Scott Derrickson

Scott Derrickson is an American filmmaker whose work spans supernatural horror, science fiction and superhero cinema. He made his feature-directing debut with *Hellraiser: Inferno* (2000), the fifth entry in the *Hellraiser* franchise. Unlike the original film’s focus on a family and a mysterious puzzle box, Derrickson’s installment follows a corrupt police detective through a series of increasingly disturbing encounters.

Derrickson reached a wider audience with *The Exorcism of Emily Rose* (2005), which he directed and co-wrote with Paul Harris Boardman. The film draws on the case of Anneliese Michel, a young German woman who died after undergoing exorcisms. Rather than presenting only the alleged possession, it frames the story around the trial of a priest charged in Emily’s death. Laura Linney plays his defense attorney, and Jennifer Carpenter plays Emily. The film’s courtroom structure lets its characters argue over competing religious and medical explanations.

In 2008, Derrickson directed *The Day the Earth Stood Still*, a remake of the 1951 science-fiction film. Keanu Reeves plays Klaatu, an extraterrestrial visitor whose arrival forces humanity to confront the damage it has done to Earth. Derrickson returned to horror with *Sinister* (2012), co-written with C. Robert Cargill. Ethan Hawke stars as Ellison Oswalt, a true-crime writer who discovers home movies depicting murders connected to a supernatural figure called Bughuul. The story turns Ellison’s search for material for a new book into a threat to his own family.

Derrickson and Boardman also wrote *Deliver Us from Evil* (2014), which Derrickson directed. Inspired by accounts associated with former New York police officer Ralph Sarchie, it stars Eric Bana as a detective investigating crimes with apparent supernatural links.

His largest-scale film is Marvel Studios’ *Doctor Strange* (2016). Benedict Cumberbatch plays Stephen Strange, a surgeon who seeks treatment for injuries to his hands and instead learns the mystic arts. Derrickson directed the film and shared its screenplay credit with Cargill and Jon Spaihts. He was initially attached to its sequel, *Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness*, but left the directing role in 2020, citing creative differences; Sam Raimi directed the finished film.

Derrickson next directed *The Black Phone*, released in 2022. Adapted from a short story by Joe Hill, it follows a kidnapped boy, played by Mason Thames, who receives calls on a disconnected phone while held captive by a masked killer played by Hawke. The film reunited Derrickson with Cargill as a co-writer.