Jaume Balagueró (born in 1968 in Lleida, Catalonia) is one of the great names of contemporary Spanish genre cinema. He first drew attention in 1994 with his short film Alicia, awarded at the Sitges Festival, then confirmed his talent with Los sin nombre (The Nameless, 1999), a dark and striking debut feature.
He followed up with Darkness (2002), which received an international release, and Frágiles (Fragile, 2005), confirming his atmospheric, unsettling style. But it was in 2007 that he achieved worldwide recognition, co-directing with Paco Plaza the cult film [REC], which revolutionised found-footage horror and gave rise to an essential saga — he also directed [REC]² (2009) and [REC]⁴: Apocalypse (2014).
In parallel, Balagueró explored the thriller with Mientras duermes (Sleep Tight, 2011), praised for its psychological intensity and carried by Luis Tosar. He returned in 2021 with Way Down (The Vault), a spectacular heist film, confirming his ease in moving between horror, suspense and action. Today, Jaume Balagueró is recognised as a master of suspense and fear, whose visual and narrative world continues to influence genre cinema worldwide.