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Gary Shore
Gary Shore
Gary Shore
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Gary Shore (born 1981) is an Irish film director, producer and screenwriter, best known for his directorial debut film Dracula Untold. He has also directed commercials for a number of well-known brands including Gatorade, Adidas, and UGG.

Key Information

Early life

[edit]

Shore was born in 1981 in Artane, Dublin,[1][2] and graduated in 2006 from the National Film School.[3]

Career

[edit]

Shore attended the National Film School in Dublin, Ireland. He graduated in 2006 winning the Royal Television Society Award for Best Student Drama for his short film, The Draft which he wrote, directed, and produced.[3] Also in 2006, the Cannes International Advertising Festival nominated Shore for the prestigious Young Director Award.[3] In 2009, he produced a faux film trailer, a science-fiction horror short film, The Cup of Tears.[3][4] This short led to a bidding war in 2010 resulting in a deal with Working Title Films to develop a feature version.[5]

In October 2012, Shore and fellow producer Jonathan Loughran founded a production company named ArtCastle Productions with offices in Dublin and Los Angeles.[6][7] Later, Shore and his company were signed by the William Morris Endeavor.[5]

In 2014, Shore made his feature film directorial debut with the action fantasy-horror film Dracula Untold based on the character Count Dracula.[8][9] The film starred Luke Evans and Sarah Gadon, and was scripted by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless.[10] It was released on 10 October 2014 by Universal Pictures and grossed over $215 million.[11]

Also in 2014, Shore directed three sixty-second advertisements promoting the best-selling video game Game of War: Fire Age featuring supermodel Kate Upton reprising her in-game role as the goddess Athena.[3]

Shore directed the "St. Patrick's Day" segment in the XYZ Films' anthology film Holidays in July 2015, which was also produced through ArtCastle. The segment stars Ruth Bradley.[1][12]

He has also directed commercials for several large brands including Gatorade, Adidas, and UGG.[3]

Future or canceled projects

[edit]

On 18 May 2011 Universal and Working Title acquired the feature film rights to remake Phasma ex Machina.[13] In August 2011, Shore was hired by Universal to direct Our House, a remake of the 2010 independent thriller film Ghost from the Machine, or Phasma Ex Machina, with Nathan Parker attached to write the script.[14] By January 2016, Shore had left the project and was replaced by Anthony Scott Burns.

They are also working together on a feature-length version of The Cup of Tears.[13]

In June 2014, Shore was reportedly hired to direct Gods and Men.[15]

In November 2016, Shore was set to direct an historical epic film titled The Great Game for Cross Creek Pictures from an original screenplay by Bryan McMullin.[16]

Personal life

[edit]

Shore married his long time friend Ciara Cullen in October 2014.[2]

Filmography

[edit]

Short film

Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
2006 The Draft Yes Yes Yes
2009 The Cup of Tears Yes Yes Yes
2016 St. Patrick's Day Yes Yes Yes Segment of Holidays

Feature film

Year Title Director Writer
2014 Dracula Untold Yes No
2023 Haunting of the Queen Mary Yes Yes

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Gary Shore

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Gary Shore (born 1981) is an Irish and best known for directing the supernatural action Dracula Untold (2014) and the The Haunting of the Queen Mary (2023). Born in Artane on the north side of , Shore studied film at the from 1999 to 2002 and at the Institute of Art, Design + Technology in , followed by painting at College of Art and Design in . He began his professional career directing commercials for brands including , , , , , and , earning nominations from the Young Director Award and other industry accolades for his visual style. Shore transitioned to narrative filmmaking with the short film The Draft (2006) and the horror anthology segment "St. Patrick's Day" in Holidays (2016), before making his feature debut with Dracula Untold, a Universal Pictures production starring Luke Evans as Vlad Tepes that he also co-wrote. The film grossed $217 million worldwide and topped the box office in multiple countries, earning Shore the Saturn Award for Best Horror Film in 2014, along with nominations from the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards and Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards. His follow-up feature, The Haunting of the Queen Mary, which Shore co-wrote and directed, premiered in limited release on August 18, 2023, starring and Joel Fry in a story spanning two timelines aboard the historic ocean liner.

