In a world where superhero movies have been all the rage for quite some time, it goes without saying that a wide variety of filmmakers have tackled a superhero flick or two in their career. What’s rather interesting, though, is that there seems to have been a trend with horror directors making the move to superhero films. It begs the question: is using horror directors the way to go for superhero movies?

Let’s take a look at some examples and what level of success they’ve had. Going back as early as the 1970s, Richard Donner’s breakthrough film was The Omen, and he famously made Superman just two years later. Superman would go on to become a renowned classic and arguably showed the world the heights that superhero films could reach. Guillermo del Toro is a master of the macabre who made the likes of Pan’s Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, and Cabinet of Curiosities. He’s also known for making the Hellboy movies, as well as Pacific Rim which arguably fits the superhero formula. All of these have become fan-favorites.

Sam Raimi is known for creating the Evil Dead franchise, as well as Drag Me to Hell. Moviegoers may also know him as the director behind the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies and Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness. Many fans attribute his Spider-Man flicks to the early rise of Marvel movies. James Gunn got his start in the industry writing for Troma Entertainment, where he wrote Tromeo and Juliet. He then went on to make the sci-fi/horror movie Slither. Nowadays, Gunn is known as the guy who made Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad, and will be leading DC’s adaptations going forward.

Tim Burton is a popular choice for spooky showcases, like Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands. Obviously, he’s also the filmmaker who gave 1989’s Batman to the world and changed comic book movies forever. James Wan made Saw, Malignant, and The Conjuring, as well as the Aquaman films.

Others on this long list include David F. Sandberg who made Annabelle: Creation and Shazam!, Scott Derrickson who made Sinister, Black Phone, and Doctor Strange, and Zack Snyder who made Dawn of the Dead and Man of Steel. Of course, this trend isn’t always successful, like with It and It: Chapter 2 director Andy Muschetti also helming The Flash. However, horror filmmakers taking the reins for superhero flicks typically leads to success, as we can see with this list.

It’s worth taking a look as to why that is, though. Horror tends to be a very loose, fantastical genre. Audiences accept paranormal and otherworldly properties in horror stories. Horror is also broad, as it can cover many subgenres like slashers, ghost stories, monster movies, psychological horror, apocalyptic, and more. The same can all be said for superhero stories. Audiences accept the fantasy elements of them, and they can fall into a multitude of other genres, like either being more grounded or fantastical, or more comedic or dramatic. These elements bleed over from horror to comic book adaptations quite nicely.

Plus, horror doesn’t usually get as big of a budget as other genres, while superhero movies do (well, at least modern ones do). With the bigger budget, these filmmakers can take what creativity they’ve gained by being forced to fit everything into a smaller budget and use it to fully explore the characters and worlds.

Perhaps, assuming superhero movies will still be what Hollywood chooses to focus so much on, it may be wise to let horror directors run wild with them.

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