Johannes Roberts

Johannes Roberts
Born	(1976-05-24) 24 May 1976 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire England, UK
Occupation(s)	Film director, writer, producer
Years active	2001-present

Johannes Roberts (born 24 May 1976) is a British film director, producer, and writer who is mainly known for horror and thriller films.

Life and career

Johannes Roberts directed the underwater thriller 47 Meters Down. The film starred Mandy Moore and Claire Holt as sisters trapped on the ocean floor, surrounded by sharks and running out of air. It is the first fiction drama movie to be filmed almost entirely underwater. The film was just days away from a DVD release, with copies even out in some Target and Walmart stores, when it was bought from Dimension by Entertainment Studios, who pulled it from shelves and released it theatrically on 2000 screens. The film went on to earn $65 million theatrically, off a budget of only $5 million, and become the most successful independent movie of 2017. The film was succeedded by a sequel film that was released in theatres on 16 August 2019.

Roberts directed his first feature film in 2000 at the age of 22. Self funded for £5,000 the film, Sanitarium, was released around the world. Over the next five years Roberts directed a series of low budget horror movies for DVD, including the cult movie Forest of the Damned starring Tom Savini and the world’s first series made for cell phones When Evil Calls.

In 2010 Roberts wrote and directed the thriller F - a story of a group of teachers under attack by a group of pupils in a college after hours. Made for only £100k the film was picked up by Studio Canal and released theatrically in the UK to critical acclaim.

Roberts then directed Oscar nominated actor Stephen Rea in the television movie Roadkill for NBC before helming the science fiction thriller Storage 24 for Universal. Written and starring Bafta winning actor Noel Clarke the movie was lauded for its innovative use of award winning practical creature effects.

Roberts wrote and directed the ghost story The Other Side of the Door. Filmed entirely in Mumbai and starring Sarah Wayne Callies and Jeremy Sisto it grossed nearly $15million becoming one of Fox International’s most commercially successful movies.

After 47 Meters Down Roberts directed the sequel to the horror film The Strangers (2008), entitled The Strangers: Prey at Night and released in 2018, and starring Christina Hendricks, Martin Henderson, Bailee Madison and Lewis Pullman. The film entered the US box office at #3 behind Black Panther and Disney's Wrinkle in Time and grossed $30 million.

In December 2018, Roberts has been hired to direct the reboot of the Resident Evil film franchise.

Selected filmography

• 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019)
• The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)
• 47 Meters Down (2017)
• The Other Side of the Door (2016)
• Storage 24 (2012)
• Roadkill (2011)
• F (2010)
• When Evil Calls (2007)
• Forest of the Damned (2005)
• Darkhunters (2004)
• Hellbreeder (2003)
• Sanitarium (2001)

External links

• Johannes Roberts at IMDb