Joe Lynch (born March 23, 1976) is an American film and music video director, film producer, cinematographer, and actor.
Lynch was born on Long Island, New York. Though he began his career as a child actor, he soon became obsessed with filmmaking itself. His first two student shorts, mAHARBA and hiBeams, were selected to screen at many film festivals.[ citation needed ]
Lynch has directed music videos for such groups as DVDA, Pete Yorn, Strapping Young Lad, Faith No More, 311, and Godhead. [1] He was also one of the creators of the television show Uranium for Fuse TV. [2]
His director debut in a feature film was 2007's Wrong Turn 2: Dead End , [3] which starred Henry Rollins, Erica Leerhsen, and Texas Battle. [4]
Lynch is a lifelong genre film fan (especially horror) and has appeared as a featured guest at several Weekend of Horrors conventions. [5] He has also appeared in several short films, including director Adam Green's 2007 Halloween short "The Tiffany Problem" alongside Joel Moore and Corri English. [6] Lynch worked at G4 as creative director of the website, and appears as a special guest on its popular series Attack of the Show! in a horror-themed segment called "Body Count". [7]
Lynch was one of the four directors who collaborated on the comedy horror anthology Chillerama , which was released by Image Entertainment on November 29, 2011 after a successful festival and "roadshow" theatrical run.[ citation needed ] Lynch directed the wraparound portions set in a drive-in playing four obscure genre films. He also appeared as "Fernando Phagabeefy", director of the fourth film, Deathication.[ citation needed ]
His next feature-length film was released in 2012. Knights of Badassdom , [8] a "horror/adventure/comedy" film, stars Ryan Kwanten, Steve Zahn, Summer Glau, Danny Pudi, Jimmi Simpson, and Peter Dinklage. Lynch disowned the movie after significant interference from the studio.
Lynch also executive produced and was the creative showrunner for G4tv.com's "Epictober Film Festival", producing three horror/video game-themed short films by directors Drew Daywalt, Gregg Bishop and Sam Balcomb, which premiered in October 2011.[ citation needed ]
In addition to his directing career, Lynch is also the co-star on the sitcom Holliston , along with director Adam Green, which premiered on Fearnet on April 3, 2012. Lynch also served as executive producer on the show. [9] [10]
Lynch's next film was the action/thriller Everly , which went into production in the summer of 2013, with Salma Hayek in the title role. The film also starred Jennifer Blanc and Togo Igawa. [11] The screenplay was written by Yale Hannon, based on a story by Lynch and Hannon. The film was produced by Crime Scene Pictures & Anonymous Content. Lynch also directed the Bear McCreary & Raya Yarbrough music video "Silent Night", released as a bonus on Everly's Blu-ray. [12]
In 2013, Lynch wrote and directed the short film Truth in Journalism based on the Marvel character Eddie Brock/Venom. This short was also partially influenced by the film Man Bites Dog. The film stars Ryan Kwanten as the titular character. [13] He also executive produced the Czech-Ukrainian horror film Ghoul , which was released in the U.S. in March 2015. [14]
In 2016, Lynch directed the action horror film Mayhem , which was produced by Circle of Confusion. [15] The film starred Steven Yeun and Samara Weaving. [16] The film had a simultaneous limited theatrical and VOD/digital HD release in the U.S. on November 10, 2017. [17]
In 2017, Lynch signed on to direct an upcoming horror film Taste based on a screenplay by No One Lives writer David Cohen. The film will be produced by Erin Eggers, Chase Hudson and Matthew Porter of Penchant Entertainment with Cohen. Production was slated to begin in Los Angeles in the summer of 2017. [18]
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | Wrong Turn 2: Dead End | Yes | No | No | |
2011 | Chillerama | Yes | Yes | Yes | segment: Zom-B-Movie |
2013 | Something Real and Good | No | No | Executive | |
Knights of Badassdom | Yes | No | No | ||
2014 | Everly | Yes | Yes | No | |
2015 | Ghoul | No | No | Executive | |
2017 | Mayhem | Yes | No | No | |
2019 | Point Blank | Yes | No | No | |
2023 | Suitable Flesh | Yes | No | Executive |
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | Attack of the Show! | No | No | Segment | 1 episode |
2012-2018 | Holliston | Yes | No | Executive | |
2016 | 12 Deadly Days | Yes | No | Yes | 1 episode |
2018 | My Dead Ex | Yes | No | No | 2 episodes |
2021 | Creepshow | Yes | No | No | 4 episodes |
2022 | Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion | Yes | No | No | 2 episodes |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | Terror Firmer | Clothespin Boy | |
2007 | Wrong Turn 2: Dead End | Guy on TV Screen | uncredited |
2009 | Sweatshop | Ghost | as Fernando Phagabeefy |
2010 | Frozen (2010 American film) | Guy on Chairlift #2 | uncredited |
Hatchet II | Gator Hunter | uncredited | |
2011 | Chillerama | Fernando Phagabeefy | uncredited |
2012-2018 | Holliston | Joe | |
2014 | Everly | SWAT Officer | |
2017 | Mayhem | Ray the IT Guy | uncredited |
Victor Crowley | Pilot Matthew Waters | uncredited | |
2019 | Point Blank | Cameraman | |
2021 | Happy Slashers | Buffalo Bill | voice |
2023 | Suitable Flesh | Ray the Orderly | |
Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela Teresa (1989–1991) as well as the romantic drama Midaq Alley (1995). She soon established herself in Hollywood with appearances in films such as Desperado (1995), From Dusk till Dawn (1996), Wild Wild West (1999), and Dogma (1999).
