Adam Wingard isn’t the first director to start out with very low-budget movies before going on to oversee exceedingly expensive blockbusters, and neither is he likely to be the last. His earliest directorial credits go back to the late 2000s, with him starting to make more of a name for himself by the early 2010s, all within the horror genre. Things shifted a bit as the decade went on, and as of the 2020s, he’s also directed two large-scale movies featuring both Godzilla and King Kong.
The following is a ranking of all the feature films he’s been the sole director of, which disqualifies various titles. He’s made plenty of short films that won’t be included below, and neither will anthology movies he was a part of or films where he was a co-director, like V/H/S, V/H/S/2, The ABCs of Death, or Autoerotic. Also, a 2011 movie of his called What Fun We Were Having was apparently only screened once, so that’s a bit hard to include. Otherwise, this ranking is comprehensive, going from worst to best.
9 'Death Note' (2017)
Starring: Nat Wolff, LaKeith Stanfield, Margaret Qualley
An infamous movie that can, at times, work like an unintentional comedy, 2017’s Death Note has the same characters and premise found in the acclaimed 2000s manga (and anime) series, but isn’t nearly as compelling or intense. The set-up is still fascinating, though, following a teenager who comes across a mysterious book that can kill anyone, so long as their name is written on one of its pages.
While the progression from this protagonist going from only killing dangerous criminals to killing to save his skin is interesting in the more prolonged versions of Death Note, this 2017 movie suffers from feeling rushed. It also gets very silly as it barrels towards a rather anticlimactic conclusion, but to Wingard’s credit, it’s not a terrible-looking movie, and most of the problems come from the screenplay and some miscast actors.
Death Note
DramaFantasy HorrorMysteryThriller- Release Date
- August 25, 2017
- Director
- Adam Wingard
- Cast
- Margaret Qualley , LaKeith Stanfield , Willem Dafoe , Nat Wolff , Shea Whigham , Masi Oka
- Runtime
- 101
8 'Blair Witch' (2016)
Starring: James Allen McCune, Callie Hernandez, Brandon Scott
A conversation about iconic found footage horror movies can’t be had without at least mentioning 1999’s The Blair Witch Project, and 2016’s Blair Witch is something of an attempt to replicate that film’s feel and success. It’s also an example of found footage horror, and puts a 2010s spin on the same sort of “young people uncovering horrors deep in the woods” premise of the 1999 original, making use of better technology and all.
Its budget was higher, but though it was profitable, it didn’t make nearly as much money as The Blair Witch Project did, which was a full-on phenomenon back in the late 1990s. As far as this kind of horror movie goes, you could do worse than Blair Witch, but you could also do better, and perhaps most will find it more worthwhile to just revisit the original film instead of checking this one out.
Blair Witch (2016)
RHorrorThriller- Release Date
- September 16, 2016
- Director
- Adam Wingard
- Cast
- James Allen McCune , Brandon Scott , Corbin Reid , Callie Hernandez , Valorie Curry , Wes Robinson
- Runtime
- 89 Minutes
Rent on Apple TV
7 'A Horrible Way to Die' (2010)
Starring: Brandon Carroll, AJ Bowen, Amy Seimetz
As the title suggests, A Horrible Way to Die is very much a horror movie, and one of several that defined the early years of Adam Wingard’s feature film directing career. It’s a straightforward and relatively no-nonsense film, centering on a woman who goes to live in a small town to start her life over and get away from her past, only to have someone from that past – a murderous ex-boyfriend – pursue her.
One of the stars here is Joe Swanberg, someone whom Wingard co-directed 2011’s Autoerotic with, and a director who also made a couple of films with Greta Gerwig around the same time. Other than some distractingly shaky camerawork, A Horrible Way to Diefunctions decently as a small-scale and relatively short horror movie, but at the same time, it’s also hard to find much in it that stands out as feeling remarkable.
A Horrible Way to Die
R HorrorThriller- Release Date
- September 14, 2010
- Director
- Adam Wingard
- Cast
- Joe Swanberg , AJ Bowen , Amy Seimetz , Brandon Carroll
- Runtime
- 87
6 'Home Sick' (2007)
Starring: Bill Moseley, Tom Towles, Tiffany Shepis
Home Sick goes above and beyond when it comes to being the lowest of low-budget horror movies, and is notable for being filmed in 2003 but not released until 2007. It ended up being the first feature film directed by Adam Wingard to ever be released, and it’s about as bare-bones as horror movies get, following an unsettling individual who shows up at a party filled with young people and then sets about killing them one by one.
The title works because most of it takes place in a single home, and the film is also kind of sickening, having tons of blood and gore for those who don’t mind that kind of thing in the horror movies they watch. For a directorial debut, it’s not bad, but it’s also safe to call it a film that’s something of an acquired taste.
