The best directors of horror films

Key recommendations

• Director's Cuts can enhance horror films by adding gore, character development, and deleted scenes to the original vision.
• Movies like
  Imitate
  and
  Nightbreed
  they were improved when directors had a chance to release their preferred versions after studio interference.
• Alien and Aliens saw their extended cuts add depth to characters and scenes, making them more complete and enriching the viewing experience.

A lot can go into making a horror film, but due to various issues, from pacing to simply keeping within a certain runtime, scenes are removed from the editing room. In some cases, entire portions are re-recorded, for better or for worse, which has resulted in various director's cuts being released on home video.

From monster movies to iconic slashers to horror films that were already good, films by female directors have become as famous as theatrical films. Not only does it offer insight into what the director originally had in mind, which could lead to drastic tones and styles, but some director's cuts manage to be superior to what came before.

8 Saw 3

What could have been an epic end to the franchise

• Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
• Release date: October 27, 2006
• Starring: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus McFayden, Bahar Soomekh

Originally intended to be the epic finale to the blood-fueled horror franchise, Saw 3 it already features a lot, with multiple plots going on simultaneously. As a result, certain things were cut by the studio, but were later included in Darren Lynn Bousman's director's cut, which was only slightly longer, but enough to make a difference.

Extended cutting a Saw 3 featured several gore and disturbing shots, thus extending each trap sequence to be even worse to witness. New scenes, including the return of a legacy character from the first Saw film, were added to give the story more fan service, and it remained the longest Saw film in the entire series going forward. I saw X came out.

7 Imitate

Guillermo Del Toro hated the theatrical film

• Directed by: Guillermo Del Toro
• Release date: August 22, 1997
• Starring: Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Charles Dutton, Josh Brolin

Although it was a very successful horror film of the 90s, Imitate he was snubbed by one important person: Guillermo Del Toro, the director. Del Toro expressed his displeasure with how Imitate it turned out because producer Harvey Weinstein clashed with him, forcing certain choices and denying the director any say in the final shoot.

However, in 2011, Del Toro was allowed to return and merge Imitate closer to as he would have wanted. Deleted scenes have been added, some scenes have been reduced, others have been expanded, and the color grading has been changed, and the result is a monster movie that Gullermo Del Toro, as well as the fans, appreciate much more.

6 Friday the 13th (2009)

Jason Voorhees is deadlier and more developed

• Director: Marcus Nispel
• Release date: February 13, 2009
• Starring: Derek Mears, Jared Padalecki, Amanda Righetti, Danielle Panabaker

Also known as The Killer Cut, the Friday the 13th The reboot was not loved by critics, which is common with slasher horror film franchises, but became a beloved entry in the series due to its dark return to the classic slasher killer style while updating Jason Voorhees to be the more terrifying. , and this is only improved with the extended cut.

As the name of the cut suggests, the Killer Cut of Friday the 13th features more of the kills Jason is known for, especially in the already gruesome prologue sequence. However, there are also new scenes that develop Jason Voorhees as a character, showing that he is more than just a mindless killer.

5 Stay alive

A movie about a cursed horror game should never be PG-13

• Director: William Brent Bell
• Release date: March 24, 2006
• Starring: Jon Foster, Frankie Muniz, Sophia Bush, Samaire Armstrong

A movie doesn't have to be R-rated to be good, but the editing of a similar movie does Stay alivethat was made to be rated as a love letter to horror video games, to have a PG-13 rating, is not wise. The movie is about a group of friends who play a cursed horror game and start getting killed in the real world just like they were killed in the game.

In the PG-13 version, almost all of the death scenes are cut and are obviously watered down, relying more on tension and scares. However, Stay alive it is considered far superior in the Unrated cut, with more gore to create a darker, more appropriate tone, while the tone of the theatrical cut was inconsistent.

4 Foreign

Ridley Scott created the definitive version of the film

• Director: Ridley Scott
• Release date: June 22, 1979
• Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Ian Holm, Tom Skerritt, Yaphet Kotto

Ridley Scott revolutionized sci-fi horror with the 1979s Foreign and the creation of the terrifying Xenomorph. In 2003, Ridley Scott was able to restore the deleted scenes, including the now-beloved Xenomorph lair scene, which helped spawn several theories in the fanbase about what he was doing with his victims.

Other scenes from Foreign the extended cut shows off more of the crew and fleshes them out a bit more. Several Xenomorph scenes are present, such as Brett's extended death. Even Jonesy the cat gets extra time when he comes face-to-face with the perfect organism, and it may not be very new, but it's enough to help the film feel expansive without slowing down the pace.

3 Doctor Sleep

Three hours of pure Stephen King horror

• Director: Mike Flanagan
• Release date: November 8, 2019
• Starring: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyleigh Curran, Bruce Greenwood

Adapting Stephen King's novels into films is no easy task because his stories are as long as they are complex and Doctor Sleep is no different, being also a legacy continuation of The shine. While the theatrical cut has already been praised as a strong adaptation, director Mike Flanagan's film is also being praised for over half an hour of additional content.

Focusing on character development, Doctor Sleep It features several scenes throughout that wrap up characters like Ewan McGregor's Dan Torrence, Kyliegh Curran's Abra, and Rebecca Ferguson's Rose, along with some extra fan service in the final act. It's longer at three hours, but the extended scenes and extras deliver Doctor Sleep a streamlined beat that never feels too fast or slow.

2 aliens

More action and suspense brought by James Cameron

• Director: James Cameron
• Release date: July 14, 1986
• Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Lance Henriksen

of James Cameron aliens it was already considered a master class in how to make a sequel, with many considering it the best of them all Foreign timeline. However, in 2003, Cameron gave his film the same treatment that Ridley did to the original, adding new scenes that flesh out certain aspects better.

Ellen Ripley's story is given more depth, especially in the opening, which goes further into why she becomes so protective of Newt throughout the film. Newt is also introduced much earlier in the film with a sequence showing the colony before the Xenomorph infestation and there is more tension added by the now famous car turret scenes.

1 Nightbreed

Clive Barker's Cut proves that only he should be in control of his films

• Director: Clive Barker
• Release date: February 16, 1990
• Starring: Craig Sheffer, David Cronenberg, Lori Winston, Dough Bradley

Clive Barker is an unorthodox storyteller, but that's also what makes him so memorable, creating beautifully graphic horror stories such as Hellraiser and Nightbreed. However, Nightbreed it was originally released as a cut that Clive Barker wasn't happy with, stripping away much of the nuance and style for something akin to a slasher film that was more satisfying to the studio.

However, in 2009, Clive Barker released his cut Nightbreed with over twenty minutes of new and alternate footage that turned what was an unwatchable mess into a much more coherent story. It was what Clive Barker originally wanted, with a better tone, development of the titular monsters and an alternate ending.