Renny Harlin

Renny Harlin

1959-03-15 Riihimäki, Finland 58 Credits

Biography

Renny Harlin (born Renny Lauri Mauritz Harjola on March 15, 1959) is a Finnish film director and producer, known for his prolific work in the action and horror genres. The peak of his success spanned from the late 1980s to the late 1990s, during which period he directed numerous hits, including A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, and Deep Blue Sea. The commercial performance of his films has waned since the mid 2000s, but Harlin remains 86th on the list of hig...

Known For

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Complete Filmography

Deep Water

Deep Water

2026

Director

Directing

An eclectic group of international passengers on a flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai is forced to make an emergency landing in shark-infested waters...

The Strangers: Chapter 2

The Strangers: Chapter 2

2025

Director

Directing

On the final day of their cross country road trip, a couple's vehicle breaks down, forcing them to take refuge in a remote Airbnb. As night falls, thr...

The Strangers: Chapter 1

The Strangers: Chapter 1

2024

Director

5.7
Directing

After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorize...

The Bricklayer

The Bricklayer

2023

Director

5.8
Directing

Someone is blackmailing the CIA by assassinating foreign journalists and making it look like the agency is responsible. As the world begins to unite a...

Refuge

Refuge

2023

Director, Producer

5.6
Directing Producing

Sergeant Rick Pedroni, who comes home to his wife Kate changed and dangerous after suffering an attack by a mysterious force during combat in Afghanis...

Reunion 3: Singles Cruise

Reunion 3: Singles Cruise

2021

Director, Screenplay

4.8
Directing Writing

The approaching baptism of his ex-wife's new baby destroys Antti's ability to function and puts him in catatonic state. Tuomas and Nippe take action t...

The Misfits

The Misfits

2021

Director

5.5
Directing

After being recruited by a group of unconventional thieves, renowned criminal Richard Pace finds himself caught up in an elaborate gold heist that pro...

The Dinosaur

The Dinosaur

2021

as Self (archive footage)

6.6
Acting

Acclaimed Finnish director Rauni Mollberg made several scandalous yet widely appreciated films. Former co-worker Veikko Aaltonen’s eye-opening documen...

Bodies at Rest

Bodies at Rest

2019

Director

6.4
Directing

Working in the morgue, a hardworking forensics expert and his assistant are suddenly accosted by masked intruders who demand access to a body involved...

Legend of the Ancient Sword

Legend of the Ancient Sword

2018

Director

6.1
Directing

Due to a fateful occurrence, Yue Wuyi leaves home. He meets revered master Xie Yi, who imparts to him the magical arts of Yan, and thus begins his jou...

Skiptrace

Skiptrace

2016

Director

5.7
Directing

A detective from Hong Kong teams up with an American gambler to battle against a notorious Chinese criminal.

The Legend of Hercules

The Legend of Hercules

2014

as Officer Linus (uncredited)

4.8
Acting

In Ancient Greece 1200 B.C., a queen succumbs to the lust of Zeus to bear a son promised to overthrow the tyrannical rule of the king and restore peac...

The Legend of Hercules

The Legend of Hercules

2014

Director, Writer, Producer

4.8
Directing Writing Producing

In Ancient Greece 1200 B.C., a queen succumbs to the lust of Zeus to bear a son promised to overthrow the tyrannical rule of the king and restore peac...

The Dyatlov Pass Incident

The Dyatlov Pass Incident

2013

Director, Producer

5.9
Directing Producing

In February of 1959, nine Russian hikers ventured into a remote area of the Ural Mountains. Two weeks later, all of them were found dead. What happene...

Hard Time: The Making of Prison

2013

as Himself

8.0
Acting

Retrospective documentary on the making of the low-budget horror film Prison (1987)

Fear Himself: The Life and Crimes of Freddy Krueger

Fear Himself: The Life and Crimes of Freddy Krueger

2012

as Self

5.5
Acting

Retrospective on The Nightmare On Elm Street Series.

5 Days of War

5 Days of War

2011

Producer, Director

5.6
Producing Directing

An American journalist and his cameraman are caught in the combat zone during the first Russian airstrikes against Georgia. Rescuing Tatia, a young Ge...

