Eli Raphael Roth (born April 18, 1972 in Newton, Massachusetts) is an American film director, producer, writer and actor. A proud member of a group of horror directors known as the Splat Pack, Roth is known for his financially successful Splatter Horror films, sparking the latest trend of R-rated horror films during a time when PG-13 films were considered more lucrative.
Quentin Tarantino loves him like a brother; they have worked together on several projects of each person's creation, and they clearly have a lot in common. Best not to ask what that involves, but it sounds like a lot of fun.
He, along with Jack Davis, is a co-founder of Crypt TV.
Filmography:
As directornote
- Cabin Fever (2001): Appears as Justin / Grimm
- Hostel (2005): Appears as American Stoner
- Hostel Part II (2007)
- The Green Inferno (2013): Co-written by Guillermo Amoedo
- Knock Knock (2015): Co-written by Guillermo Amoedo and Nicolás López
- Death Wish (2018): Written by Joe Carnahan
- The House With a Clock in Its Walls (2018): Written by Eric Kripke. Roth's first PG-rated film, and his highest-grossing film to date.
- Fin (2021): A documentary about the worldwide extinction of sharks. Leonardo DiCaprio and Nina Dobrev served as executive producers.
- Thanksgiving (2023): The defictionalization of the slasher movie Thanksgiving listed below.
- Borderlands (2024, upcoming): A film adaptation of the video game series.
As producer
- 2001 Maniacs! (2005)
- The Last Exorcism (2010)
- The Man with the Iron Fists (2012): Also co-wrote the screenplay with RZA, who directed the film, and appears in a cameo role.
- The Last Exorcism Part II (2013)
- Clown (2014): Appears as Frowny the Clown.
- The Stranger (2014)
- Baywatch (2017)
- Haunt (2019)
Other associated films
- Grindhouse (2007): Directed the faux trailer for the holiday slasher movie Thanksgiving.
- Inglourious Basterds (2009): Appears as Sgt. Donny Donowitz a.k.a. "The Bear Jew". Also directed the Film Within a Film Stolz der Nation.
- Piranha 3D (2010): A remake of the 1978 horror comedy Piranha by fellow Splat Pack director Alexandre Aja.
- Aftershock (2012): Co-wrote the screenplay with Nicolas Lopez (the film's director) and Guillermo Amoedo. Appears in the lead role (at least for half the runtime).
Television:
- Fright Krewe (2023): Co-creator.
Associated tropes:
- Afraid of Blood: Like a lot of gore-tastic directors.
- Developing Doomed Characters: A good 99% of Roth's protagonists.
- Motor Mouth: He never shuts up, ever. He admits this on one of the Hostel DVD Commentaries.
- Older Than They Look: Would you believe he's 51?
- Pigeonholed Director: He clearly admits that all he wants to make are horror movies.
- Playing Against Type: This director of gory, edgy horror movies did this thrice thus far.
- Death Wish (2018): A still gory and violent action revenge thriller that stars Bruce Willis and serves as a remake of the 1974 crime drama of the same name.
- The House With a Clock in Its Walls: A kid-friendly PG-rated fantasy film starring Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, and Kyle MacLachlan based on a children's novel of the same name. Although, it's also very noticably more
scarier and creepier than most kids' films at the time, much like the 80s classics that its production company had a hand in with bringing to life. - Fright Krewe is an animated series co-created by Roth and produced by DreamWorks Animation. Like The House with a Clock in its Walls, it's a more family oriented production that remains scarier than most of what DreamWorks tends to produce.
- Borderlands (2024): A Science Fiction Action Comedy based on the video game franchise of the same name also starring Cate Blanchett and Jack Black, this time joined by Édgar Ramírez, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ariana Greenblatt, and Kevin Hart in supporting roles.
- Tomato in the Mirror: While filming a documentary about sociopaths for the Science Channel, he allowed himself to be profiled by a specialist in Antisocial Personality Disorder. The profile revealed that Roth himself possesses many of the traits normally labeled sociopathic.
- Trope Breaker: Roth has long voiced his disapproval of the longstanding horror film trope that says that promiscuous characters always die (and die horribly) while the virgin character ends up the last (wo)man standing. As such, it's common to see in his films that the virgin girl/guy always dying and dying horribly while the manslut/slutty female character survives or at the very least, is the last one killed).
