Filmmaker and screenwriter Eli Roth is fast-rising on the list of great directors in the horror genre. Roth has earned a reputation for his love for working on splatter films. More than half of his film projects are closely related to horror.
However, his love for the horror genre goes beyond helming these splatter films as its director. Eli Roth has also written and co-written the screenplays or provided the story for most of his directed films. Here are Eli Roth’s top 6 screenplays.
Cabin Fever (2002)
Cabin Fever (2002) was Eli Roth’s directorial debut and his first screenplay for film. Eli Roth began working on the script with his roommate, Randy Pearlstein, in 1995, when he was still a student at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. The idea and inspiration for the film came from his personal experience while working in a farm in Iceland. Roth had an intense skin infection during his time at the farm. This became the idea on which Cabin Fever was based. Cabin Fever was a commercial success, grossing $30.6 million on a $1.5 million budget. Alongside Randy Pearlstein, Eli Roth received a nomination for Best Screenplay at the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards.
Hostel Films
Eli Roth beat the sophomore slump with his second screenplay and directed film Hostel (2005). The horror film was produced on a $4.8 million budget but grossed $82 million at the Box Office. The success of Cabin Fever (2002) brought Roth tremendous fame among colleagues and film studios. One notable friendship formed because of his directorial debut success was with renowned filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. While studios and producers wanted Roth to produce remakes of several popular horror franchises, Tarantino had convinced him to refuse such offers and work on original screenplays.
Roth had the idea for Hostel while swimming in Tarantino’s pool. Tarantino encouraged him to start writing the script that same day. Hostel (2005) was nominated for Killer Movie (Scariest Film) at the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards and Best Scream-Play at the Scream Awards. The success of Hostel (2005) led to the production of a sequel, Hostel: Part II (2007). Although the sequel underperformed compared to its predecessor, Hostel: Part II was still successful. Roth had blamed piracy for dwindling the Box Office earnings. Eli Roth was nominated for Best Director for Hostel: Part II at the Scream Awards.
Aftershock (2012)
Aftershock (2012) is the first of Eli Roth’s written/co-written screenplays that he did not direct. Chilean filmmaker Nicolás López directed the disaster horror film. Aftershock‘s screenplay was co-written with the director and Uruguayan filmmaker Guillermo Amoedo. Although Roth is known for appearing in his films, Aftershock was the first time he played a lead role in his screenplay. Roth and López developed the film’s story, which began as a discussion about the devastation of the 2010 8.8 earthquake in Chile.
The Man with the Iron Fists (2012)
Eli Roth co-wrote the screenplay of The Man with the Iron Fists (2012) with RZA. Roth and RZA had met in Iceland in 2005. While conversing, RZA informed Roth of his desire to develop a Kung Fu film. Although they agreed to work together to develop the script, several other commitments delayed the project. After Roth’s work with Hostel: Part II (2007) and Inglourious Basterds (2009), RZA and Roth decided to rework the script (rewritten by other writers) and revive the project. With his experience, Roth expanded RZA’s 90-page story draft into a 130-page screenplay. This took them about two years to finalize. The Man with the Iron Fists began filming in December 2010. With RZA also starring in the film as its titular character, The Man with the Iron Fists starred Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, David Bautista, Rick Yune, and Jamie Chung.
The Green Inferno (2013)
Eli Roth returned to directing his screenplay with the 2013 cannibal horror film The Green Inferno. Roth collaborated with Guillermo Amoedo again to help co-write the film’s screenplay. The Green Inferno screenplay was based or inspired by Italian cannibal films of the late 70s to early 80s. The Green Inferno received two nominations for Best Horror Film and Best Horror Director at the iHorror Awards. The film was also nominated at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival.
Knock Knock (2015)
For almost a decade, Knock Knock (2015) became the last film whose screenplay was written by Eli Roth, with the filmmaker also directing the project. Roth is set to return as director and screenwriter in the upcoming science fiction action comedy Borderlands in 2024. Roth co-wrote Knock Knock‘s screenplay with Guillermo Amoedo and Nicolás López. The Eli Roth-directed 2015 thriller starred Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, and Ana de Armas (in her American film debut).
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