This weekend, comedian/actor Jordan Peele‘s directorial debut, the politically-charged horror offering Get Out, arrives in theaters. Peele isn’t the first actor to direct a film. Not by a longshot. He is, however, one of a smaller subset of actors who have ventured into the horror end of the directorial pool.
Mind you plenty of regular horror actors have directed films within the genre. Anthony Perkins (Psycho III, Lucky Stiff), Robert Englund (976-Evil), Angela Bettis (Roman), and Bruce Campbell (My Name is Bruce) all certainly come to mind. What about actors who haven’t been typecast within the genre, however? There are a few who have indulged those darker desires and conjured up some notable thrillers and terror tales. In honor of Get Out‘s pending release, we’ve decided to showcase a handful of them…
Lost River (2014) dir. Ryan Gosling
The most recent example of this trend is La La Land star Ryan Gosling’s neo-noir thriller from a few years back. Boasting a good cast and a story best described as offbeat, Lost River is packed to the brim with horror references and imagery. It’s a sneaky piece of genre cinema and one that has me longing for Gosling to make a full-blown horror movie at some point. With the right script, I really think the actor could knock one out of the park.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994) dir. Kenneth Branagh
American Zoetrope’s follow-up to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this retelling of the classic science fiction/horror tale remains a divisive one to this day. It might lack the artistry and pure terror of James Whale’s original film, but its deficiencies in those areas are balanced by an operatic tone and a game cast. At least that’s how I feel, anyway.
Parents (1989) dir. Bob Balaban
Character actor Bob Balaban has actually directed quite a few feature-length projects. To date he has only helmed three theatrical motion pictures, however, and two of them are horror comedies. The first of them, Parents, is a fun black comedy about a 10-year-old boy who begins to suspect that his parents (Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt) might be cannibals. Both it and Balaban’s other genre entry, My Boyfriend’s Back, are underseen efforts that are well worth a look.
Play Misty For Me (1971) dir. Clint Eastwood
On the thriller end of the pool, we have megastar Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut about a disc jockey who becomes the obsession of an unhinged woman whom he had a one-night stand with. Often overlooked by horror fans and even Eastwood fans these days, Play Misty For Me remains a great little chiller to this day. Eastwood has dabbled a bit in the genre since (i.e. the giallo-ish Tightrope), but has never fully taken the plunge. At this point I doubt he ever will, but this project remains a keeper.
The Night of the Hunter (1955) dir. Charles Laughton
We now come to the crown jewel of this list. Not only is The Night of the Hunter a great example of an actor crafting their own terror tale, but the film itself is an outright masterpiece. Most actors would kill to have a film this good in their body of work, let alone have one attributed to them creatively. It is sadly also the only film that Charles Laughton ever directed. A dark fairytale-esque noir offering, this film is far more horrifying than its crime film brethren. Its dreamlike imagery and chilling atmosphere are so thick that you could cut doughnuts out of its air, Scooby-Doo-style. If you’ve never had the pleasure of watching Robert Mitchum stalk and terrorize small children, you’re missing out.
Will Peele’s Get Out measure up to the other films on this list? I have a sneaking suspicion that it will, not only because reviews have been stellar, but also because the film itself looks fantastic based upon its previews. I guess we will find out in few days!