Early life and education

Upbringing in Ireland

Gary Shore was born in 1981 in Artane, a suburb on Dublin's north side. Growing up in this environment during the 1980s and 1990s, he frequently attended local cinemas every Sunday as a child, gaining early exposure to international films that ignited his interest in storytelling. Family viewing of classic cinema such as The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), (1982), and Empire of the Sun (1987) influenced him. These experiences cultivated Shore's passion for epic narratives, shaping his visual and narrative sensibilities. From a young age, Shore showed a keen interest in , particularly , , and . He aspired to become a comic book artist, drawing inspiration from prominent creators like and the Kubert brothers, whose dynamic styles influenced his early creative pursuits. This foundation in later informed his distinctive approach to directing, emphasizing bold imagery and composition. Shore's upbringing was marked by strong family support, with his parents offering emotional encouragement amid financial challenges, a dynamic reflective of close-knit Irish family ties. This bond extended into his professional life; his mother, sister, and aunt appeared as extras in a scene from his feature film debut, (2014).

Academic background

Gary Shore pursued his initial formal training in film at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) in Ireland from 1999 to 2002, where he studied film production. During this period, Shore demonstrated early proficiency in visual storytelling through student projects, including the short film Stella and Cowboy, a third-year piece selected for broadcast on RTÉ's Debuts series, highlighting his emerging directorial skills. Following a gap in his studies, Shore enrolled at the National Film School within the Institute of Art, Design + Technology (IADT) in , , from 2005 to 2006, specializing in directing and . His coursework there emphasized narrative development and practical filmmaking techniques, culminating in graduation. In 2009, Shore advanced his artistic foundation with studies in fine arts at in , focusing on visual composition, painting, and illustration.

Career

Commercials and early shorts

Shore entered the film industry around 2006 following his initial education in Ireland, beginning with the short film The Draft (2006), a horror-themed graduate project that won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Student Drama. He then transitioned to music videos and advertisements, spending months pitching projects, including music videos for Lebanese pop artists and German trance acts, before securing his first major opportunity with a commercial. This breakthrough led to a transition into high-end commercials for prominent brands, such as , , , , EDF, , and . His work in these 30- to 60-second formats earned recognition for visual innovation, including two nominations for the Cannes Lions Young Director Award in 2006 and subsequent years, as well as other industry accolades. Over the next seven to eight years, Shore honed his directorial style, emphasizing sharp angles, dynamic curves, and epic visuals to create compelling within constrained timeframes, thereby building a robust portfolio that bridged and . In 2012, he co-founded the production company ArtCastle with , establishing offices in and to support his growing commercial endeavors. By 2015, Shore expanded his representation to the U.S. through the agency Knucklehead, maintaining continuity with his U.K. affiliations while focusing on .

Feature film debut

Shore's feature film debut came with the direction of (2014), an exploring the origin story of Vlad Tepes, who becomes the vampire . The project originated as a pitch titled Dracula Year Zero, with the script written by . In February 2012, revived development on the film, attaching Shore—then an up-and-coming Irish director—as its helmer after previous iterations with other talents fell through. Production spanned from August to November 2013, primarily in locations such as Roe Valley Country Park, , and , with additional shooting in the UK to double for 15th-century . The film had a of $70 million and starred as Vlad Tepes/Dracula, alongside , , and . Dracula Untold premiered on October 10, 2014, and grossed $217 million worldwide against its $70 million budget, performing strongly internationally with $161 million from markets outside . The film received mixed reviews from critics, who often criticized its narrative inconsistencies and tonal shifts but praised its visual style, , and atmospheric production design. It won the for Best at the 41st Saturn Awards in 2015, recognizing its contributions to the genre. For Shore, a native, the project marked a significant personal milestone after seven years of persistent efforts to establish himself in the film industry, including periods of financial hardship and near-abandonment of his directing ambitions. Filming represented a , allowing him to helm a major production on familiar terrain.

