Norman J. Warren(1942-2021)
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Cult horror movie director Norman J. Warren was born on June 25, 1942,
in London, England. His fright features are distinguished by their
cold, grim tones, modern-day settings (this was a radical departure
from the period Gothic horror movies made by Hammer), young adult main
characters, and startling outbursts of hideously graphic violence.
Warren suffered from polio as a child and hence had only one functioning arm. An avid film buff since he was a kid, he got his start working as a runner on Les dessous de la millionnaire (1960) and handled assistant director chores on the feature The Dock Brief (1962). Norman made his debut as a filmmaker with the 15-minute short Fragment (1965). Warren then directed the immensely successful softcore sex pictures Her Private Hell (1968) and Les Mains vicieuses (1968). He next did the grisly devil-worship horror entry Esclave de Satan (1976) starring Michael Gough. This was followed by the nifty supernatural shocker La Terreur des morts-vivants (1978), the twisted sci-fi/horror item Le zombie venu d'ailleurs (1977), the smutty softcore sci-fi sex comedy romp Outer Touch (1979), and the nasty sci-fi/horror Alien, le 8ème passager (1979) cash-in Inseminoïd (1981). Warren took a break from the horror genre by directing the exciting spy action outing Gunpowder (1986). His last feature was the dreary horror clunker Les Mutants de la Saint-Sylvestre (1987). He went gone on to direct music videos and educational shorts, worked as a cinematographer on the retrospective documentary shorts Corridor Gossip (2007), Haunted Memories (2007) and Making Space: Director Robert Day and costar Marla Landi reflect on shooting First Man into Space. (2007) and was interviewed in the documentary Doing Rude Things (1995). Warren was also a regular guest at Manchester's Festival of Fantastic Films. He died at age 78 on March 11, 2021.
Warren suffered from polio as a child and hence had only one functioning arm. An avid film buff since he was a kid, he got his start working as a runner on Les dessous de la millionnaire (1960) and handled assistant director chores on the feature The Dock Brief (1962). Norman made his debut as a filmmaker with the 15-minute short Fragment (1965). Warren then directed the immensely successful softcore sex pictures Her Private Hell (1968) and Les Mains vicieuses (1968). He next did the grisly devil-worship horror entry Esclave de Satan (1976) starring Michael Gough. This was followed by the nifty supernatural shocker La Terreur des morts-vivants (1978), the twisted sci-fi/horror item Le zombie venu d'ailleurs (1977), the smutty softcore sci-fi sex comedy romp Outer Touch (1979), and the nasty sci-fi/horror Alien, le 8ème passager (1979) cash-in Inseminoïd (1981). Warren took a break from the horror genre by directing the exciting spy action outing Gunpowder (1986). His last feature was the dreary horror clunker Les Mutants de la Saint-Sylvestre (1987). He went gone on to direct music videos and educational shorts, worked as a cinematographer on the retrospective documentary shorts Corridor Gossip (2007), Haunted Memories (2007) and Making Space: Director Robert Day and costar Marla Landi reflect on shooting First Man into Space. (2007) and was interviewed in the documentary Doing Rude Things (1995). Warren was also a regular guest at Manchester's Festival of Fantastic Films. He died at age 78 on March 11, 2021.
