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Within the realm of current filmmaking, a new cohort of artists is pushing the edges of the scary movie category. From social metaphors to visceral fright-fests, these eight filmmakers are producing unforgettable experiences that redefine dread for a modern age.

Jordan Peele

The director behind Get Out has created sharp metaphors delving into the risks, nuances, and contradictions of Black existence in the United States. Peele's influence is evident from the sheer number of followers, with the top of them guided by the filmmaker through his production company.

Master of Historical Horror

A masterful excavator of the most obscure recesses of the bygone eras, this filmmaker of The Witch, The Lighthouse, and Nosferatu is known for revealing the alien facets of historical periods and presenting them free from modern-day alteration. His dark time machines open portals to madness, craving, and transcendence.

Jane Schoenbrun

The contemporary creator with their focus most in touch with the millennial heartbeat, as aware of the isolation, and deep connections, of an online-focused age. Weaving concepts of bonding and mainstream entertainment through trans experiences and the tradition of physical terror, creations such as I Saw the TV Glow explore the most unsettling cracks of the self.

Damien Leone

The director's trilogy of Terrifier movies is this century’s great scary movie triumph, testament that word of mouth can still create genuine successes from expertly crafted low-budget gore. Beyond the modern horror villain, deranged icon Art the Clown is proof that the public’s thirst for blood – excessive, hilarious, unbridled – remains endless.

Blurrer of Realities

Blurring the division between hallucination and the real world, with her movies Saint Maud and Love Lies Bleeding, The director has assembled a gallery of intense female characters driven to the edge by the depth of their dedication to twisted beliefs. Given to fantastical climaxes that challenge straightforward readings into question, her movies stay with you – though less like a pebble in your shoe than a nail in your sole.

Danny and Michael Philippou

From the humble origins of YouTube arose a pair of brothers taking over the film industry with a current brand of shock. With their films Talk to Me and Bring Her Back, they presented atrocity exhibitions in between credible depictions of how modern teenagers behave. Aspiring directors look up to them as if they’re newly canonised icons.

Julia Ducournau

Her refined, metaphor-forward combination of scary movie conventions with art film flourishes earned her a top Cannes prize, the historic moment the festival presented its premier award to a horror picture. Holding the blood-soaked standard of the New French Extremity, the Titane filmmaker delves into the desires of the disconnected to remarkable outcome.

Asian Horror Visionary

A member of the most thrilling talents to come forth from the Asian continent in modern times, the South Korean creator has crafted one masterpiece of traditional terror (The Wailing) and collaborated on a second one (The Medium). Paced with supreme confidence and exact tonal control, his films transforms mainstream formulas into terrifying, original forms.

These directors represent the wide-ranging and innovative future of scary cinema, driving the limits of dread into new realms.