Derrickson married a nurse in September 1993 and has two children.
Derrickson co-wrote and directed the film The Exorcism of Emily Rose which was loosely based on a true story about Anneliese Michel. The film won the 2005 Saturn Award for Best Horror or Thriller Film and in 2006 was named in the Chicago Film Critics Association's list of the "Top 100 Scariest Films Ever Made." Theatrical box office gross for The Exorcism of Emily Rose was over $144 million worldwide. That same year, Derrickson wrote Land of Plenty for Director Wim Wenders, an independent drama starring Michelle Williams. Derrickson next directed The Day the Earth Stood Still starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly, written by David Scarpa. The film was released in late 2008 and earned over $233 million worldwide.
In August 2011, Derrickson teamed up with Producer Jason Blum to write and direct Sinister, a mystery-horror film starring Ethan Hawke. The $3 million picture was released in theaters by Summit Entertainment on October 12, 2012 and received generally positive critical reviews. Sinister earned over $48 million at the U.S. box office and over $78 million worldwide. Derrickson wrote but did not direct Sinister 2.
In 2014, Derrickson wrote a film version of The Outer Limits with Cargill. Other upcoming Derrickson projects include an adaptation of Stephen King's The Breathing Method with Jason Blum producing, and an adaptation of the popular video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution for CBS Films.
Critical, public and commercial reception to films Derrickson has directed as of November 13, 2016.
In 2017, it was announced that he would direct the pilot for Snowpiercer, starring Jennifer Connelly and airing on TNT.
