Rob Savage

Rob Savage (born 1992) is an English filmmaker. Initially gaining attention at the age of 19 when he wrote, directed, produced and edited the low-budget romantic drama film Strings (2012), he later became more widely known for his work in horror films and has since co-written and directed Host (2020), co-written and directed Dashcam (2021), and directed The Boogeyman (2023).

Early life
Savage was born in Shrewsbury in July 1992. When he was a child, his father showed him the animated action film Akira (1988), which inspired him to abandon his goal of becoming a comic book illustrator in favour of a career as a filmmaker. His first venture into filmmaking was a 20-minute short he created at the age of 13, which depicted a young boy experiencing inner turmoil when his online girlfriend requests a picture of his penis.

Career
Savage began his career by making short films and commercials. He is the founder of the film production company BOO-URNS, which he named after a joke in the 1995 Simpsons episode "A Star Is Burns". He made his debut when he wrote, directed, produced, and edited the low-budget drama film Strings (2012), which won the Raindance Award at the British Independent Film Awards and received praise for its high quality despite Savage being just 19 years old when it was released. In 2016, he revealed he was working a horror film titled Seaholme, but the film was never made.

Savage had his breakthrough when he co-wrote, directed, and produced the horror film Host (2020) for Shudder. After the success of Host, it was announced that Savage had signed on to direct an untitled Sam Raimi-produced film based on an original idea by Savage and his Host co-writer Jed Shepherd. He also signed on to direct an untitled female-centric horror film taking place in a prison, which was described as "The Conjuring behind bars". The film will be released by StudioCanal and is written by Savage and Shepherd. Savage signed a three-picture deal with Blumhouse Productions, with the first release from that deal coming when Savage directed the horror film Dashcam (2021), which he co-wrote with Shepherd and their Host co-writer Gemma Hurley.

Savage directed The Boogeyman (2023), based on a short story by Stephen King. His next projects include directing a horror film adaptation of Night of the Ghoul for 20th Century Studios and a TV adaptation of Jason Arnopp's The Last Days of Jack Sparks. In 2023 he also participated in Ca' Foscari Short Film Festival.

Influences
In a 2011 interview, Savage named Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski as his favourite at the time, calling Kieślowski's film Three Colours: Blue (1993) a "completely revelatory experience". In the same interview, he said that 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is "indisputably the best film ever made" but named his personal top five films at the time as Three Colours Blue, Evil Dead II (1987), Akira (1988), The Limey (1999), and Requiem (2006). In a 2022 interview, he said that his three favourite horror films are Evil Dead II, The Innocents (1961), and Lake Mungo (2008).