Darren Lynn Bousman is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work directing horror films Saw II, Saw III, and Saw IV. He is also known for directing the horror musicals Repo! The Genetic Opera and The Devil's Carnival movies collaborating with Terrance Zdunich.
During 2004, he was pitching an idea for a movie called The Desperate to various American studios, who complained that the screenplay was too violent, and the plot was too close to Saw. David A. Armstrong who worked on Saw asked Bousman if he could show the script to Saw producer Gregg Hoffman. Hoffman read the script and called Bousman interested in producing "The Desperate", but after showing the script to his partners Mark Burg and Oren Koules, the two decided it would be the perfect opportunity to turn "The Desperate" into Saw II. Two months later, Bousman was flown to Toronto to direct. During the production of Saw II, Bousman directed the music video for Mudvayne's single "Forget to Remember," which appeared as the lead song on the soundtrack album. Saw II was profitable and Bousman was signed on to direct Saw III, which was released on October 27, 2006. After Saw III, Bousman announced that he would never direct another Saw film so that he would be free to prepare for his project Repo! the Genetic Opera, the stage version of which he had directed in 2002. Despite this, on February 19, 2007, Leigh Whannell announced that Bousman had signed on to direct Saw IV. Bousman explained that before shooting could begin on Repo! The Genetic Opera, there was a gap of time during which the songs were being pre-recorded, and he would be able to direct Saw IV during that period.
He directed an episode of the horror anthology show Fear Itself, entitled "New Year's Day". He has also been attached to direct the remake of David Cronenberg's Scanners. Bousman taught Film director newcomers in the Horror FilmBoot Camp, which began on May 7, 2010 and ended on May 9, 2010 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He will direct the psychological thriller Ninety which based on screenbook of Scott Millam. Bousman directed the 2010 remake of Mother's Day starring Shawn Ashmore, Deborah Ann Woll, and Briana Evigan. In 2011, Bousman directed the film 11-11-11. In 2012, Bousman reunited with Repo! writer Terrance Zdunich along with several cast members to direct The Devil's Carnival, a short film that is planned to be the first installment of a longer series. On May 13, 2013, it was announced that Bousman will be directing a film titled Sacrilege, another religious-themed work, the first being 11-11-11. In 2015, he participated in the anthology movie Tales of Halloween produced by Epic Pictures. He directed the segment "The Night Billy Raised Hell" written by Clint Sears. In 2019, it was announced Bousman would return to the Saw franchise directing Spiral, the ninth installment in the series which is set to be released on May 15, 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was moved to May 21, 2021.
