world.

- They Live (1988) -  A drifter discovers a pair of sunglasses that allow him to wake up to the fact that aliens have taken over the Earth.

- In the mouth of Madness (1994) - An insurance investigator begins discovering that the impact a horror writer's books have on his fans is more than inspirational.

- Village of the Damned (1995) - A small town's women give birth to unfriendly alien children posing as humans.

- Vampires (1998) - A vengeful vampire slayer must retrieve an ancient Catholic relic that, should it be acquired by vampires, will allow them to endure sunlight.

- Ghosts of Mars (2001) - A story of human colonists on Mars who must be rescued after becoming possessed by vengeful Martian ghosts.

These different plots are inspirational to me as they give me a brief understanding on how I can branch out to different ways of looking at horror, other than just the scary character killing innocent beautiful women which is the horror cliche. I like John Carpenter as he goes against this idea of horror.

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock was known for using the same themes repeatedly for his films:
- Mistaken Identity
- Innocents falsely accused
- Ordinary people thrust into extraordinary peril (films such as Twilight have taken inspiration from this)
- People who are not what they seem to be
- Trust and Betrayal
- Hair-breadth escapes
- Perfect Crimes
- Double-crosses
One of the main statements Hitchcock has in his films is that every film has a central couple. They tend to be lovers who are very good for each other or the opposite. This is the horror genre personified.
Hitchcock uses the typical cliche's of of a gorgeous blonde but twists the image of a damsel in distress to be the saviour who would rescue the man from a tough spot. One example is a bad guy with the idea that he has the perfect crime, and then you have the clips of a policeman going after the wrong guy. Typical cliche of an action film.
Hitchcock had started to understand earlier on in his career that suspense is generated when the audiance can see danger his characters cannot see, or can only suspect. This is what he would include in his films to purposefully build tension, and many other directors have used it since. I am inspired to do the same in my trailer as it gives a brief shot of danger the characters are going to be in. This exites audiances who are interested in horror films.

Alfred Hitchcock once said, "There's no terror in the bang of the gun, only the anticipation of it." This had made his earlier work create vivid terror in the mind of the viewer with hardly any blood on the screen.

Alfred Hitchcock is known for 'The Birds', a horror/thriller combination that was his most successful piece. The film is about a wealthy San Francisco socialite who pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.

Alfred Hitchcock use of cliche's inspired me to try and connect my trailer to include one of these as well, this would show that I have understood the horror genre. I will also try to create a moment of anticipation for the trailer in the way that Hitchcock identified earlier on in his career. This shows that I have understood the cliche.