Born David Paul Cronenberg, ( March 15, 1943) is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In the first half of his career, he explored these themes mostly through horror and science fiction (Shivers 1975; Rabid 1977), although his work has since expanded beyond these genres. He has been called "the most audacious and challenging narrative director in the English-speaking world. "