I came from a very strict background. [So if you want to make a scary movie] if you were raised as a fundamentalist, just pull all the skeletons out of your closet.

Horror films don't create fear. They release it.

I like to address the fears of my culture. I believe it's good to face the enemy, for the enemy is fear.

The first monster that an audience has to be scared of is the filmmaker. They have to feel in the presence of someone not confined by the normal rules of propriety and decency.

The first monster you have to scare the audience with is yourself.

I think the important thing about staying creative and staying sharp and original is not to look back too much.

All of us have our individual curses, something that we are uncomfortable with and something that we have to deal with, like me making horror films, perhaps.

As long as you keep the audience on the edge of their seats, either scare them or keep them guessing, you can put anything in there that you want.

I believe the cinema is one of our principal forms of art. It is an incredibly powerful way to tell uplifitng stories that can move people to cry with joy and inspire them to reach for the stars.

If you think it, the camera will see it.

I have a lot of fans who are people of color. I think, if nothing else, I kind of understand that sense of being on the outside looking in, culturally.

Everyone carries a burden. Only the weight differs.

Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.

Many who burnt heretics in the ordinary way of their business were otherwise excellent people.

...It's natural to believe in the supernatural. It never feels natural to accept only natural things.

(although anyone with half a brain must surely be mired in existential gloom all the time)

I've never dyed my hair or even gotten highlights. All the products I need for my hair are at the drugstore!

What distinguishes man from the brute is his conscious striving to realise the spirit within.

Outside the open window The morning air is all awash with angels.

This is a big deal. It's a fairly natural partnership; it shouldn't surprise people, ... We're working on bringing this network-is-the-computer, Net services environment.

Works of art should be stimulating. They should wake people up rather than acting like a sedative.