The Resident

The Resident

2011

Executive Producer

5.8
Producing

Juliet, a beautiful doctor, has found the perfect New York apartment to start a new life after separating from her husband. It's got spacious rooms, a...

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy

2010

as Self

7.8
Acting

For decades, Freddy Krueger has slashed his way through the dreams of countless youngsters, scaring up over half a billion dollars at the box office a...

12 Rounds

12 Rounds

2009

Director

5.9
Directing

When New Orleans Police Detective Danny Fisher stops a brilliant thief from getting away with a multimillion-dollar heist, the thief's girlfriend is a...

Cleaner

Cleaner

2007

Director

6.1
Directing

Single father and former cop Tom Cutler has an unusual occupation: he cleans up death scenes. But when he's called in to sterilize a wealthy suburban ...

The Covenant

The Covenant

2006

Director

5.6
Directing

Four young men who belong to a supernatural legacy are forced to battle a fifth power long thought to have died out. Another great force they must con...

Exorcist: The Beginning

Exorcist: The Beginning

2004

Director

5.4
Directing

Years before Father Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil’s soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa.

Mindhunters

Mindhunters

2004

Executive Producer, Director

6.5
Producing Directing

Trainees in the FBI's psychological profiling program must put their training into practice when they discover a killer in their midst. Based very lo...

Wreckage and Rage: Making 'Alien³'

Wreckage and Rage: Making 'Alien³'

2003

as Self

7.8
Acting

The creation of the film Alien³ (1992) is covered here in this feature-length documentary in exhaustive detail. Many interviews with the cast and crew...

Driven

Driven

2001

as Replacement Driver

5.1
Acting

Talented rookie race-car driver Jimmy Bly has started losing his focus and begins to slip in the race rankings. It's no wonder, with the immense press...

Driven

Driven

2001

Director, Producer

5.1
Directing Producing

Talented rookie race-car driver Jimmy Bly has started losing his focus and begins to slip in the race rankings. It's no wonder, with the immense press...

Deep Blue Sea

Deep Blue Sea

1999

Director

6.0
Directing

Researchers on the undersea lab Aquatica have genetically altered the brains of captive sharks to develop a cure for Alzheimer's disease. But there's ...

Blast from the Past

Blast from the Past

1999

Producer

6.8
Producing

Following a bomb scare in the 1960s that locked the Webers into their bomb shelter for 35 years, Adam now ventures forth into Los Angeles to obtain fo...

Johtaja Uuno Turhapuro pisnismies

Johtaja Uuno Turhapuro pisnismies

1998

as Renny Harlin

3.4
Acting

Uuno Turhapuro's younger brother Peni arrives in Helsinki. Uuno helps his brother in management duties.

Mistrial

Mistrial

1996

Executive Producer

5.0
Producing

When a cop-killer goes free, a detective's search for personal justice veers dangerously out of control. Declaring a mistrial, he takes the accused, t...

The Long Kiss Goodnight

The Long Kiss Goodnight

1996

Director, Producer

6.6
Directing Producing

Samantha Caine is a small-town schoolteacher and mom with no memory of her life before washing up on a beach eight years ago. After a car accident and...

Cutthroat Island

Cutthroat Island

1995

Producer, Director

5.8
Producing Directing

Morgan Adams and her slave, William Shaw, are on a quest to recover the three portions of a treasure map. Unfortunately, the final portion is held by ...

A Night to Die For

A Night to Die For

1995

as Self

Acting

TV special worth watching if only for the incongruous interviews with Wayne Newton, Wayne Gretzky, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Rudolph Giuliani, Mike Ditka, a...

Speechless

Speechless

1994

Producer

5.9
Producing

In the midst of election season in New Mexico, political speechwriters Julia Mann and Kevin Vallick begin a romance, unaware they are working for cand...

The Foot Shooting Party

The Foot Shooting Party

1994

Executive Producer

5.0
Producing

The lead singer of a band gets drafted for war in Vietnam. So as not to break up the band, he decides to shoot his own foot.

