Christopher Landon
Birthdate: February 27, 1975 (51 Years Old)
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
Christopher Landon (birthname: Christopher Beau Landon), the son of TV star Michael Landon, specializes in both dramatic and comic horror—frequently with queer themes—as a director, writer and producer. Landon began his feature filmmaking career as a screenwriter, on the Larry Clark-directed crime drama, Another Day in Paradise (1998); the fantasy-horror movie, Blood & Chocolate (2007), directed by Katja Von Garnier; and the crime thriller, Disturbia (2007), with Shia LaBeouf and David Morse under D.J. Caruso’s direction, and grossing a robust $118 million for Paramount Pictures.
Landon made his filmmaking debut as director/writer of the Los Angeles-set satire-thriller, Burning Palms (2010), with Adriana Barraza, Lake Bell, Shannon Doherty, Rosamund Pike, Dylan McDermott, Zoe Saldana, and Paz Vega. Landon then saw his horror movie career take off as he joined Paramount Pictures’ Paranormal Activity franchise as either screenwriter (for Paranormal Activity 2 (2010), Paranormal Activity 3 (2011), Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)) or director/screenwriter (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014), grossing $91 million) or screenwriter/executive producer (Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)).
Christopher Landon continued with a busy run as screenwriter and director, first with Paramount’s zombie comedy, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015), with Tye Sheridan, and followed by Viral (2016), on which Landon was only credited co-writer (with Barbara Marshall); as well as the Blumhouse-produced Happy Death Day (2017)—on which he was director and uncredited co-writer—and the sequel as director/writer, Happy Death Day 2U (2019), grossing a combined $190 million against a combined $14 million costs for Universal Pictures; and the black comedy, Freaky (2020), with Landon as director/co-writer and starring Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton, and again produced by Blumhouse and released by Universal Pictures.
Landon was then co-writer/producer of the slasher rom-com movie, Heart Eyes (2025), starring Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding, earning $33 million for distributors Screen Gems/Sony Pictures Releasing/Republic Pictures. Landon was the director of the mystery, Drop (2025), co-starring Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar, with lead producers Jason Blum and Michael Bay, and released by Universal Pictures after premiering at the South by Southwest Film Festival.
Personal life
Christopher Landon was born and raised in Los Angeles by parents Michael Landon and Lynn Noe. Landon has three older siblings, all of them actors, including Michael Jr., Shawn, and Leslie. Landon’s parents divorced when he was four years old, and he grew up with his father (his Christian mother wouldn’t accept Landon when he came out as gay), attending and graduating from Beverly Hills High School, and then majoring in screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University. Landon dropped out after three years to start his professional screenwriting career with filmmaker Larry Clark. Landon’s height is 5’ 10”.
Christopher Landon Movies
Director
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Previous (4)
- 2020 |
- 2019 |
Happy Death Day 2U
Tree Gelbman discovers that dying over and over was surprisingly easier than the dangers that lie ahead.
- 2017 |
Happy Death Day
A college student must relive the day of her murder over and over again, in a loop that will end only when she discovers her killer's identity.
- -- | Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
Writer
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Previous (4)
- 2020 |
- 2019 |
Happy Death Day 2U
Tree Gelbman discovers that dying over and over was surprisingly easier than the dangers that lie ahead.
- -- | Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
- -- | Paranormal Activity 4
Facts About Christopher Landon
Out and Proud: Christopher Landon came out as gay when he had established a screenwriting career, knowing that it could harm his prospects, which it did, forcing him to relocate to Austin, Texa,s for a few years until he revived his filmmaking career.
