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Pound for pound, the best horror director/filmaker......

post #1 of 45
9/21/02 at 5:31pm
Thread Starter 
Well, who is it? Carpenter, Craven, Hopper, Cronengburg, Del Toro, Romero, and so on? Who do you think deserves the crown?

My vote is a draw between Craven and Carpenter. Craven has done a lot for the horror industry: Nightmare, LHotL, Scream...but Carpenter has also done a lot: Halloween, Thing, ItMoM, just to name a few.

Not saying that Romero hasn't done anything. But my vote goes to Carpenter, for starting(or naming) the slasher gener(sp?), and doing the music for many of his movies.

It's tough, but I think that's my vote. Who's yours?

- Fixxxer
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post #2 of 45
9/21/02 at 5:36pm
Carpenter all the way. The guy has created more bona-fide classics, crossing many sub-genres of horror/fantasy/sci-fi, than any other director I can think of. Even allowing for his recent output, his filmography is a "How To" lesson in tension, suspense and horror.
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post #3 of 45
9/21/02 at 5:45pm
John Carpenter. Halloween, The Fog, The Thing and many, many others are classics. While Craven excelled with A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Hills Have Eyes, he did a lot of damage for me with the whole Scream debacle.

But then mention has to be made of ol'Hitch...
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post #4 of 45
9/21/02 at 6:25pm
Carpenter all the way.

In fact if you look, all the greatest people in history have been Carpenters- Jesus, Harrison Ford, Karen Carpenter, erm... Al from Home Improvement, etcetc.
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post #5 of 45
9/21/02 at 7:38pm
Fulci
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post #6 of 45
9/21/02 at 8:29pm
Lloyd Kaufman.
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post #7 of 45
9/21/02 at 8:43pm
No doubt about it, John Carpenter. He just made so many classics, The Thing, Halloween, The Fog, In The Mouth Of Madness, Escape From New York, and more.
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post #8 of 45
9/23/02 at 6:16am
No one can let it flow like Dario Argento, and he's been more consistant over his career ... If Argento released something new this week, I bet most horror fans would have more hope for a great film than say if Carpenter put something new out ...

Neither Carpenter nor Romero have made a great film in decades, and to be honest, I lost faith in both a long time ago ... And IMHO, Craven doesn't even deserved to be mentioned ...

And with films such as PSYCHO, FRENZY, REAR WINDOW and THE BIRDS, plus the fact that he directed 20 episodes of his TV series, I think Hitchcock should be mentioned, eventhough he's not strictly a "horror" director ...
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post #9 of 45
9/23/02 at 7:17am
Carpenter. But, I have always been kinda partial to Yuzna. God I love that guy. Definitely Carpenter though.
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post #10 of 45
9/23/02 at 7:30am
Quote:
elmie:
No one can let it flow like Dario Argento, and he's been more consistant over his career ... If Argento released something new this week, I bet most horror fans would have more hope for a great film than say if Carpenter put something new out ...
If we were debating who would be the best horror director in the future then you'd have a point. But you might as well say that Hitchcock doesn't count, because he'll never make another film. Carpenter's recent dry spell doesn't eradicate his amazing and groundbreaking career.

Carpenter's run through the 70s and 80s contains at least five all-time genre classics, and shows more flexibility and variety than Argento. Dario's cool, but he just hasn't had the same indelible impact on filmmaking (horror and mainstream) as Carpenter.
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post #11 of 45
9/23/02 at 12:03pm
Can't say I agree with these fly-by-night Carpenter fans who write him off as having done nothing worthwhile in recent years. It's true, Ghosts Of Mars was no AOP13, but it's still a pretty entertaining no-brainer (Ice Cube and his lack of charisma were its biggest problem, more than the direction ever was). Vampires was a hoot, and Escape from LA was fucking excellent.

Carpenter still delivers the goods.
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post #12 of 45
9/23/02 at 12:36pm
You guys suck:

George F'in Romero
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post #13 of 45
9/23/02 at 12:42pm
In my slightly skewed vision of the cinematic battleground, Sir David Of Cronenberg would duke it out in an impassionaed intellectual duel with Baron John de Carpentre, foppish lacey gauntlets and epees at dawn, the works...
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post #14 of 45
9/23/02 at 12:50pm
Carpenter has made more movies that I like than George Romero, whose zombie flicks are enough to put him in the throne for me.

Craven is a hack. His earliest stuff is good, Hills Have Eyes is awesome, but man, everything that followed just sucked the dick.

Slasher movies suck.

Studio exec1: Well, Halloween did pretty well, let's see how many times we can make the same movie.

Studio exec2: Holy shit! What a great idea! We'll be millionaires and we won't even have to think about it!
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post #15 of 45
9/23/02 at 11:16pm
Quote:
Adam_72:
Can't say I agree with these fly-by-night Carpenter fans who write him off as having done nothing worthwhile in recent years. It's true, Ghosts Of Mars was no AOP13, but it's still a pretty entertaining no-brainer (Ice Cube and his lack of charisma were its biggest problem, more than the direction ever was). Vampires was a hoot, and Escape from LA was fucking excellent.

