James Wan – Best Modern Horror Director?

In the 80s and 90s names such as Wes Craven, Clive Barker and John Carpenter were synonymous with their ghoulish creations. There has been a void in recent years, with no modern horror director stepping to the fore. With the Conjuring and now the Conjuring 2, James Wan has moved to the fore front of the genre. While some would suggest Rob Zombie, the quality is not really there. Guillermo Del Torro is probably a better director, but he works in a multitude of genres. Other names such as Adam Wingard, Ti West, Alexandre Aja, Adam Green and Eli Roth are not that well known in comparison. Is James Wan the best horror director/ writer of his generation?

At the age of 39, James Wan is quickly becoming the best known modern Horror director. He is responsible for the second highest grossing horror franchise of all time in the Saw series, which is only behind Halloween. He directed the short film Saw in 2003 before turning it into a feature-length film in 2004. The film was made for a mere $1.2m and ended up grossing over $100m, which is a pretty staggering success. While it did not go down well with the critics, the film was a huge success with fans, and ended up spawning 6 sequels. Wan did not direct any of the sequels, but acted as producer in each case.

Since Saw, he has worked on a number of films such as Dead Silence and Death Sentence, both being panned by the critics. Insidious marked a turn around with his critical reception, with a largely positive response, before falling from grace with a poor sequel in Insidious: Chapter 2.

The film sandwiched between the two Insidious films was the Conjuring (2013), which is his finest work. Receiving high praise from fans and critics alike, this was a typical ghost story that explored the world of Ed and Lorraine Warren. The film was something of a throw back to 70s horrors such as poltergeist and even the Omen. The first act was very strong, as the family slowly realise that the house they have moved to has secrets of its own.

After a brief skirmish with the Furious franchise, Wan returned with the Conjuring 2. This again features Ed and Lorraine, but has moved the events to Enfield, England. While both Conjuring films are ‘based on true stories’, it is clearly in the loosest sense of the word, as they are works of fiction based around supposed hauntings. The Conjuring 2 is a rare sequel, in that it is almost as good as the one that went before. With Wan having signed up to make Aquaman in 2018, it will be interesting to see how he does in his attempts to start a comic book film franchise. It is another step away from the Horror genre, but his main talent lies in explaining things that go bump in the night!

Director –
2018 Aquaman (announced)
2016 The Conjuring 2
2015 Furious 7
2013 Insidious: Chapter 2
2013 The Conjuring
2010/I Insidious
2008 Doggie Heaven (Video short)
2007 Death Sentence
2007 Dead Silence
2004 Saw
2003 Saw (Short)
2000 Stygian