John Erick Dowdle (born December 21, 1972) is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for

horror films Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoc ...

. He usually works with his brother Drew Dowdle as a producer and co-screenwriter.

Early life

Dowdle grew up in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. After graduating from the St. Thomas Academy, an all-boys, military, Catholic high school, Dowdle moved to

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the tim ...

to attend the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

where he joined the fraternity,

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

. He would then make the move from writing to film. Two years later, Dowdle moved to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York City to attend

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

's film program.

Career

After graduating from NYU, Dowdle moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in filmmaking. Dowdle wrote and directed his first feature, the 1996 film ''Full Moon Rising'', when he was just out of college. For his sophomore effort, ''The Dry Spell'', Dowdle was joined by his younger brother Drew, who produced the film as John wrote, directed and edited. They now live in Los Angeles, working together as ''The Brothers Dowdle''. With his brother Drew Dowdle as a producer and/or co-screenwriter, John Erick Dowdle directed the horror films ''

Quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

'', ''

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

'', based on a storybook from M. Night Shyamalan, and ''

As Above, So Below "As above, so below" is a popular modern paraphrase of the second verse of the '' Emerald Tablet'' (a compact and cryptic Hermetic text first attested in a late eighth or early ninth century Arabic source), as it appears in its most widely divul ...

'', as well as the 2015 thriller film '' No Escape'', starring

Owen Wilson Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has had a long association with filmmaker Wes Anderson with whom he shared writing and acting credits for '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and '' The Royal ...

and Pierce Brosnan. He was announced to direct the movie adaption of Jack Kilburn's novel ''Afraid''. In 2017, Dowdle co-created the miniseries ''

Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

'' with his brother, which aired on

Paramount Network Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was ...

in 2018. In March 2018, the Dowdle brothers announced they were developing a movie or basic cable presentation about newspaper columnist Dorothy Kilgallen, who died in 1965 under circumstances they contend were never satisfactorily resolved.Variety trade paper report of Dowdle brothers' announcement of their project about Dorothy Kilgallen's career and death
/ref>

Personal life

Dowdle is married to Stacy Chbosky. Her brother, and therefore Dowdle's brother-in-law, is author and director

Stephen Chbosky Stephen Chbosky (; born January 25, 1970) is an American screenwriter, film producer, film director, novelist, television writer, and television producer. He is best-known for writing the bestselling coming-of-age novel ''The Perks of Being a Wal ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dowdle 1973 births Living people American film directors American male screenwriters Horror film directors