Stuart Gordon started his film directing career in 1985. After
graduating from Lane Technical High School, Gordon worked as a
commercial artist apprentice prior to enrolling at the University of
Wisconsin in Madison. Unable to get into the film classes, he enrolled
in an acting class and ended up majoring in theater. In 1968, he
directed a psychedelic adaptation of Peter Pan as a political satire.
He was arrested on obscenity charges and Gordon dropped out of the
university. He and his wife Carolyn formed the Organic Theater and
moved the group to Chicago.
The Organic performed their work on and off-Broadway, in Los Angeles,
and toured Europe. Among their productions were the world premiere of
David Mamet's "Sexual Perversity in
Chicago," which launched Mamet's playwriting career, the improv-based
comedy "Bleacher Bums," which ran for over ten years in Los Angeles,
and the hospital comedy
E/R (1984), which
became a TV series produced by
Norman Lear.
He joined with
Brian Yuzna and
Charles Band's Empire Pictures to create
the company's first major hit,
Re-Animator (1985), based on the
story by
H.P. Lovecraft, which won a
Critics' Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Gordon then helmed another
Lovecraft adaptation
From Beyond (1986) and tackled the
murderous
Dolls (1986) followed by
Robot Jox (1989). Gordon co-created the
story for
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)
a major hit for Disney. The same year, he directed the remake and more
graphic version of
The Pit and the Pendulum (1991).
Other works include
Fortress (1992), and
the screenplay for
The Dentist (1996)
and
Body Snatchers (1993), which
he co-wrote with long-time writing partner
Dennis Paoli.
In 2001, Gordon returned to the
H.P. Lovecraft territory with
Dagon (2001), and in 2003, directed
King of the Ants (2003)
about a housepainter-turned-hit man, and brought the
David Mamet play
Edmond (2005) to the screen.
He contributed to the horror anthology series
Masters of Horror (2005)
with the episode
Dreams in the Witch-House (2005), based on a short story by
H.P. Lovecraft. He returned to the series
in 2007 with the episode
The Black Cat (2007), based on
Edgar Allan Poe's story. And in 2008, he
directed
Eater (2008) for the NBC series
Fear Itself (2008).
He is also known for frequently murdering his wife, actress
Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, in many of his films.
Bunker of Blood: Chapter 5: Psycho Sideshow: Demon Freaks(2018)
Tales from Beyond the Pale(2010)
Fear Itself(2008)
Stuck(2007)
Neuverse Media(2020)
From the Dark(2009)
Masters of Horror(2005)
Bleacher Bums(2001)
Tales of Halloween(2015)as Sherlock Holmes (segment: Grim Grinning Ghost)
Trophy Heads(2014)as Stuart
Chastity Bites(2013)as Mr. Rowland
The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited(2009)as Walter Finkelstein
Edmond(2005)
King of the Ants(2003)
Deathbed(2002)
Suitable Flesh(2023)
The Burning Cold(2022)
H.P. Lovecraft's Witch House(2021)
The Deep Ones(2020)
La escenita(2017)
Rondo and Bob(2020)as Self
In Search of Darkness Part II: The Journey Into '80s Horror Continues(2020)as Self - Interviewee
In Search of Darkness(2019)as Self - Re-Animator, From Beyond
Trailers from Hell(2007)as Self - Narrator, Self
Eli Roth's History of Horror(2018)as Self - Writer & Director, Re-Animator
Re-Animator: Reunion Edition(2022)as Self
TCM Remembers 2020(2020)as Self - Director
JoBlo Horror Originals(2020)as Self
