David Kajganich
Biography
David Kajganich (born November 15, 1969) is a highly-regarded American screenwriter and producer known for crafting dense, psychologically complex narratives, particularly within the horror and thriller genres. A graduate of the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop, Kajganich brought a background in literature and fiction writing to his career in film and television.
Career and Signature Collaborations
Kajganich initially worked as a literature and writing instructor before selling his first spec script, "Town Creek," which allowed him to move to Los Angeles and begin his professional career. His first major produced screenplay was the 2007 science fiction thriller, The Invasion, a re-imagining of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
A significant portion of his filmography is defined by a successful and intense collaborative partnership with Italian director Luca Guadagnino. Their joint projects include:
A Bigger Splash (2015): A critically acclaimed drama and loose remake of the 1969 film La Piscine.
Suspiria (2018): A dark, ambitious remake of the classic gothic horror film, which Kajganich also produced.
Bones and All (2022): A coming-of-age cannibal romance based on the novel by Camille DeAngelis, for which he received further critical praise for the screenplay.
Notable Film and Television Work
In addition to his work with Guadagnino, Kajganich has penned several other notable projects:
True Story (2015): A crime-drama based on the memoir of the same name, starring James Franco and Jonah Hill.
The Terror (2018): He developed and served as co-showrunner for the first season of this highly-regarded anthology horror series, which was based on Dan Simmons' novel about the lost 1845 Franklin expedition in the Arctic. His meticulous research and character-driven approach to the gothic horror genre earned him a lifetime fellowship in the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
Kajganich is noted for his thoughtful approach to genre storytelling, often focusing on intense character studies and the atmospheric details that elevate his source material.
