Whatever happened to the ‘Splat Pack’?

The horror flick “The Belko Experiment” hits theaters this week, and is being billed as “Office Space” meets “Battle Royale.”

It’s about employees who get locked in their high-rise office and are forced to play a deadly game of kill or be killed. It looks bloodier than a meat factory and violent as all get out. You know, cool. At least for horror fans.

Surprisingly, it’s produced and written by James Gunn, the writer/director of “Guardians of the Galaxy” and the upcoming sequel. Not so surprisingly, it’s directed by Greg McLean, who is probably best known for the terrifying 2005 horror hit “Wolf Creek.” McLean is among a group of directors who, in the 2000s, became known as the “Splat Pack” (thanks to film critic Alan Jones). Some of them also helped spawn the “torture porn” label.

These guys were brought up devouring horror movies on video, and their films reflected their love for the genre.

Many of the filmmakers, such as McLean, are still directing horror films, but some have moved on to other genres. A good 15 years later, here’s a look at the Splat Pack and what they’ve been up to.

▪  Greg McLean – After making waves with “Wolf Creek,” which followed three backpackers stranded in the Australian outback who are stalked by a psychopath, McLean directed the crocodile thriller “Rogue” in 2007, then took a hiatus until 2013’s “Wolf Creek 2.” He then adapted “Wolf Creek” into a TV series before writing the Kevin Bacon thriller “The Darkness” last year. It’s rumored that he’s developing “Wolf Creek 3” and will have “Jungle,” starring Daniel Radcliffe, come out later this year.

▪  Alexandre Aja – His breakout hit was 2003’s festival favorite “High Tension,” a French import about two friends whose trip to a family farmhouse turns into a nightmare. He followed up with 2006’s remake of “The Hills Have Eyes.” Most recently, he directed “Piranha 3D” and the odd Daniel Radcliffe indie “Horns.” Last year, he stepped even further away from horror with the mystery “The 9th Life of Louis Drax” starring Jamie Dornan.

▪  Eli Roth – Perhaps one of the most recognizable faces of the Splat Packers, Roth first exploded onto the scene with 2002’s festival hit “Cabin Fever” before unleashing 2005’s “Hostel” onto an unsuspecting world. He directed the “Hostel” sequel, 2006’s “The Green Inferno” and 2015’s “Knock Knock,” a Keanu Reeves thriller that absolutely no one saw. Roth most recently directed the “Death Wish” remake starring Bruce Willis, to be released later this year. He’s much busier as a producer and actor, having starred in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.”

▪  Neil Marshall – The lone Brit of the group, Marshall’s big breakout was 2005’s “The Descent,” a claustrophobic thriller about a caving expedition gone terribly wrong. He’s done lots of TV work as of late, directing episodes of “Game of Thrones,” “Hannibal” and “Westworld.” It’s rumored that he’ll next direct the “Kong: Skull Island” sequel.

▪  James Wan and Leigh Whannell – They are the Australian producing/writing/directing team behind the massive phenomenon that was 2004’s “Saw,” which introduced the world to Jigsaw, who had a penchant for locking people up and making them cut off appendages. Wan and Whannell would reteam for 2010’s “Insidious,” spawning a whole new franchise. Wan went on to direct “The Conjuring” and its sequel and stepped away from horror for 2015’s “Furious 7” (although I think Vin Diesel’s acting is pretty scary). Wan will next direct “Aquaman,” set to come out in 2018.

▪  Darren Lynn Bousman – He’s the other name associated with “Saw,” since he directed “Saws” II through IV. He followed that with 2008’s “Repo! The Genetic Opera.” He remains busy, most recently directing “Abatoir,” about a murderer. No shortage of blood there.

▪  Rob Zombie – The White Zombie musician-turned-director lives and breathes horror films. He has never strayed from the genre and doesn’t seem to want to. His breakout was 2003’s “House of 1,000 Corpses,” which was actually shot in 2000 but shelved by owning studio Universal, thinking it was too extreme. Zombie went on to direct the “Halloween” reboot and its sequel, “The Lords of Salem” and last year’s “31,” about kidnapped carnies. Zombie’s work has never done well with critics, but he has a hardcore fan base and knows what it wants, consistently delivering his brand of gory gruesomeness.

This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Whatever happened to the ‘Splat Pack’?."