Adam Wingard has worked his way up to becoming one of the most promising names in the horror genre with his career tackling all sorts of projects that respect horror in different ways, yet some are better than others.
Adam Wingard has been steadily contributing to the horror genre for over a decade, originally cutting his teeth with short films before progressing into more ambitious territory. Wingard has been perfecting his craft for a while, but he got on most people’s radars with his post-modern take on the slasher genre, You’re Next. Ever since then Wingard has tackled bigger and more adventurous projects and even proving himself enough to be given the reins of The Blair Witch Project series for a surprise sequel. Wingard continues to prove himself as a director with fresh ideas and not just some kind of one-hit wonder.
Wingard’s talents have taken him outside of the horror genre, but he’s always returned to the place where he got his start. Horror is very much baked into Wingard’s directing style and even his non-horror efforts provide hints of his ability to create tension. With Wingard set to begin work on an adaptation of the Korean crime drama I Saw the Devil and his giant monster crossover epic, Godzilla vs. Kong on the way, there’s never been a better time to revisit Adam Wingard’s filmography and how his horror contributions hold up.
7. Home Sick (2007)
Home Sick is Adam Wingard's debut feature film and while it largely flew under the radar and very much shows the signs of a fresh filmmaker, it still easily shows a ton of promise from Wingard. Home Sick paints a wickedly creepy story that involves a deranged man with a suitcase full of razorblades (played with a great manic energy by Bill Moseley) and monstrous slasher who sets his sights on some small town youth. The film features a bunch of unlikely misfits who need to band together to overcome these threats and there are some great shades of Phantasm in the film with its villains. Home Sick is an impressive debut film, but it's just not as strong as Wingard's more polished efforts. It's almost a shame that he didn't try to make this movie once he was a little more seasoned since the premise is so compelling.
6. Death Note (2017)
Adam Wingard’s Death Note faces an uphill battle and it really feels like any director would have faced backlash over the project. Wingard’s movie is based on the popular anime and manga series that involves a powerful book that will kill anyone whose name is written within it. Like many anime adaptations, Death Note was attacked over concerns of whitewashing its story, but even still Wingard does the most with his material. Death Note largely suffers from its reductive script (which is not written by Wingard), but the direction conjures some very strong visuals and Wingard’s representation of the demon Ryuuk is a delight. Death Note isn’t a total loss, but it mostly feels like a case of lost potential for what could have been an even better film. In some ways this feels like Wingard on autopilot as he channels a dark atmosphere.
5. Pop Skull (2007)
Pop Skull is another one of Wingard's earlier films, but it still tackles some very complex themes in a mature way for a burgeoning director. Pop Skull pairs the idea of a destructive pill addiction with a haunted house story as delusions get out of control and the film's protagonist, Daniel, begins to lose grasp on what's actually real. Pop Skull is rough around the edges, but it's anchored by surprisingly deep performances and a smart blending of ideas to culminate in something that's not only very scary, but feels grounded and personal, too. Pop Skull is a small, claustrophobic story that doesn't get overly ambitious, but it still pales in comparison to Wingard's deeper and more polished horror movies.
4. A Horrible Way To Die (2010)
A Horrible Way To Die is really Adam Wingard’s transition film between his more independent low budget features to the bigger movies that earned him a lot of critical acclaim. A Horrible Way To Die is Wingard’s first true attempt to create a hardboiled slasher film. The story looks at a disgruntled, deranged murderer who’s looking for his ex-wife who’s gone on to try and build a new life for herself. It’s an example of Wingard leaning in hard to the tropes of a genre, but still finding creative twists on the medium. The film feels like a test run for You’re Next in many ways. A Horrible Way To Die does a lot with a little and the way that it shies away from its depictions of gore to get around its shortcomings are obvious, but Wingard finds a way to turn those weaknesses into strengths.
3. Blair Witch (2016)
In these days of spoiler culture and set leaks it’s difficult for any kind of legitimate surprises to get through to audiences anymore, but Adam Wingard’s horror film The Woods did exactly that when it was actually revealed to be a new entry in the found footage structure to create a genuinely disturbing update to the classic. Wingard carefully follows the formula of the original movie as he throws some unsuspecting people into these haunted woods and let’s chaos break loose. Wingard really leans in hard to the time displacement elements of the films and the result is an extremely trippy final act that respects the original, but takes those ideas even further.
2. The Guest (2014)
It's debatable if The Guest is exactly a horror film or not, but it's such a stirring character drama that's full of tension that it deserves to be included here. The Guest's story is the classic kind of addicting mystery where a soldier returns home from war, indoctrinates himself into an unassuming family, and it suddenly starts to look like this visitor hasn't told them the full truth. The Guest is all about its mysterious atmosphere and the incredible performance that Dan Stevens gives in the title role. There are tons of loving references to horror films throughout the movie and it feels especially like a John Carpenter movie at many moments. The Guest is a film that refuses to be defined and it's that unpredictable, stylistic energy that can do so much with horror.
1. You're Next (2011)
You’re Next isn’t just the crowning achievement of Adam Wingard’s career, but it’s one of the better horror films of the decade and an extremely smart post-modern take on the home invasion genre. You’re Next utilizes many of the staples of the form, such as cute-but-creepy masks, anonymous assailants, and turning the safety of a home into dungeon of horrors. However, You’re Next employs a Scream-like level of self-awareness as it features a victim who switches from the hunted to the hunter and spins everything on its ear. Strong, believable characters, surprising deaths, and a compelling mystery all make You’re Next a winner and proved to audiences that Adam Wingard is a name to .
