He is notable for directing several full-length theatrical horror films including Tourist Trap (1979), The Seduction (1982), Crawlspace (1986), Catacombs (1988), Puppet Master (1989), and Netherworld (1992).
He spent six months as an intern with writer-director Peter Hyams on the film Capricorn One,[1] before writing and directing his first theatrical feature, Tourist Trap (1979).
Shot in 24 days, it features a score by Pino Donaggio, performances from Chuck Connors and Tanya Roberts, and contains sound effects culled from The Time Machine (1960) and Gone with the Wind (1939).
[2] Though it was not a major hit at the time, it has since developed a cult following and been praised by renowned horror author Stephen King (who lauded the film as an obscure classic in his book Danse Macabre (1981)).
He followed the Seduction with 1986's Crawlspace (which he wrote and directed), a horror film starring famously difficult actor Klaus Kinski.
The film was shot in only 20 days, and was subsequently delayed from being released for almost five years due to the financial problems of distributor Empire International Pictures.
The film is a psychological drama fictionalizing the modern life of notorious child killers Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, who in 1993 were convicted of the murder of James Bulger.