Who is the true "master of horror?"

[Dr. Briggs]

It's a title given to many different directors and a few writers; Alfred Hitchcock (master of suspense), Wes Craven (master of terror), George Romero...

It's far from self-explanatory though, and the title has a lot of "qualifiers" who don't exactly give a consistent body of work. If you had your pick, who would say is the best horror-helmer and why?

If going by "everyone," I'd be tempted to say Stephen King, because Stephen King has a consistency which I truly do not see anyone matching - Pet Sematary, Misery, the Shining, Carrie and Cujo all belong on a top-20 horror list in my mind. Not all the adaptations of his movies are faithful (especially not The Shining), but his work still lays the groundwork for them masterfully. Were it not for King, the directors of the aforementioned movies would not have such a solid or unsettling framework to go by.

If going by directors alone, it's honestly a lot tougher. To elaborate, I'd narrow my "master of horror" choices down to Dario Argento and John Carpenter, both of whom have produced what I'm tempted to say is a greater volume of "good" horror work than either Craven or Romero.

Still, what makes me hesitate is the fact that both directors are pretty blasted flawed to be considered a "master." I've stated in another thread Dario's problems with editing, effective music use and getting everything he can out of a story, yet still Suspiria was mesmerising in its use of atmosphere and Deep Red contained one of the most painful death scenes I can think of. Conversely, Carpenter has made at least three remarkably solid horror films (Halloween, The Thing, In the Mouth of Madness), yet those three, to me, do not quite equal the sum of Argento's parts.

In short, Carpenter is thorough in his directing, but in my opinion does not always achieve the "heights of fright" Dario Argento does. Conversely, Argento has big highs, and big lows; too often within the same films. And personally, I draw a blank concerning directors who can really challenge either one of them.

What does everyone else think? It doesn't have to be Carpenter or Argento, but who in general do YOU think is the top dog of horror writing or direction? And why do you think so?

[Chainsaw Brutality]

I agree, Briggs - Carpenter and Argento were the two that came to my mind right off.

For the sake of discussion, I'll go Neil Marshall. Dog Soldiers was a unique spin on the werewolf sub-genre. I thought Marshall's story was cleverly written and his camera work great as well. The twist ending was also utilized really well.

The Descent is an exceptional film, which pulls at you emotionally and truly scares you as well. Again, his camera work was phenomenal - probably moreso here considering the setting. He really captured the enclosed, claustrophobic feel of being in a cave .... you feel this through his characters, story and atmosphere. Even though the fight/action scenes were chaotic and frantic, he still allowed the viewer to see what was happening. This with the use of lighting from flashlights or road flares.

Marshall's weakest effort was Doomsday, it wasn't horror though. But rather, medieval and action. He also directed Centurion, another medieval film that I have yet to see.


The one thing that hurts Neil Marshall's case is that he has only done two horror films.

[Fangenstein]

For writing I can only see Stephen King. He has been the major influence in turning me on to Horror.
I love Carpenter(Damn you Briggs for not mentioning The Fog!) and Argento(Trauma is his most underrated movie)
You have to let Wes Craven in on this discussion...
Tobe Hooper deserves a mention...If only for given us the original Chainsaw film.

[Scarecrow]

Stephen King, hands down. He reinvented the horror wheel and keeps on doing so.

[Dr. Briggs]

For writing I can only see Stephen King. He has been the major influence in turning me on to Horror.
I love Carpenter(Damn you Briggs for not mentioning The Fog!) and Argento(Trauma is his most underrated movie)
You have to let Wes Craven in on this discussion...
Tobe Hooper deserves a mention...If only for given us the original Chainsaw film.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre is close to perfection, but Hooper doesn't make the cut for me since I haven't seen him do anything half as good since XP.

As for Wes Craven, I find him kinda overrated; he's made some great horror movies, but none that really scream "top tier" to me.

[Fangenstein]

I like Hoopers Salam's Lot also.... Still thats not enough to call him a 'Master'

[Caftan King]

[COLOR="Lime"]Creating a good horror movie has become increasingly challenging for the past few years, even with technologies in filmmaking industry. It’s now harder to scare viewers.

Well I am more inclined toward silent horror styles. And I just notice that one of the pitfalls in doing horror recently is the tendency to depend on special effects or gore. Horror is more than just gore. For me, the more we are digitally mastered and advanced our technology, the more we must go back to the basics of horror, which is all about simply playing with feelings and making a roller-coaster of realistic scare tactics. More than anything, it’s the stories of the characters… what the movie is really about!

So now I am scanning my DVDs and looking for a movie that has a director that show some realism to his horror![/COLOR]

[Dr. Briggs]

[COLOR="Lime"]Creating a good horror movie has become increasingly challenging for the past few years, even with technologies in filmmaking industry. It’s now harder to scare viewers.

Well I am more inclined toward silent horror styles. And I just notice that one of the pitfalls in doing horror recently is the tendency to depend on special effects or gore. Horror is more than just gore. For me, the more we are digitally mastered and advanced our technology, the more we must go back to the basics of horror, which is all about simply playing with feelings and making a roller-coaster of realistic scare tactics. More than anything, it’s the stories of the characters… what the movie is really about!

So now I am scanning my DVDs and looking for a movie that has a director that show some realism to his horror![/COLOR]

Agreed with you here, Caftan. I think a true "master" is hard to come by, because honestly, I dunno if there are many terror-scribes out there who take care to utilize "the basics" (image against darkness, audio dissonance, misdirection, etc...) consistently in all they write/direct!

[Chainsaw Brutality]

You have to let Wes Craven in on this discussion...

I agree, ANOES and The Serpent and the Rainbow are his best.

[Caftan King]

Agreed with you here, Caftan. I think a true "master" is hard to come by, because honestly, I dunno if there are many terror-scribes out there who take care to utilize "the basics" (image against darkness, audio dissonance, misdirection, etc...) consistently in all they write/direct!

[COLOR="Wheat"]Yeah Briggs... I just think movie creators nowadays need to make sure to retrieve back some of the basic elements of horror movies but of course expanded and developed them to suit the taste of this generation’s crop of horror viewers.

Like for example the film Session 9 directed by Brad Anderson. Seeing a film like this just proves that there are truly great films still being made.[/COLOR]

[Zackuth]

For writing, I'd have to say HP Lovecraft. Stephen king has given me more than one sleepless night, but Lovecraft is just plain scary. King will show you a scary room in the world you live in, but you can shut that door and be ok. Lovecraft, however, doesn't show you a room in your world, but replaces your world with something else. There's no door to close, no room to seal off, no place to avoid to be safe.

For directors, I'm a big fan of John Carpenter. He may not have the highs of other directors, but he does manage to avoid the lows. I think of Prince of Darkness, which is a movie that grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let go, much like all of his movies.