Pascal Laugier

Biography

Pascal Laugier (born 1971) is a French director and screenwriter associated with the movement known as New French Extremity, a label that fits his horror films of intense physical and psychological brutality. He started out as a gofer on Christophe Gans' Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001), where he also appeared briefly on screen and directed the making-of documentaries.

His first feature, Saint Ange (2004), came out of that collaboration and was backed by producer Richard Grandpierre. Martyrs (2008), which grew out of another project Grandpierre let him develop, became his best-known work. Afterwards the American company Miramax asked him to make a remake of Hellraiser. He worked on it for a few months but left over creative differences: he wanted a serious tone that explored gay S&M culture, while the producers wanted something more commercial for a teen audience. His English-language debut was The Tall Man (2012). He later wrote and directed Ghostland (2018), which he developed after watching several genre films. During its shoot an actress was seriously injured, and the production company was later fined in Manitoba for breaching workplace safety law.

Laugier remains a distinctive figure in contemporary European horror, known for stories of extreme violence and for his interest in suffering as an experience.

Key films

• Saint Ange (2004): his first feature, which introduced him to genre audiences.
• Martyrs (2008): his best-known film, and the one that defined his reputation in French horror.
• The Tall Man (2012): his English-language debut, shot in the United States.
• Ghostland (2018): a horror thriller he wrote and directed, inspired by other genre films.