Subsequent feature films

Following his feature debut with , Gary Shore contributed to the 2016 horror anthology Holidays, directing the "" segment. This nine-minute short follows a schoolteacher who receives a snake-shaped charm from a disturbing new student and subsequently discovers she is pregnant with a demonic serpent, reinterpreting the of St. Patrick banishing snakes—symbolizing demons—from the land as a tale of possession and maternal horror. The segment blends dark comedy with grotesque body horror, showcasing Shore's ability to condense tense, atmospheric dread into a brief runtime. Produced through his company ArtCastle Productions in collaboration with producer , the Holidays project was released on video-on-demand platforms on April 15, 2016, followed by a limited theatrical run on April 29. Shore's next directorial effort, The Haunting of the Queen Mary (2023), marked his return to full-length features with a co-written by Shore, Stephen Oliver, and Tom Vaughan. Set across two timelines aboard the real-life —now a haunted in —the story explores a family's encounter with vengeful spirits tied to the vessel's tragic history, including drownings and wartime horrors. Starring as a grieving mother and Joel Fry as her partner, the emphasizes psychological terror and gothic atmosphere over jump scares. Principal photography for The Haunting of the Queen Mary took place on location aboard the actual Queen Mary in Long Beach and at Studio in , , utilizing the ship's preserved interiors for authenticity. Originally budgeted at $11 million, production costs rose to approximately $15 million due to delays and expansions. Released by Vertical Entertainment in limited theaters on August 18, 2023, before expanding to video-on-demand, the film grossed over $1.4 million internationally, reflecting its modest scale compared to Shore's debut. In 2025, Shore directed episodes 4–6 of season 2 of the dark comedy crime drama series Obituary, which premiered on October 4, 2025, on RTÉ in Ireland and Hulu in the United States. These projects illustrate Shore's pivot toward horror genres emphasizing intimate, character-driven scares, building on the vampire mythology of his debut but favoring contained, eerie narratives suited to shorter formats before scaling to feature-length psychological depth. ArtCastle Productions played a key role in developing and financing the Holidays segment, underscoring Shore's hands-on involvement in shepherding his visions from concept to screen.

Unreleased and canceled projects

In 2016, Gary Shore was attached to direct The Great Game, a centered on the Nobel family's legacy during the Baku oil rush, from a screenplay by Bryan McMullin and produced by . The project, which explores inventor Emanuel Nobel's romance and rivalry with his brother Alfred amid industrial intrigue, has remained in development without a release date or further production updates as of 2025. Earlier, in 2011, Shore was hired by to direct Our House, a horror of the 2010 indie film Phasma ex Machina (also known as Ghost from the Machine), scripted by Nathan Parker and focusing on a young man raising his siblings after a family tragedy unleashes supernatural forces in their home. The Phasma ex Machina entered early scripting under Shore but stalled, with no updates on his involvement since the announcement; the project later proceeded without him and released in 2018 under director . Shore's vampire-themed Red River, announced in 2017, was envisioned as a thriller about a drifter seeking vengeance for an immigrant family in an isolated Irish town, written by Ronan Blaney and produced by with Ridley Scott's Scott Free. Planned for filming in , the project has seen no advancement due to scheduling conflicts and has been effectively canceled. A to Shore's 2014 directorial debut was initially developed by Universal as part of the planned Dark Universe shared franchise, with Shore expressing interest in exploring time-travel elements involving the Impaler's . However, following the 2017 commercial failure of The Mummy, Universal shifted strategy away from the interconnected universe, officially dropping the sequel amid studio restructuring; despite ongoing fan speculation, no revival has occurred as of 2025.

Personal life

Marriage and family

Gary Shore married his longtime partner, schoolteacher Ciara Cullen (also reported as Ciara Cummins in some accounts), on November 2, 2014, in an intimate ceremony surrounded by close friends and family. The couple had met through a mutual friend and dated for several years prior to the wedding. Shore and his wife split their time between and to accommodate his career demands in the film industry. Shore has maintained a low public profile regarding his , with no verified details available on children or as of 2025.

