Among the best emerging horror directors and writers, Oz Perkins is absolutely one to watch. He has dabbled in the acting world, playing young Dr. Joshua Stone in October Road, Dorky David in Legally Blonde, and more recently, Fynn Bachman in Jordan Peele’s Nope. However, it can be argued that his potent creative juices tend to flow most freely in other cinematic areas. As a director, he has headed several ambitious horror projects, putting a new spin on classic stories. As a writer, he positions his audience within a unique and experimental perspective, combining traditional tropes with a fresh feeling of terror.
In an interview with Polygon, Perkins said, “The experience of a horror movie is about what we don’t understand and can’t see, what’s hidden from us.” Throughout his already stellar career, he has exemplified this philosophy through the tense and terrifying atmospheres he creates, drawing his viewers into the dark and desolate onscreen worlds that he imagines. Here are a few reasons why Oz Perkins could end up being a modern horror master.
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His Famous Family’s Influence
Paramount Pictures
Oz Perkins is the son of Anthony Perkins, who famously portrayed the unsettling and underhanded Norman Bates in Psycho. Needless to say, it’s easy to see exactly where Oz got his start in horror. He even played young Norman in Psycho II when he was only nine years old, following in his father’s footsteps from an early age. His first name is short for Osgood after his grandfather, the famed Broadway actor Osgood Perkins. Oz’s brother, Elvis Perkins, is a singer-songwriter, and musical star, as well as a score composer for his film, The Blackcoat’s Daughter. Success in the entertainment industry quite literally runs in the Perkins bloodline, positioning Oz for an outstanding career of his own.
Unique, Bleak Take on Horror
Netflix
Oz Perkins has proved that his vision of horror has a foreboding flavor that may just become his calling card within the genre. He has directed a smattering of spooky films – The Blackcoat’s Daughter, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, and Gretel & Hansel – and wrote the first two as well. Each of his creative projects tends to have the same uneasy and far-removed feel, isolating the audience within the unknown and unexplored world of the story. For example, I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives in the House takes place within an author’s ancient house tucked away in the woods, while her care nurse investigates mysterious happenings that add up to a home haunting.
An Oz Perkins film can be expected to scare without creating unnecessary cacophony or spectacle. Instead, he creates tension by building up strange silences and feelings of loneliness within these remote environments. There are certainly some traditionally scary moments, but he notably chooses not to rely on jump scares and cheap gotcha moments to unsettle his viewers. His true strengths appear when he shines a light into the shadows he casts, exposing the evil that has lurked beneath all along. The reveal of the demon in The Blackcoat’s Daughter is an excellent instance of this, hiding behind curtains during a chilling exorcism in black and white set to melancholy piano music.
Commitment to Reviving the Classics
Imagem Filmes
Throughout his filmography so far, Oz Perkins has shown an earnest dedication to breathing new life into old stories. Gretel & Hansel is his most well-known foray into this area; in his directorial interpretation; putting Gretel’s name first in the title signifies her leadership within the story, breaking away from the well-known narrative and giving her more agency as she rescues herself and her brother. This film revolutionizes a celebrated Grimm fairytale and transforms it into a genuine horror film through its haunting roots that have always been there under the surface. While staying true to the original storyline, Perkins weaves in modern threads of feminism and also creates a recognizable modern horror setting through the triangular imagery of the witch’s house.
Perkins also made an appearance in Jordan Peele’s reboot of the beloved Twilight Zone series. In the episode “You Might Also Like” that Perkins directs, a housewife’s life is changed forever when she discovers the truth behind the Egg, a mysterious device that all of her neighbors are obsessed with. The storyline eventually leads to the return of the Kanamits, a group of aliens who were first seen in the 1962 original series episode “To Serve Man.” Perkins is seen briefly onscreen as well, playing Kanamit #2. This episode goes from a strange suburban nightmare to quite literally an otherworldly experience, aided by the darkly creative flexibility that Perkins’ touch typically adds to a work of horror. In all of his projects, he seems to ask viewers to forget everything they think they know – despite often finding themselves in familiar settings – and try something completely different. Oz Perkins’ incredible cinematic track record so far sets up an exciting future for the horror genre.