Cliffhanger

Cliffhanger

1993

Director, Producer

6.5
Directing Producing

A year after losing his friend in a tragic 4,000-foot fall, former ranger Gabe Walker and his partner, Hal, are called to return to the same peak to r...

Slash & Burn: The Freddy Krueger Story

Slash & Burn: The Freddy Krueger Story

1991

as Self

8.0
Acting

Freddy Krueger hosts a retrospective special/making-of "Freddy's Dead."

Rambling Rose

Rambling Rose

1991

Producer

6.2
Producing

Rose is taken in by the Hillyer family to serve as a 1930s housemaid so that she can avoid falling into a life of prostitution. Her appearence and per...

Raptori Moe!

Raptori Moe!

1990

Acting

The rap group from Hyvinkää performs its hugely popular songs.

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

1990

Director

6.1
Directing

To the Los Angeles elite, Ford Fairlane is known as "Mr. Rock 'n' Roll Detective." This loudmouthed ladies' man serves an exclusive rock star clientel...

Die Hard 2

Die Hard 2

1990

Director

7.0
Directing

One year after his heroics in Los Angeles, John McClane is an off-duty cop who is the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. On a snowy Chris...

The Making of 'Nightmare on Elm Street IV'

1989

as Self

4.7
Acting

Witness the behind-the-scenes techniques and gruesome special effects that dominate this box office hit! See through the mysteries of the slasher saga...

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

1988

as Student (uncredited)

5.9
Acting

Freddy Krueger is resurrected from his apparent demise, and rapidly tracks down and kills the remainder of the Elm Street kids. However, Kristen, who ...

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

1988

Director

5.9
Directing

Freddy Krueger is resurrected from his apparent demise, and rapidly tracks down and kills the remainder of the Elm Street kids. However, Kristen, who ...

Prison

Prison

1987

Director

5.7
Directing

After Charles Forsyth was sent to the electric chair for a crime he didn't commit, he forever haunts the prison where he was executed. Flash forward s...

Born American

Born American

1986

as Man's Voice from Ship's Loudspeakers (uncredited) (voice)

3.9
Acting

A trio of American students vacationing in Finland cross the border into the USSR and are soon imprisoned following a skirmish with Soviet soldiers.

Born American

Born American

1986

Director, Screenplay, Stunt Double

3.9
Directing Writing

A trio of American students vacationing in Finland cross the border into the USSR and are soon imprisoned following a skirmish with Soviet soldiers.

The Breakthrough

The Breakthrough

1981

as Police officer (uncredited)

Acting

Theater students rehearse their own play, "Freedom," and become entangled in the depths of the play's themes in their personal lives.

Kohtauspaikka 33

1981

as Self (voice)

Acting

A documentary following youths of Helsinki and their habits of spending all their money on expensive clothes.

Kohtauspaikka 33

1981

Director, Producer

Directing Producing

A documentary following youths of Helsinki and their habits of spending all their money on expensive clothes.

Custody

1980

Writer, Director

10.0
Writing Directing

An alcoholic man is forced to come to grips with a society when he's taken into custody.

Carrier

N/A

Producer

Producing

When a mysterious phenomenon leads to mass chaos, a splintering family escapes to a small island…but their troubles are only beginning.

The Strangers: Chapter 3

The Strangers: Chapter 3

N/A

Director

Directing

In the "Strangers" finale, survivors face new threats from masked strangers. Secrets emerge, jeopardizing their lives as the line between reality and ...

The Postcard Killer

N/A

Director

Directing

In the chilling sequel to The Postcard Killings, NYPD detective Jacob Kanon faces new terror. Haunted by his daughter's murder, Jacob is thrust back i...

Inspector Palmu

N/A

Director, Writer

Directing Writing

Inspector Palmu gets to solve a new case, when a wealthy real estate millionaire connected to Germany is murdered in Kaivopuisto, middle of post-war H...

The Beast

N/A

Director

Directing

When a militia of unidentified hostiles coordinates a coup against the United States, the president must utilize the highly classified offensive capab...

Black Tides

N/A

Director

Directing

Rebecca reunites with her estranged father, Bill, in sunny Málaga expecting a healing family trip with her young son, Sebastian. Instead, their voyage...