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Across the landscape of contemporary movie-making, a new cohort of visionaries is expanding the boundaries of the horror category. From societal commentaries to graphic chillers, these 8 movie-makers are producing lasting experiences that reshape terror for a modern age.

Jordan Peele

The director behind Get Out has created spring-loaded symbolic tales delving into the perils, complexities, and paradoxes of African American experience in the US. His influence is clear from the multitude of copycats, with the finest among them nurtured by the director through his production company.

Master of Historical Horror

An expert excavator of the most obscure pockets of the past, this director of The Witch, The Lighthouse, and Nosferatu specializes in revealing the alien facets of distant history and showing them free from modern-day revisionism. Eggers' sinister historical explorations open portals to madness, desire, and elevation.

Voice of a Generation

The millennial director with their finger most in touch with the generation’s pulse, as attuned to the loneliness, and deep connections, of an digitally-obsessed time. Weaving ideas of bonding and pop culture by way of trans identity and the history of physical terror, creations such as I Saw the TV Glow plumb the eeriest fractures of the psyche.

Damien Leone

The director's three-part saga of Terrifier films is this decade's great horror achievement, testament that audience buzz can still generate bona fide hits from well-executed microbudget violence. Not just the new slasher icon, deranged figure Art the Clown is confirmation that the audience's craving for violence – over-the-top, comical, unbridled – remains unslakable.

Blurrer of Realities

Obscuring the line between hallucination and reality, with her films Saint Maud and Love Lies Bleeding, Glass has built a portfolio of intense female characters compelled to limits by the depth of their dedication to distorted values. Given to surreal climaxes that question easy understandings into question, her movies remain – though less like a stone in your shoe than a nail in your sole.

YouTube Sensations

From the humble origins of YouTube came a pair of siblings dominating the film industry with a current type of controversy. With their movies Talk to Me and Bring Her Back, they presented atrocity exhibitions in between credible portrayals of how today’s teenagers behave. Film students look up to them as if they’re freshly declared icons.

Arthouse Horror Pioneer

Her sleek, symbolism-rich fusion of horror elements with independent touches earned her a prestigious award, the historic moment the Cannes Film Festival presented its top prize to a horror picture. Carrying the blood-soaked standard of the extreme cinema wave, the Titane director delves into the appetites of the disconnected to stunning outcome.

Na Hong-jin

One of the most exciting artists to emerge from Eastern cinema in recent years, the Seoul-based filmmaker has directed one gem of traditional terror (The Wailing) and co-scripted a second one (The Medium). Paced with absolute confidence and exact tonal control, his work converts conventional structures into terrifying, novel styles.

These creators embody the varied and innovative direction of the horror genre, propelling the boundaries of dread into new dimensions.