Summer Glau is an American actress best known for her roles in science fiction and fantasy television series: as River Tam in Firefly (2002) and its continuation film Serenity (2005), as Tess Doerner in The 4400 (2005–2007), as Cameron in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009), and as Isabel Rochev / Ravager in Arrow (2013–2014).
Eli Raphael Roth is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. As a director and producer, he is most closely associated with the horror genre, namely splatter films, having directed the films Cabin Fever (2002) and Hostel (2005).
James Wan is an Australian filmmaker. He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the Saw and Insidious franchises and the creator of The Conjuring Universe. The lattermost is the highest-grossing horror franchise at over $2 billion. Wan is also the founder of film and television production company Atomic Monster.
Ryan Christian Kwanten is an Australian actor and producer. He played Vinnie Patterson from 1997 to 2002 in the Australian soap opera Home and Away. After his stint ended, he joined the American teen drama series Summerland, portraying Jay Robertson. From 2008 to 2014, he played Jason Stackhouse in True Blood. From 2018 to 2019 he produced and starred in the crime drama series The Oath as Steve Hammond. In 2021 he starred in season one of the horror drama anthology series Them as George Bell. In 2022, he portrayed Thomas Weylin in Kindred, a series adaptation based on Octavia E. Butler's celebrated 1979 novel of the same name.
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End is a 2007 slasher film directed by Joe Lynch and starring Erica Leerhsen, Henry Rollins and Texas Battle. An international co-production between the United States and Canada. It is a sequel to Wrong Turn (2003) and the second installment in the Wrong Turn film series. The film received a positive response from critics and remains the best-reviewed film in the franchise. It grossed $9.2 million in home video sales.
Timon C. West is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, cinematographer, and occasional actor, best known for his work in horror films. He directed the horror films The Roost (2005), Trigger Man (2007), The House of the Devil (2009), The Innkeepers (2011), The Sacrament (2013), X and its prequel Pearl, and the Western In a Valley of Violence (2016). He has also acted in a number of films, mostly in those directed by either himself or Joe Swanberg.
Brad Miska is an American film producer and founder of Bloody Disgusting, a horror genre website known for covering horror films, video games, comics, and music. His films include the V/H/S franchise, Under the Bed, A Horrible Way to Die and Southbound.
Adam Green is an American actor, filmmaker and musician, best known for his work in horror and comedy films, including the Hatchet franchise, 2010's Frozen, and the television series Holliston.
IndieVest, founded in 2004 by venture capitalist Wade Bradley, was an independent film studio, financier, and distributor based in Los Angeles. The company used a membership-based platform for financing film projects. The company served high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors. Following the failure of its only two films, several investors sued IndieVest and Bradley for fraud. The company went dormant in early 2012, and in July 2015, Bradley told investors that he had begun "winding down" IndieVest.
Knights of Badassdom is a 2013 American comedy horror film, directed by Joe Lynch, written by Kevin Dreyfuss and Matt Wall. It stars Ryan Kwanten, Steve Zahn, Summer Glau, and Peter Dinklage.
Yeun Sang-Yeop, known professionally as Steven Yeun, is an American actor. Yeun initially rose to prominence for playing Glenn Rhee in the television series The Walking Dead (2010–2016). He earned critical acclaim for starring in the thriller Burning (2018) and drama Minari (2020). The latter earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor, making him the first Asian American actor to be nominated. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021. In 2023, he starred in the dark comedy series Beef (2023), for which he won two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.
Chillerama is an American 2011 horror comedy anthology film consisting of four stories that take place at a drive-in theater playing monster movies. Each segment is a homage to a different genre and style.
Gregg Bishop is an American film director, producer and writer.
Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website four times and was selected as AMC's Site of the Week in 2008.
Andrew Kasch is an American film director and editor.
Everly is a 2014 American action thriller film directed by Joe Lynch and written by Yale Hannon based on a story by Lynch and Hannon. The film stars Salma Hayek as the title character with Akie Kotabe, Jennifer Blanc, Masashi Fujimoto, Togo Igawa, Gabriella Wright, Caroline Chikezie, Laura Cepeda, and Hiroyuki Watanabe in supporting roles.
Simon Barrett is an American actor, producer, and screenwriter known for his collaborations with Adam Wingard, including A Horrible Way to Die, V/H/S, V/H/S/2, You're Next, and The Guest. He is associated with the mumblecore movement and has worked with director Joe Swanberg several times.
Shudder is an American over-the-top subscription video on demand service featuring horror, thriller, and supernatural fiction titles, owned and operated by AMC Networks. The streaming service offers original films, TV series—such as Creepshow, based on the 1982 film of the same name—and documentary series. Shudder's library also features non-original programming, including well-known horror films, and annually airs a Halloween "Ghoul Log".
Mayhem is a 2017 American action horror film directed by Joe Lynch and written by Matias Caruso. The film was released at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2017, and The Sales art and poster was released at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2017. It was released in US cinemas and on VOD and digital HD on November 10, 2017, through RLJE Films.