Carpenter still delivers the goods.
************************************************** ****************************
I'm not sure what a "fly-by-night" John Carpenter fan is ... hummm .... If it means someone who, in 1982, sneaks into THE THING, in a theater of about 5 other people, then I suppose I'm one ... Problem is, that was 20 years ago, and he hasn't done anything remotely like that since ...

As far as VAMPIRES and ESCAPE FROM LA ( not to mention his pseudo comedy phase ), I suppose we will agree to disagree ... I feel those films are an embarrassment to the genre ...
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post #16 of 45
9/23/02 at 11:27pm
Go with Carpenter here. He's had some rough times, but should still go into the Hall of Fame for his earlier work, and sticking up for the horror genre in general.
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post #17 of 45
9/25/02 at 12:06am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
elmie:


And with films such as PSYCHO, FRENZY, REAR WINDOW and THE BIRDS, plus the fact that he directed 20 episodes of his TV series, I think Hitchcock should be mentioned, eventhough he's not strictly a "horror" director ...
But to call him a "horror" director would be half-a$$ed. Hitchcock was a master director period. I will say that I think Pyscho is a horror film, one of the most important horror films ever, but I don't accociate him with horror other than that. I suppose you could with the Birds, but I don't.

Hitchcock was more of a "suspence/thiller" director if anything. But I won't stand in your peep's ways, if you do want to call him a horror director.

- Fixxxer
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post #18 of 45
9/25/02 at 12:17pm
Are you guys kiddin?? Dario Argento!! (without question)
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post #19 of 45
9/25/02 at 12:25pm
Dario would come a very close second after Carpenter for me. It's that godawful Stendhal Syndrome which is really keeping me from giving him first place.
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post #20 of 45
9/25/02 at 12:30pm
To be very different I'll say I enjoy Tobe Hoopers work. Sure he hasn't done a great deal, but enough to come close as one of the best. That's not to say I dislike Argento either, he's great...actually really great, but if the crown would have to be worn by someone that is untill I make some movies I'd say J.C. He's the best, plain and simple. Although Wes follows very, very closely.
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post #21 of 45
9/25/02 at 12:33pm
Though I love John Carpenter, only a handful of his films are pure horror (Halloween, The Fog, The Thing, Prince of Darkness, etc). Romero might take the crown, but the last 10-15 years haven't been kind (though the Trilogy and Martin nearly clinch it). So I have to go with David Cronenberg, because few filmmakers fuck with my head as much.
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post #22 of 45
9/25/02 at 12:54pm
If you were going to include Hitchcock as a horror director, which I wouldn't necessarily do, then he's the best because his filmography is all around the best.

Carpenter's great, and I wish he'd make another winner. The first half is of his career was great, now it all sucks. But when he's on fire, the mood of his stuff is the best.

I think Tobe Hooper is one step from being a hack.

Good cases could be made for David Lynch or James Whale. The first introduction of Frankenstein's monster, even after all of the years of knowing the creature and parodies, still has power.
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post #23 of 45
9/25/02 at 12:56pm
Quote:
SuperNova:
To be very different I'll say I enjoy Tobe Hoopers work.
Hooper just edges in third for me, behind Carpenter and Argento but ahead of Romero. Hooper doesn't get enough respect IMO. True, he makes absolutely abysmal films these days, but he used to be a real contender...

TCM- Flawless. Timeless. Pure horror gold.

TCM 2- Unsung black comedy masterpiece.

Eaten Alive- Low key and nasty, nice change of pace from TCM.

The Funhouse- Really rather good, atmospheric and with a highly memorable monster.

Salem's Lot- Ultimate vampire movie IMHO. Responsible for giving me more nightmares as a child than any other film.

Poltergeist- Spielberg involvement aside, you can just TELL that Hooper directed the good bits. Mainstream horror classic.

Lifeforce- Bit muddled, but has its heart in the right place. Great scenes of London in chaos. Plus it has a naked woman!

Spontaneous Combustion- underrated slow burner.

Venom- I don't believe Hooper was ever credited, but he had plenty of input in this one IIRC. A decent thriller.
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post #24 of 45
9/25/02 at 1:00pm
*ahem* "pound for pound" ?

Then I think we'd have to knock him down to welterweight for Night Terrors: truly execrable, Robert Englund-starring, De Sade-derived drivel whose sole highlight would appear to be a Jose Larraz-inspired "naked-guy-on-back-of-horse" vignette that is so delightful that they repeat it more than once...in sow motion !
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post #25 of 45
9/25/02 at 1:07pm
Yeah but that was from his post-Spontaneous Combustion phase, when he really ceased to give a shit about anything.

I mean, Night Terrors was bad, but The Mangler takes the biscuit. And Crocodile makes my eyes bleed.
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post #26 of 45
9/25/02 at 1:12pm
True, true. Still I think most horror greats could do with leaving the 1990s out of their resumes...