Artistic influences

Gary Shore's artistic influences draw heavily from a diverse array of filmmakers known for their dramatic depth and visual innovation. In interviews, he has cited directors such as , , , , , , , , and as key inspirations, praising them as "great entertainers who delve into great drama and have all made masterpieces." These figures shaped his appreciation for blending epic storytelling with psychological complexity, evident in his preference for tragic hero narratives reminiscent of characters like or . Shore's visual style originates from his fine arts background, particularly his studies in painting at Central Saint Martins in London, which informed his approach to composition in horror and fantasy genres. This foundation, combined with earlier exposure to comic book artists like Jim Lee, Adam and Andy Kubert, and Japanese anime techniques, led to a stylized aesthetic incorporating dynamic illustrations and bold, gritty visuals inspired by Fincher's work on films like Alien 3. His experience in music videos further refined this through extensive use of green screen and matte paintings, contributing to a polished yet atmospheric look. Thematically, Shore is drawn to blending historical figures with elements, a motif rooted in European cinema and his Irish heritage. He has expressed admiration for films like Francis Ford Coppola's for its "bold and operatic" romanticism and Neil Jordan's as a masterpiece that masterfully merges history and horror. This interest extends to Irish and Celtic folklore, as seen in his engagement with lore and Celtic imagery in projects exploring twisted holiday traditions. Shore's filmmaking has evolved from the high-polish constraints of commercials to a deeper exploration of horror in later works, influenced by early horror masters like and Fincher's darker tones, as well as Westerns for their sense of scale. This shift allowed him to incorporate homages to classics like Predator—with around ten references in his early feature—while delving into anti-hero transformations and familial psychological tensions, moving toward more intimate, indie-scale horror narratives.

Filmography

Feature films

Shore made his feature film directorial debut with (2014), a that serves as an for the Dracula character, starring as Vlad Tepes alongside and ; the film has a runtime of 92 minutes and was distributed by . Shore's most recent feature is The Haunting of the Queen Mary (2023), a horror thriller centered on hauntings aboard the historic ocean liner, starring and Joel Fry; the film has a runtime of 124 minutes (original cut) and was distributed by Vertical Entertainment.

Short films and segments

Shore began his filmmaking career with short works created during his studies at the (GMIT) from 1999 to 2002 and the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) from 2002 to 2006, where he experimented with visual storytelling and narrative forms in non-commercial student projects. His most prominent student-era short, The Draft (2006), is a 16-minute horror-comedy that follows a young couple terrorized by a secret American military weapon unleashed in a rural Irish town. Shore wrote, directed, and produced the film as his graduate project at IADT, earning the Royal Television Society Award for Best Student Drama and a Young Director Award nomination at the Lions International Festival of Creativity. This early success helped establish his reputation and paved the way for professional opportunities in directing. Shore's later short segment, (2016), appears in the horror anthology Holidays and runs 9 minutes. In the story, set , a schoolteacher named Elizabeth receives a handmade toy snake as a from a troubled , leading to an unexpected pregnancy with monstrous implications that she must resolve before the holiday. The segment blends dark comedy with elements, starring as the protagonist.

Television

Obituary (2025; episodes 4–6; director).

