John Carl Buechler (June 18, 1952 – March 18, 2019) was an American special make-up effects artist, movie director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He was best known for his work on horror and science-fiction movies. He directed the movies Troll, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, Cellar Dweller, and Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College.
His work includes Ghoulies, From Beyond, Troll, TerrorVision, Dolls, Prison, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, and Hatchet.
Buechler was born in Belleville, Illinois. In February 2019, Buechler was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer. He died from the disease on March 18, 2019 in Los Angeles at the age of 66.