sean cunningham

Sean S. Cunningham is a veteran filmmaker who had dedicated much of his career to producing and directing successful horror films such as Friday the 13th and the House series. He was involved in five of the 12 Friday the 13th films and two of the three House sequels. He also produced both the 1972 original of Last House on the Left and its 2009 remake. He sits on the board of advisors at the Hollywood Horror Museum.

Cunningham was born in New York in December 1941. He initially started out in theatre, becoming a manager at the Licoln Center in New York City and becoming involved with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. In 1970, he made his debut film, The Act of Marriage. Despite his inexperience, a minuscule budget, and a skeleton crew, the film became a word-of-mouth cult hit and brought Cunningham to the attention of another aspiring filmmaker, Wes Craven. The pair worked together on other films such as Together (a mockumentary about sex in America) and his first horror film, the controversial Last House on the Left.

In 1980, Cunningham enjoyed his biggest hit with Friday the 13th, which was not only a box-office hit but also the first indie horror film to secure US distribution through a major studio (Paramount). It’s multi-million-dollar success helped to spawn almost a dozen sequels, with Cunningham being involved in several sequels, including the equally successful 2009 reboot. He is still producing films today, with The Night Driver being his most recent.