Eric Red

Eric Red (born Eric Joseph Durdaller; February 16, 1961) is an American screenwriter and director, best known for writing the horror films The Hitcher and Near Dark.

Biography

Early life

Red was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Nancy (née Pickhardt) and Cornelius Gerard Durdaller. He attended the AFI Conservatory and graduated in 1983.

Writing career

The first film written by Red was Gunmen's Blues, a short he produced and directed while a student at the AFI Conservatory. He went broke trying to get national distribution for the film and had to drive a cab in New York for a year to recoup.

His AFI thesis script, The Hitcher, was produced in 1986. A major studio remake of The Hitcher was released in 2007 with Red as a consultant. He wrote the original script to Lost Boys: The Tribe and narrated the film at the 2010 Screamfest Horror Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Eric Red published his first novel, Don't Stand So Close, in 2011.

Fatal car crash

Red was found to be at fault in a car accident that caused two deaths after he drove his truck into a crowded bar in Los Angeles on May 31, 2000. After the accident, Red apparently exited his vehicle, picked up a piece of broken glass and slit his own throat.