While classic horror movies often dominate conversations around this genre, there are plenty of modern directors making movies for the next generation. Although legends like Alfred Hitchcock, George A. Romero, and John Carpenter deserve credit, we should also take some time to lavish praise on those who are paving the way toward the future.

Many of the best horror movies ever made have been released in recent years, as young filmmakers seek to push the boundaries of the genre and explore themes that are relevant to contemporary times. With so many talented filmmakers working in the horror genre today, some of the most exciting films of modern times were scary stories and terrifying tales.

Jordan Peele

As one half of the comedy duo Key & Peele, nobody expected Jordan Peele to become one of the most vital voices in modern horror movies before his debut, Get Out, in 2017. This hugely successful horror hit was immediately recognized as a modern classic and went on to gain an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, a rare feat for a horror movie.

Peele has remained at the forefront of modern horror, blending genuine scares with incredibly timely social commentary. The way that Get Out explored race relations in America was revolutionary, and he expanded upon these ideas in later releases like Us and Nope, while also adding to the canon of horror television series as a producer on The Twilight Zone revival.

Prano Bailey-Bond

Welsh filmmaker Prano Bailey-Bond hasn’t yet carved out her legacy within the world of modern horror but has shown incredible potential with her 2021 debut, Censor. This fascinating psychological horror received widespread acclaim as it told its story of a film censor uncovering the mystery of her sister’s disappearance during the height of the video nasty controversy in the 1990s.

Censor received the Méliès d’Or for Best European Fantastic Film, signaling Bailey-Bond’s emergence as an exciting new voice in horror. While Bailey-Bond has yet to follow up on the extraordinary success of Censor, it will be exciting to see how she continues to shape and influence the landscape of British horror in later years.

Ari Aster

It’s impossible to talk about the voices shaping modern horror without mentioning Ari Aster, a director who has quickly carved out a reputation as one of the most exciting filmmakers working today, in horror or otherwise. With 2018’s Hereditary standing as one of the most impressive debuts in horror history, it’s no surprise he’s become so well-known.

Aster followed up the success of Hereditary with the equally acclaimed Midsommar in 2019, a folk horror that stands as perhaps the most terrifying break-up movie of all time. While Beau Is Afraid divided audiences and Eddington saw Aster move closer to the thriller genre, he’s sure to deliver many more exciting horror movies in the future.

Brandon Cronenberg

The name Cronenberg has long been synonymous with the body horror genre, as Brandon’s father, David, made some of the most gruesome and divisive horror movies of all time. With Brandon following in his father’s footsteps, this exciting young director kicked off his career in 2012 with the sci-fi horror Antiviral.

However, Brandon took things to the next level with Possessor in 2020, a horrifying story of bodily possession that captured the style and appeal of his father’s work. With 2023’s Infinity Pool gaining similar acclaim, it seems the horror world is ready to accept a new Cronenberg for the next generation.

Danny and Michael Philippou

The Australian twin filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou got their start on YouTube, making comedy horror videos before making the leap into feature films. With a great sense of humor and a talent for portraying truly gruesome visuals, the Philippou twins are only in their early 30s but already have two acclaimed movies to their name.

Both Talk to Me from 2023 and 2025’s Bring Her Back have signaled these brothers as yet another talented group of siblings to rival the likes of the Coens, the Safdies, and the Wachowskis. Talk to Me even made horror history, as it surpᴀssed Hereditary as A24’s highest-grossing horror film domestically.

Julia Ducournau

French filmmaker Julia Ducournau has infused coming-of-age stories, intense psychological themes, and shocking body horror into a new style that’s totally unique to her. With her debut Raw from 2016 telling the story of a vegetarian veterinary student who develops an insatiable craving for human flesh, Ducournau was testing the limits of the audience’s tastes right from the get-go.

Ducournau really caught viewers’ attention after winning the Palme d’Or for her film тιтane, her cult classic hit from 2021. As a provocative and original exploration of disturbing feminist themes, тιтane revealed Ducournau as a kind of modern Cronenberg with a feminist spin. While 2025’s Alpha stands as Ducournau’s first real misfire, she has shown so much potential already.

Rose Glᴀss

The eerie intersection between horror and religion has long been explored in classics like Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, with the British filmmaker Rose Glᴀss adding to this canon with her extraordinary debut Saint Maud in 2019. Telling the story of a newly converted religious private carer who becomes fixated with saving her patient’s soul, this unsettling tale powerfully explores loneliness.

With a high level of artistry and contemplation, Saint Maud elevated its narrative beyond simple jump scares to evoke the appeal of all-time great horror releases. While Glᴀss’s second film, Love Lies Bleeding, leans more into romantic thriller territory, she has the potential to be a significant contributor to the modern horror movie landscape.

Ti West

While Ti West has been working as a horror filmmaker for a long time, with his debut The Roost coming out in 2005, it’s in recent years that he’s truly broken through as a major voice in horror cinema. That’s because West’s X series really stood out as some of his best work, and between 2022 and 2024, he released three fantastic films centered around Mia Goth.

Goth played both Maxine Minx and Pearl in the X film series, who stand out as two of the most fully realized character studies in modern horror. As a horror series that not only carves out an incredibly realized cinematic world but also explores relevant themes of aging, ambition, and desire for fame, West has proven himself an important voice.

Zach Creggar

Much like Jordan Peele before him, Zach Creggar was yet another comedian who managed to make the leap into horror filmmaking with relative ease. Having made his name as a member of the comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U’ Know and as a sitcom star, nobody expected Creggar to defy all expectations with modern horror classics like Barbarian and Weapons.

As two films that have captured horror viewers’ attention, Barbarian was an exciting debut that gained universal acclaim, while Weapons tapped into relevant social issues of generational trauma, addiction, and police corruption. In just a few short years, Creggar has already left his mark on horror, and it will be exciting to see what he does next.

Robert Eggers

Few modern filmmakers have a track record quite as impressive as Robert Eggers, a director who has consistently been making great horror movies for the past ten years. The Witch was Eggers’ debut movie, and it immediately showcased him as having a keen eye for detail, an ability to craft fully realized worlds, and a uniquely eerie stylistic sensibility.

Eggers kept the modern classics coming with the intense paranoia of The Lighthouse, the epic mythology-influenced The Northman, and the incredible Dracula adaptation Nosferatu. With an ability to get the best out of his actors’ performances, Eggers stands as one of the defining horror filmmakers of modern times.