5 Comedy Directors Who Got Better by Switching to Horror Movies

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Comedy and horror are consistently the most popular genres, reliably drawing big reactions from audiences – whether laughter or screams. It’s not surprising, then, that many successful horror directors actually began their careers in comedy. While these genres seem very different, they share a common purpose: to evoke a strong emotional response from viewers.

Here are five of today’s most fascinating horror directors. What’s surprising is that they all started their careers making people laugh – whether as actors, comedians, or both – before moving into scary movies.

1) Zach Cregger

Although he helped start the comedy group *The Whitest Kids U’ Know*, it wasn’t widely popular enough to make him famous. And when his horror film *Barbarian* came out in 2022, even people who knew his work from *WKUK* didn’t realize he’d directed one of the most talked-about horror movies of recent years.

Zach Cregger truly established himself as a director with *Barbarian*, his first solo directorial effort. While he co-directed *Miss March* in 2009 with Trevor Moore, *Barbarian* was entirely his vision and stood out as a remarkably confident debut. With his recent film, *Weapons*, he’s proven he can create popular movies and that *Barbarian* wasn’t a one-time success. Cregger is clearly a promising talent, and many expect a major franchise like the DCU to recruit him soon. For now, he’s continuing to work in the horror genre, and his next project is a reboot of the popular *Resident Evil* franchise.

2) Jordan Peele

Jordan Peele first became known for his five seasons on *Mad TV*, but he really gained widespread recognition with *Key & Peele*, the hilarious sketch comedy series he created with Keegan-Michael Key. Even during that show, you could occasionally see his passion for horror-and he had a knack for perfectly explaining what made *Gremlins 2: The New Batch* so unique.

Jordan Peele made a striking entrance as a horror director with his first film, *Get Out*, immediately establishing him as a major talent. Although his subsequent films, *Us* and *Nope*, didn’t quite reach the same heights, they were still intellectually stimulating and demonstrated his bold vision. Peele’s next project is *Him*, which he is producing.

3) Josh Ruben

If you’re familiar with the comedy videos from Dropout (formerly CollegeHumor), you’ve likely seen Josh Ruben. He continues to work with Dropout, and is well-known for his portrayal of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker in a Badman parody video created by Pete Holmes.

As a director, he’s made three horror comedies, and each one has been scarier than the last. He hasn’t made a bad movie yet – all of his films, including *Scare Me* with Aya Cash (from *The Boys*), *Werewolves Within*, and *Heart Eyes*, have been well-received.

4) William Peter Blatty

William Peter Blatty, who recently passed away, is best remembered for writing the novel *The Exorcist* in 1971 and, even more famously, the screenplay for the 1973 movie. Given the success and impact of both, many people might assume he always wrote horror stories.

However, that wasn’t quite right. Blatty’s first novels, like *John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!*, were actually comedies. And it wasn’t just novels – he also wrote the screenplay for *Goldfarb*, and many of his early screenplays were comedic, most famously *A Shot in the Dark*, the second *Pink Panther* movie. He only directed two films – *The Ninth Configuration* and *The Exorcist III*, which was a worthy sequel to William Friedkin’s original – but his extensive work as a comedy writer earns him a place on this list, even though he focused solely on horror as a director.

5) John Krasinski

John Krasinski first became famous for playing Jim Halpert on The Office, a role that opened doors for him to explore different types of projects. While he was on the show for nine years, he primarily focused on comedy. He made brief appearances on TV shows like American Dad!, 30 Rock, and Arrested Development, and starred in romantic comedies such as The Holiday, License to Wed, Away We Go, and It’s Complicated.

He first gained leading roles in action films in 2016, playing Jack Silva in *13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi* and later as Jack Ryan in the Prime Video series of the same name. While he had previously directed smaller comedy-dramas like *Brief Interviews with Hideous Men* and *The Hollars*, he truly broke through as a director with the post-apocalyptic horror film *A Quiet Place*. The movie demonstrated a remarkable ability to create suspense, and he followed it up with an even more impressive sequel, *A Quiet Place Part II*. Although he didn’t direct *A Quiet Place: Day One*, he remained a producer on the project. He’s set to return as director for *A Quiet Place Part III*, scheduled for release in 2027.

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2025-09-22 01:12