Director Scott Derrickson's newest horror movie The Black Phone is making waves, so it's time to look at his horror films as a whole and see how they rank against one another. Based on a short story from Joe Hill, The Black Phone is a supernatural story of an abducted child fighting back against his kidnapper with the help of the spirits of the killer's prior victims. Surprisingly, this is the project Derrickson took on after he opted to leave Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. While many would scoff at that decision, The Black Phone is getting great reviews so far.
The Black Phone represents Derrickson's return to the genre that made him a big enough name to get offered the job directing Doctor Strange in the first place. Derrickson burst onto the big screen with 2012's Sinister, which also featured Black Phone star and notable horror movie actor Ethan Hawke. In the years since he's directed five more films, including The Black Phone, only two of which left the horror genre behind. In some ways Derrickson can be considered a bit of a horror master, although he himself does not seem to want that label.
Whether The Black Phone is the beginning of a new run of horror films for Derrickson or only a brief jaunt back into the genre, the director has already cemented his name in the horror history books. With that in mind, here's every Scott Derrickson horror movie ranked worst to best. Just for clarity, Sinister 2 and Urban Legends: Final Cut are not included here since Derrickson did not direct them, but only wrote the scripts.
5. Deliver Us From Evil (2014)
Of the seven films Scott Derrickson has directed to date, almost all of them have been box office hits, if not usually critical darlings. The one real disappointment in Derrickson's filmography is Deliver Us From Evil, released just two years after Derrickson found huge success with Sinister. Although it purported to be inspired by actual events, the plot was almost entirely original. It stars former Hulk actor Eric Bana as a New York City cop investigating crimes that connect to seeming demonic possessions. He then teams up with an unorthodox priest who is an expert in exorcisms to face down the unusual challenge. Deliver Us From Evil was blasted by critics and did only okay financially, and mostly came off as an utterly generic, entirely uninspired stock piece of horror filmmaking. It's not unwatchably awful as there are some genuinely scary and interesting moments, but it's also easily the worst horror movie Derrickson has directed to date, and the race is not close.
4. Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)
Hellraiser: Inferno was both the first Hellraiser movie to be released directly to video and the first feature film directed by Scott Derrickson. It sports a fairly good reputation among Hellraiser devotees, at least when compared to the franchise's other five direct-to-video entries, which all tend to be distressingly bad. Nightbreed's Craig Sheffer stars as a sleazy cop investigating a serial killer called The Engineer, only for the Lament Configuration and Pinhead to eventually get involved. Inferno does not really feel like a Hellraiser film, which makes sense as the original script had Hellraiser added to it after the fact, according to Pinhead actor Doug Bradley. For what it is, Hellraiser: Inferno is a decent movie that sports some well-done makeup and gore effects and surprising visual panache for its low budget. Still, its status as a debut film is apparent, and Derrickson honed his strengths later on.
3. The Exorcism Of Emily Rose (2005)
The Exorcism of Emily Rose was Scott Derrickson's second directorial effort, and a huge step up from Hellraiser: Inferno. Given a much larger budget of $19 million to work with, Derrickson crafted one of the extremely rare blends in cinema: horror mixed with legal drama. The titular young woman dies during an exorcism, and the priest who conducted the ceremony is brought up on charges of negligent homicide. Partially based on a true story, The Exorcism of Emily Rose spends about as much time in the courtroom as it does showing off demonic activity, but the film is bolstered by a terrific lead performance by future Dexter star Jennifer Carpenter, as well as the normally excellent work of Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson in the other major roles. It also helps that The Exorcism of Emily Rose is genuinely frightening, and sports some excellent special effects work.
2. The Black Phone (2022)
The Black Phone, despite its newness, comes very close to instantly claiming the top spot as Scott Derrickson's best horror movie to date. Based on work by Joe Hill, son of Stephen King, The Black Phone tells the tale of a boy named Finney and his attempt to survive being taken by a serial child killer known as The Grabber. The Black Phone is a very disturbing movie, mainly due to its naturally uncomfortable subject matter, and big props also go to Ethan Hawke's terrifying performance as The Grabber. The Black Phone arguably has a few too many minor characters to keep track of, and a psychic visions subplot that feels a bit unneeded at times. Still, Derrickson's latest is a sometimes shockingly violent, often harrowing journey into a truly hellish circumstance driven by inspired performances. Unlike some unfairly hyped horror, it is a movie truly worthy of the widespread critical praise it is receiving.
1. Sinister (2012)
When it comes to pure return on investment, Sinister is definitely Scott Derrickson's most successful movie as a director, hauling in $87 million on a budget of only $3 million. Critical reviews were mixed, but horror lovers took to Sinister in droves, embracing its dark and harsh story, its intense foreboding atmosphere, and terrifying new horror icon in the demon Bagul/Bughuul, aka Mr. Boogie. Sinister also benefits from another great central performance from Ethan Hawke, this time as the protagonist. Sinister's central focus on a string of family murders makes for some uncomfortable, stomach-churning viewing, especially as Hawke's true crime author watches each new tape documenting the killings. The fact that all a Sinister fan needs to hear is the phrase "lawn work" to get chills is a testament to the movie's quality. In some respects, The Black Phone may actually be a better movie than Sinister as Derrickson's matured sensibilities as a director are evident. When it comes to pure horror though, Sinister is just downright scarier.