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Across the realm of contemporary cinema, a innovative generation of artists is pushing the edges of the scary movie style. From social commentaries to graphic fright-fests, these eight directors are creating unforgettable journeys that redefine dread for a new age.

Jordan Peele

The creator of Get Out has developed spring-loaded metaphors examining the perils, nuances, and contradictions of Black life in the US. His effect is evident from the sheer number of copycats, with the top within them guided by Peele himself through his Monkeypaw.

Master of Historical Horror

A masterful excavator of the darkest pockets of the past, this filmmaker of The Witch, The Lighthouse, and Nosferatu excels in finding the alien elements of past epochs and presenting them free from contemporary reinterpretation. Eggers' dark historical explorations create doorways to psychosis, desire, and elevation.

Voice of a Generation

The contemporary creator with their finger closest to the millennial spirit, as attuned to the isolation, and significant relationships, of an digitally-obsessed time. Channeling concepts of relationships and popular media via trans identity and the tradition of corporeal fear, works such as I Saw the TV Glow delve into the strangest cracks of the psyche.

Damien Leone

The director's trilogy of Terrifier movies is this decade's major horror success story, testament that audience buzz can still produce true hits from skillfully made microbudget violence. More than the new horror villain, insane icon Art the Clown is proof that the public’s craving for violence – over-the-top, comical, unrestrained – remains endless.

Blurrer of Realities

Blurring the line between hallucination and reality, with her works Saint Maud and Love Lies Bleeding, Glass has built a collection of intense women pushed to extremes by the depth of their devotion to twisted beliefs. Known for imaginative climaxes that question simple readings into suspicion, her movies remain – though not so much like a pebble in your footwear than a nail in your sole.

Danny and Michael Philippou

Emerging from the humble origins of digital platform arose a pair of brothers dominating the film industry with a zeitgeisty type of provocation. With their movies Talk to Me and Bring Her Back, they presented violent spectacles in between realistic depictions of how modern teenagers behave. Aspiring directors pray to them as if they’re freshly declared icons.

Julia Ducournau

The director's sleek, metaphor-forward fusion of scary movie conventions with independent touches earned her a prestigious award, the historic moment the festival presented its top prize to a terror movie. Bearing the gore-stained banner of the New French Extremity, the Titane filmmaker indulges the desires of the alienated to spectacular result.

Na Hong-jin

One of the most thrilling filmmakers to arise from the Asian continent in recent years, the Seoul-based filmmaker has made one gem of folk horror (The Wailing) and collaborated on one more (The Medium). Paced with absolute assurance and precise mood management, his films transforms Hollywood templates into terrifying, unique styles.

These filmmakers signify the diverse and creative path of horror, driving the limits of fear into fresh dimensions.