References

  1. https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1167470-gary-shore?language=en-US
  2. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2411495/bio/
  3. https://sdgi.ie/directors/gary-shore/
  4. https://www.shootonline.com/article/director-gary-shore-now-part-bigger-picture
  5. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2411495/
  6. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0829150/
  7. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3463938/
  8. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Haunting-of-the-Queen-Mary-(2023)
  9. https://www.fullecirclemagazine.com/2015/10/tales-from-transylvania-conversation.html
  10. https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/north-america-travel/us-travel/california/reputation-at-stake-zd63rzl0cvv
  11. https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2002/0613/396908-gmit/
  12. https://www.facebook.com/nfsireland/photos/as-of-5th-november-nfs-graduate-gary-shores-dracula-untold-has-grossed-189762770/729826960426438/
  13. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0876263/
  14. https://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4283152&tpl=archnews&force=1
  15. https://www.shootonline.com/article/director-gary-shore-now-part-bigger-picture/
  16. https://adage.com/article/production-moves/dracula-untold-director-gary-shore-joins-bigger-picture/316752/
  17. https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/saatchi-saatchi-new-directors-showcase/1076709
  18. https://deadline.com/2014/01/wme-signs-dracula-untold-helmer-gary-shore-and-his-artcastle-banner-664118/
  19. https://www.shootonline.com/article/director-gary-shore-joins-knucklehead-us-representation/
  20. https://adage.com/article/production-moves/mediamonks-acquires-stopp/301524/
  21. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0829150/
  22. https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/universal-revives-dracula-year-zero-without-sam-worthington-gary-shore-to-direct-253752/
  23. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0829150/locations/
  24. https://northernirelandscreen.co.uk/production-catalogue/feature-films/dracula-untold/
  25. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dracula-Untold
  26. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dracula-untold-2014
  27. https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/109187/full-list-of-2015-saturn-awards-winners/
  28. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8850704/
  29. http://dailygrindhouse.com/thewire/holidays-2016/
  30. https://www.horrorhomeroom.com/holidays/
  31. https://www.screendaily.com/production/xyz-distant-corners-team-up-on-holidays/5082583.article
  32. https://ew.com/article/2016/03/16/holidays-teaser-trailer-horror-anthology/
  33. https://variety.com/2023/film/markets-festivals/vertical-buys-queen-mary-horror-film-alice-eve-1235618547/
  34. https://deadline.com/video/alice-eve-haunting-queen-mary-movie-trailer-release-date-horror/
  35. https://lbpost.com/hi-lo/haunting-of-queen-mary-movie/
  36. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Haunting-of-the-Queen-Mary-%282023%29
  37. https://totom.co.uk/set-construction/haunting-of-the-queen-mary-film-sets/
  38. https://sdgi.ie/rachel-carey-and-gary-shore-s-2/
  39. https://www.thefutoncritic.com/video/2025/10/14/video-official-trailer-and-key-art-debut-obituary-season-2-apc-studios-851412/20251014hulu02/
  40. https://collider.com/holidays-review-kevin-smith/
  41. https://deadline.com/2016/11/nobel-family-movie-the-great-game-cross-creek-gary-shore-1201858264/
  42. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/gary-shore-direct-nobel-family-drama-great-game-949742/
  43. https://www.movieinsider.com/m15022/the-great-game
  44. https://deadline.com/2011/08/universal-to-remake-phasma-ex-machina-with-cup-of-tears-helmer-gary-shore-155526/
  45. https://collider.com/gary-shore-phasma-ex-machina-our-house/
  46. https://www.movieinsider.com/m9423/our-house
  47. https://deadline.com/2017/05/gary-shore-red-river-xyz-films-world-sales-cannes-ronan-blaney-mark-huffam-ridley-scott-1202095498/
  48. https://northernirelandscreen.co.uk/news/general/red-river-set-to-be-directed-by-gary-shore/
  49. https://www.movieinsider.com/p19383/gary-shore
  50. https://screenrant.com/dracula-untold-2-dark-universe-future/
  51. https://collider.com/dracula-untold-2/
  52. https://goss.ie/showbiz/exclusive-dracula-untold-director-gary-shore-marries-love-ciara-cullen-in-irish-wedding-17620
  53. https://www.independent.ie/life/welcome-to-la-la-land-the-irish-in-los-angeles/30108156.html
  54. https://www.denofgeek.com/books/dracula-untold-director-gary-shore-talks-the-new-universal-monsters/
  55. https://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/holidays-review-tribeca-2016/
  56. https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/gary-shore-dracula-untold-interview/
  57. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dracula_untold
  58. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haunting_of_the_queen_mary
  59. https://www.fandango.com/people/gary-shore-618689/biography
  60. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/gary_shore
  61. https://theplaylist.net/tribeca-review-horror-anthology-holidays-directed-by-kevin-smith-gary-shore-scott-stewart-and-more-20160416/
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