Every Adam Wingard Movie, Ranked (According To IMDb)

Adam Wingard is one of the leading figures in the independent horror revival, a filmmaker whose unique take on generating scares earned him enough street cred to tackle mainstream franchises like The Blair Witch Project and soon, the worlds of King Kong and Godzilla. His much anticipated Godzilla Vs. Kong is the culmination of over a decade’s worth of work in cinema.

This Tennessee native made his debut with 2007’s Home Sick. Over a dozen feature films and shorts later, Wingard stands alongside fellow moviemakers like Ti West and Amy Seimetz as progenitors of a more lo-fi, stylistic brand of horror. Now that Wingard’s name is attached to major blockbusters, there’s no telling what’s in store for him next.

13 What Fun We Were Having (2011) – 3.7

What Fun We Were Having played at the 2011 Fantasia Festival, but it was never picked up for wide distribution. Told in four vignettes set on different holidays, the movie deals with a very sensitive topic: sexual assault. As of now, there is no way to view the film.

12 Death Note (2017) – 4.5

Wingard’s Netflix adaptation of Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s Japanese manga Death Note is considered a total flop. This Americanized take stars Nat Wolff as Light Turner, a Seattle high schooler who becomes the owner of a supernatural notebook that causes the death of anyone whose name is written inside it.

While Wingard was praised for his artistic direction, Death Note attempts to condense too much of its source material’s expansive plot into one feature-length film.

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11 Autoerotic (2011) – 4.6

Co-directed with Joe Swanberg, Autoerotic delves into psychological angst with this darkly comedic exploration of contemporary sexuality. Set in Chicago, it follows four couples struggling to make things work in the bedroom.

Wingard and Swanberg both star in the film alongside Amy Seimetz, Kate Lyn Sheil, and Ti West.

10 The ABCs Of Death (2012) – 4.7

“Q is for Quack” is the title of Wingard’s segment in the anthology film The ABCs of Death. It compromises 26 shorts about meeting the Grim Reaper, and is directed by filmmakers from around the world.

Wingard also stars in his short with co-director Simon Barrett. They play fictionalized versions of themselves who decide to film a real-life on-screen death in lieu of making one up.

9 Home Sick (2007) – 4.8

Horror icon Bill Moseley plays a mysterious man named Mr. Suitcase in Wingard’s first feature film. Mr. Suitcase attends a party in a small Alabama town, and his fellow attendees are all preyed upon by a supernatural killer.

Comedic and bloody, Home Sick is far from a masterpiece, but it will keep gore-fiends entertained with its gruesome special effects.

8 Blair Witch (2016) – 5.0

Marketed as a direct sequel to 1999’s The Blair Witch Project, Wingard flexes his found-footage muscles with Blair Witch. James Allen McCune stars as James Donahue, the brother of Heather Donahue, the women who disappeared in the first film.

With some of his college friends, James ventures into Maryland’s Black Hills Forest for answers. The result is a predictable horror movie that does little to build upon its predecessor. That being said, Blair Witch did well in theaters.

7 A Horrible Way To Die (2010) – 5.2

One of Wingard’s more cerebral films, A Horrible Way to Die is anchored by an emotional performance from Amy Seimetz, who Sarah, plays the ex-girlfriend of a serial killer. Sarah is a recovering alcoholic who seems to be getting her life back in order when her ex-boyfriend escapes from prison — presumably to find her.

AJ Bowen and Joe Swanberg co-star in what proves to be a fine example of avant-garde, psychotropic horror.

6 Pop Skull (2007) – 5.5

The second film directed by Wingard, Pop Skull is a metaphysical, drug-addled look at the inner workings of a troubled young man named Jeff, played by Lane Hughes, a frequent collaborator of Wingard’s. Jeff is reeling from a messy breakup while biding his time in a house occupied by traumatic memories.

Jeff’s tormented psyche spills over onto the screen, visualized by nightmarish situations and gritty delusions.

5 60 Seconds Of Solitude In Year Zero (2011) – 5.8

Another anthology film, 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero is an hour-long survey of short films about the death of cinema. Each minute-long entry varies in tone, style, and messaging. Wingard’s entry, “Ultra Modern,” is an experimental, sexual collage featuring a male and female actor.

4 V/H/S (2012) – 5.8

Wingard played a big role in the development of the V/H/S anthology series, which weaves together horror shorts presumably shot on VHS. Wingard and collaborator Simon Barrett wrote the frame narrative that connects each contribution.

Entitled “Tape 56,” Wingard’s overlapping story follows a criminal gang who film their shenanigans. Their latest project sees them breaking into a house containing a large sum of money, where they stumble upon the videotapes that make up the bulk of the movie.

3 V/H/S/2 (2013) – 6.0

After the success of V/H/SV/H/S/2 was put together and released the next year. Simon Barrett directed the frame narrative for the second installment, and Wingard is behind the first vignette: “Phase I Clinical Trials.”

In his short, Wingard plays Herman, a man whose ocular implant allows him to see dead people.

2 You’re Next (2011) – 6.6

Wingard’s breakout film, You’re Next is a refreshing reworking of the home invasion trope in horror movies. Told from the perspective of Sharni Vinson’s character Erin, the film focuses on an estranged family whose big reunion is cut short by masked intruders intent on harming them.

Erin plays the outsider here, the girlfriend of one of the attendees who poses a real threat to the burglars. Erin doesn’t plan to give in to their demands, and she quickly learns how to beat them at their own game.

1 The Guest (2014) – 6.7

The Guest is a bizarre yet effective combination of a spy thriller, war drama, and atmospheric science fiction flick with a horror-filled cherry on top. Dan Stevens plays a mysterious combat veteran who ingratiates himself with the family of a fellow soldier who died in battle.

Stevens’ character, David Collins, is far from who he claims to be, though, and a series of deaths and accidents follow him around town.

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