Eric Red, born Eric Joseph Durdaller on February 16, 1961, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and raised in Manhattan, is a writer and director known for his hard-hitting, edgy films that often explore the darker aspects of human nature.
Growing up, Red attended the AFI Conservatory, graduating in 1983. However, his early struggles to get his short film "Gunmen's Blues" nationally distributed led him to take a detour, working as a cab driver in New York City for a year.
Red's big break came when his script for "The Hitcher" was turned into a cult classic. The film's terrifying tone was inspired by a real-life encounter Red had while driving cross-country to Texas, where he picked up a creepy hitchhiker.
Next, Red collaborated with director Kathryn Bigelow on the stylish vampire film "Near Dark." He then reunited with Bigelow for the thriller "Blue Steel."
Red's subsequent projects included the critically acclaimed "Cohen and Tate," for which he received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Director. He also wrote and directed the thrillers "Body Parts" and "Undertow," as well as the werewolf film "Bad Moon."
In addition to his feature films, Red wrote and co-produced the made-for-cable-TV Western "The Last Outlaw" and created the comic book series and graphic novel "Containment."
More recently, Red has written and directed the supernatural thriller "100 Feet" and the made-for-TV movie "Night of the Wild."
In his free time, Red enjoys film, books, comics, Cuban cigars, and gymnastics. He lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife, Meredith Casey.
