David Bruckner

Bruckner grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. His father is a police detective and his mother an emergency room nurse.^[1] He attended the University of Georgia along with A. J. Bowen and Jacob Gentry. The three would later collaborate with Dan Bush on The Signal (2007).^[2]

With Jacob Gentry and Dan Bush, Bruckner co-wrote and co-directed The Signal. The filmmakers used their connections in Atlanta to compose a crew.^[1] The concept came from a Surrealist game called exquisite corpse, in which multiple people collaborate in order to complete an art project.^[3] When Gentry was unable to contribute to the horror anthology V/H/S (2012), he suggested Bruckner, who eventually co-wrote and directed the segment "Amateur Night".^[2] Also released in 2012, his short film Talk Show addresses the torture debate in mainstream media.^[4] Bruckner was set to direct a reboot of Friday the 13th for Paramount Pictures but was reported to have left in late 2015.^[5] His film Southbound premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and was picked up for distribution by the Orchard for release in 2016.^[6][7]

In 2016, he was an executive producer on Siren, which was based on his V/H/S segment "Amateur Night".^[8] In 2017, he released his first solo directed feature, The Ritual, based on the horror novel by Adam Nevill. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, and was released by Netflix.^[9] He also directed and produced the horror-thriller The Night House, starring Rebecca Hall. Theatrically released on August 20, 2021, the film was acclaimed by critics.^[10] His latest film was a reboot of Hellraiser,^[11] starring Jamie Clayton as the lead Cenobite Pinhead. In March 2024, Bruckner was involved in developments for a Hellraiser sequel.^[12]

In 2008, Bruckner was nominated for the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award along with Gentry and Bush for The Signal.^[13]