Background
Flanagan was born in 1978 in Salem, Massachusetts. His father was in the United States Coast Guard, and the family moved around often.
Flanagan was born in 1978 in Salem, Massachusetts. His father was in the United States Coast Guard, and the family moved around often.
Flanagan eventually ended up in Maryland, where he attended Towson University. He graduated with a Bachelor in Electronic Media & Film and a minor in Theater.
He is known for Oculus and Absentia. His upcoming projects include Before I Wake, Ouija 2, Gerald"s Game, and Hush. Although he only briefly lived in Salem, it left an impression on him, and Flanagan would retain an abiding interest in both the Salem witch trials and associated topics, such as ghost stories and horror fiction.
Flanagan"s student films were more oriented toward melodrama.
He later characterized them as "unfit for public consumption" but said that they were "incredible learning experiences". His first film directed after graduation, Ghosts of Hamilton Street (2003), was filmed in Maryland and featured local actors, including Scott Graham, whom Flanagan met at Towson.
Graham would go on to star in Flanagan"s 2006 short film, Oculus: Chapter 3 – The Manitoba with the Plan, which he made for $1500. Flanagan originally intended for the Oculus story to be told in a series of short films, but he could not find the financing.
Instead, he shot the chapter that included a back story and used that to demonstrate that he could direct a horror film.
The short proved popular at film festivals, and producers were interested in developing the concept. However, they either wanted to shoot it as a found footage film or rejected Flanagan"s stipulation that he direct the feature-length adaptation. Flanagan directed Absentia (2011), which was financed through a Kickstarter campaign, in response to this rejection.
Made for $70,000, and filmed in his Glendale, California, apartment, Absentia was released direct-to-video but gained popularity when Netflix offered it on their streaming service.
After the surprise success of Absentia, Flanagan returned to Oculus, which he again shopped around. Intrepid Pictures took an interest in the concept and agreed to let Flanagan direct.
The feature version of Oculus was filmed in 2012 and released theatrically by Relativity Media in 2014. His next film, Before I Wake, was due for release in 2015, but Relativity Media"s bankruptcy had left the release of the picture uncertain until it was later announced to be released on April 8, 2016.
He has been attached to write and direct an adaptation of Stephen King"s novel Gerald"s Game and is co-writing a remake of I Know What You Did Last Summer.
The latter has an expected release date of 2016. In August 2015 it was announced Flanagan would write and direct Ouija 2, which stars Elizabeth Reaser, Henry Thomas, and Annalise Basso. In September 2015, it was revealed that Flanagan had been working on a "secret project" called Hush.
Filmed in March 2015, the project was kept confidential until a screening at the Toronto Film Festival.
lieutenant has since been revealed that the project was written by Flanagan and lead actress Kate Siegel, and also stars John Gallagher, Junior, Michael Trucco and Samantha Sloyan.