5 'Pop Skull' (2007)
Starring: Lane Hughes, Brandon Carroll, Maggie Gwin
Given Home Sick was made well before 2007, that year ended up being one where two Adam Wingard movies came out; Pop Skull being the second (and the overall better of the pair). It’s a psychological horror movie that also deals with themes surrounding addiction, centering on someone who’s addicted to prescription drugs, recovering from a breakup, and dealing with terrifying visions that may be more than just hallucinations.
Pop Skull is a real trip of a movie, and intentionally so, hitting the same sorts of notes throughout but also being consistently nightmarish and quite intense in parts. It has a few limitations here and there on account of it being a small production with (another) low budget, but it’s perhaps the best of Wingard’s earliest movies; the ones he made before he started to make a name for himself outside the realms of niche horror.
4 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' (2024)
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens
One of many Godzilla movies released during the 21st century so far, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire follows on from the last time the two titular monsters met, here having something of an alliance. Kong is something of an adversary for Godzilla early on, but the emergence of two new Titans from the Hollow Earth is no laughing matter, leading to the pair cooperating for the good of the entire planet.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a stupid and very over-the-top movie, but those who don’t mind that kind of vibe in their giant monster movies will still hopefully find much of it entertaining. It’s not the best the MonsterVerse has to offer, but neither is it the worst, and it does manage to be good fun when delivering Titan-focused action scenes (and there are thankfully quite a lot of those throughout).
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
PG-13ActionAdventure Sci-Fi- Release Date
- March 29, 2024
- Director
- Adam Wingard
- Cast
- Dan Stevens , Rebecca Hall , Brian Tyree Henry , Rachel House
- Runtime
- 1h 55m
3 'You’re Next' (2011)
Starring: Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn
The movie responsible for getting Adam Wingard wider recognition, leading to bigger films down the line (including the aforementioned Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire), You’re Next works extremely well as a stripped-back horror/thriller movie. It centers on a group of family members trying to celebrate a wedding anniversary, only to find things turn towards violence and chaos when mysterious figures begin stalking and trying to kill them.
You’re Next is a low-budget slasher movie that nevertheless puts a spin on the well-worn genre, feeling subversive in all the right ways while also delivering largely what you’d expect out of this brand of horror movie. It’s not a perfect film by any means, but it’s very good overall for what it is, and ultimately signified that Wingard was a filmmaker worth keeping an eye on going forward.
You're Next
RComedy HorrorMysteryThriller- Release Date
- September 10, 2011
- Director
- Adam Wingard
- Cast
- Sharni Vinson , Nicholas Tucci , Wendy Glenn , AJ Bowen , Joe Swanberg , Margaret Laney
- Runtime
- 96
2 'Godzilla vs. Kong' (2021)
Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry
A film that admittedly has some detractors, Wingard’s first foray into the kaiju genre, Godzilla vs. Kong, is also a ton of fun when approached with the right frame of mind. It’s a movie that’s all about delivering on the titular smackdown, and seeing Kong and Godzilla go head-to-head within this dumb, explosive, and very fast-paced movie is a blast.
The non-monster parts of Godzilla vs. Kong don’t work nearly as well, but the film never spends too long on the stuff it knows viewers aren’t as keen to see. It’s a movie that works despite its glaring flaws, and as far as American-produced Godzilla movies go, it’s easily one of the best ones (though few fans of kaiju movies will say it holds a candle to some of the best Japanese Godzilla movies).
Godzilla vs. Kong
PG-13Action Sci-FiThriller- Release Date
- March 31, 2021
- Director
- Adam Wingard
- Cast
- Alexander Skarsgard , Millie Bobby Brown , Rebecca Hall , Brian Tyree Henry
- Runtime
- 113 minutes
1 'The Guest' (2014)
Starring: Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe, Brendan Meyer
Feeling like it perfectly bridges the gap between Wingard’s low-budget roots and his later, slicker, and more expensive movies, The Guest inevitably emerges as the greatest movie he’s directed to date. It’s a well-paced and engaging thriller that also indulges in some surprisingly good action scenes throughout, centering on a strange young man who tracks down the family of a deceased soldier he was purportedly good friends with, and starts to get involved in their lives.
Saying much more beyond outlining the premise in the simplest terms wouldn’t be fair, because The Guest also has a strong element of mystery and plenty of unusual plot twists and turns that are best left undescribed. It goes to some strange places without ever going too far or jumping the shark, and emerges as arguably one of the best thrillers of the 2010s as a result.
The Guest
RThrillerActionMystery- Release Date
- September 5, 2014
- Director
- Adam Wingard
- Cast
- Ethan Embry , Dan Stevens , Joel David Moore , Lance Reddick , Candice Patton , Leland Orser
- Runtime
- 99
