There are plenty of iconic actor-director pairings in recent cinema history, but, 13 years ago, one underrated 2013 horror hit started one of the most impressive runs in decades. Throughout the history of cinema, certain actors and directors have just gelled. Whether it is Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese’s movies together, Wes Anderson’s work with Bill Murray, or Spike Lee and Denzel Washington’s historically great working relationship, there are certain duos that simply excel together, elevating each other to do their best work in their respective art forms.
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One such pairing is real-life husband and wife Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel, who have taken it upon themselves to redefine the horror genre over the last 13 years. Flanagan and Siegel’s first collaboration, the haunted mirror movie Oculus, was released on April 11, 2013 and since then couple have collaborated on the movies Hush, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald’s Game, VHS: Beyond, and The Life of Chuck, as well as the shows The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and The Fall of the House of Usher.
Oculus Was Director Mike Flanagan and Star Kate Siegel’s First Screen Collaboration
Flanagan and Siegel’s working relationship shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon, as the pair are also collaborating on Flanagan’s Exorcist franchise reboot and his upcoming Stephen King miniseries Carrie. However, their incredible existing body of work together still deserves a closer look before either of these projects is released. Since the critically acclaimed Oculus earned a whopping $44 million on a budget of only $5 million, Siegel and Flanagan have seemingly been able to do no wrong when the pair work together.
Siegel co-wrote and starred in the intense survival horror Hush, which was met with widespread critical acclaim shortly before the pair’s next movie together, Ouija: Origin of Evil, was hailed as a massive improvement on its franchise predecessor. Even though Gerald’s Game was once considered a Stephen King book that couldn’t be adapted due to its gory story, Flanagan and Siegel’s next collaboration managed to once again prove doubters wrong as the Carla Gugino vehicle earned critical acclaim upon release.
Siegel and Flanagan Have Worked Together On Some of Horror TV’s Greatest Shows Ever
However, although the pair’s movies are universally acclaimed, and Flanagan’s few films without Siegel’s presence haven’t fared as well with critics, it is on the small screen that this creative collaboration truly shines. While The Haunting of Bly Manor is solid and The Fall of the House of Usher is tremendously stylish, gory fun, The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass are two of the best horror TV shows ever made, thanks to Siegel and Flanagan’s inspired work together.
By turns tragic, terrifying, unexpectedly funny, and deeply moving, these two modern masterpieces prove that Flanagan and Siegel can be trusted with iconic horror stories like King’s Carrie and The Exorcist franchise. Both modern masterpieces, these shows prove that Kate Siegel and Mike Flanagan’s first work together, Oculus, was the start of something profoundly special back when the movie arrived in early 2013.
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