...nice to see love for Spontaneous Cumbustion. Wonderful picture. And someone else delights in the brazen black comedy of TCM2 ? Luscious sir, luscious...
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post #27 of 45
9/25/02 at 1:12pm
The Mangler, mangled my ass covers. Not a good movie.
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post #28 of 45
9/25/02 at 1:18pm
What the hell are your "ass covers". eek!

On second thoughts...don't ruin the atmos.
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post #29 of 45
9/25/02 at 1:21pm
Quote:
M Night Shyamalan's Straxboy:
...a Jose Larraz-inspired "naked-guy-on-back-of-horse" vignette that is so delightful that they repeat it more than once...in sow motion !
Sow Motion: the speed at which pigs see the world, roughly around 10fps.
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post #30 of 45
9/25/02 at 1:25pm
Damn you Whitehead, damn you to hell ! Or Macclesfield as it's commonly known...
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post #31 of 45
9/25/02 at 1:25pm
Up until Spontaneous Combustion, Hooper was one of the greats, but then he fell the fuck off. I mean Lifeforce is insane, TCM 2 is a fucking masterpiece (I have the Breakfast Club styled poster), and I even kind of like Invaders from Mars. BUt The Mangler and the like... guh.

And Strax, you get points for the Larraz references
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post #32 of 45
9/25/02 at 1:26pm
How'd that r get in Stax?
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post #33 of 45
9/25/02 at 1:28pm
Quote:
piranhapictures:

I think Tobe Hooper is one step from being a hack.
Far from it, Hooper's TCM will remain one of the best and most frightening films ever.

Brian De Palma, now there's a different story.
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post #34 of 45
9/25/02 at 1:30pm
Not so long, and mildly inane story - as I'm sure are all "Behind The Internet Username" episodes...
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post #35 of 45
9/25/02 at 1:41pm
Quote:
Horror Attic:
Quote:
piranhapictures:

I think Tobe Hooper is one step from being a hack.
Far from it, Hooper's TCM will remain one of the best and most frightening films ever.

Brian De Palma, now there's a different story.
Hey, I got nothing but love for the DePalma! Some of his movies have the funniest climaxes ever, where five super coincidences all happen at the exact same time and manage to save the hero, who is just standing there.

I'll give Hooper TCM. But even in his "prime," I dislike most of his movies. Lifeforce-stupid. Invaders From Mars-dumb. TCM 2 should have been funnier than it was. The script is hilarious, but I don't think he captured it.

And then he made the Mangler and kaboom!
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post #36 of 45
9/25/02 at 2:25pm
Come on guys. I said it before, and I'll say it again: Lloyd Kaufman.
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post #37 of 45
9/25/02 at 2:50pm
Quote:
The Abominable Doctor Whitehead:
Quote:
M Night Shyamalan's Straxboy:
...a Jose Larraz-inspired "naked-guy-on-back-of-horse" vignette that is so delightful that they repeat it more than once...in sow motion !
Sow Motion: the speed at which pigs see the world, roughly around 10fps.
The funniest thing I've read all day, thanks man.
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post #38 of 45
9/25/02 at 4:26pm
Quote:
M Night Shyamalan's Straxboy:
And someone else delights in the brazen black comedy of TCM2 ? Luscious sir, luscious...
"Small Businessman ALWAYS gets it in the ass!!!"
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post #39 of 45
9/25/02 at 4:31pm
DePalma is a good choice, also.

With Del Toro I think it's too early to tell. He has got a few good 'uns under his belt (Blade II isn't one of them, mind)
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post #40 of 45
9/25/02 at 4:33pm
No james Whale?

No Tod Browning?

No Terence Fisher?

You guys are Horror fans right?
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post #41 of 45
9/25/02 at 4:39pm
Don't forget Peter Jackson.
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post #42 of 45
9/25/02 at 5:29pm
I had mentioned Whale, but forgot Browning. Although I don't think I'd include him as, if my memory doesn't fail me, I remember Dracula being pretty stodgy. Can't deny the greatness of Freaks though.

Don't know about Fisher...I was never really big into the Hammer stuff. I might have to go back and check them out again.
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post #43 of 45
9/25/02 at 6:17pm
Quote:
Michael A. Hoffman:
My pick = Carpenter. Pound for pound.

He's a scrawny guy - couldn't way over 150. Has made about 12 real good movies. Devided by his body weight....he makes one good movie every 12.5 pounds.
I guess I can assume and well we all can that John Carpenter takes stacker two. I mean..that he has won this contest.
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post #44 of 45
9/25/02 at 6:19pm
What about Clive Barker? He directed stuff too, ya know. Or Ed Wood...Nah, it's still Carpenter hands down.
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post #45 of 45
9/25/02 at 11:03pm
I'll have to agree that J.C. is the best.

I must defend Tobe Hooper though, I agree that all his recent stuff sucks but one of my all time favorite guilty pleasures is the Mangler. Everyone else I know loaths it but if there ever was a movie that was made for me and me alone the Mangler would be it.
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