Behind the Background Sean and Ces

Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film The Shining is widely regarded as one of the best horror movies of all time. Much of the credit goes to the physical space of the Overlook Hotel, a creepy art-deco labyrinth of impossible architecture built by production designer Roy Walker. Along with costumes designed by Milena Canonero and an iconic plot based on the novel by Stephen King, it's no wonder the movie has become on of the most referenced horror films of all time.

When director Luca Guadagnino set out to recreate the 1977 classic Suspiria for 2018 audiences, he surrounded himself with a team dedicated to distancing themselves visually from the original. From costume designer Guilia Piersanti's work with flowing robes and bondage ropes to production designer Inbal Weinberg's cavernous spaces and even the bold decision to feature actual dancing in a movie about a dance academy witch coven, movement is as heavily featured in Guadagnino's Suspiria as color was in Argento's.

When Luciano Tovoli signed on as cinematographer for Dario Argento's 1977 film Suspiria, he brought with him visions of creating a horror movie like no other aesthetically. Along with production designer Giuseppe Bassan and costume designer Pierangelo Cicoletti, he created a dream-like atmosphere visually inspired by Snow White, of all movies.

Bong Joon-Ho may be most well-known for his 2019 hit Parasite, but his most ambitious cinematic world to date came in his 2013 action movie Snowpiercer. With help from costume designer Catherine George and production designer Ondrej Nekvasil, the director created an immersive world filled with social commentary within a single train.

Darren Aronofsky's 2017 movie mother! starring Jennifer Lawrence isn't easy to watch or enjoy. With the help of production designer Philip Messina, though, the film's main house, both an extension of Lawrence's character and a representation of Earth, transforms from fixer-upper to renovated home to warzone to shrine in a couple short hours, fully capturing the story in a visual way.

When Grace Yun signed on to Ari Aster's first feature film, Hereditary, as production designer, it was her first time working on a horror movie. Along with miniaturist and practical effects artist Steve Newburn, Yun and Aster built a house and filled it with tiny models to make the uncomfortable setting come to life.