Horror is not this
“boy’s club” that many may think it is. There are so many insanely talented
women in the horror industry that have – and continue – to make waves. Women
are continuously finding new ways to create films that terrify audiences
everywhere.
A few of the names
that come to mind when asked, “name a director in the horror genre” are George
A. Romero, Wes Craven, Eli Roth, John Carpenter, just to name a few. But, that’s
just the tip of the iceberg that is the world of horror. One of the goals of
Women in Horror Month is to shed light on the women behind some of our favorite
horror films. So, without further ado, let’s discuss some of the top horror
films directed by women.
Slumber Party
Massacre (Amy Holden Jones) – Let’s kick things off with my favorite subgenre
of horror – slasher films. Slumber Party Massacre has the typical slasher film
formula: a high school senior who’s left home alone, decides to invite over her
friends for a sleepover. Little did they know, there’s an escaped maniac on the
loose with a power drill terrorizing the neighborhood. The writer on the film,
novelist Rita Mae Brown, originally wrote the screenplay as a parody of the
slasher genre. This is evident in some of the humor present in the film
(although some of it isn’t as intentional as originally planned). This film
gained a cult following, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics.
Near Dark (Kathryn
Bigelow) – Before she became the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Director
for The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow directed this western-style vampire flick.
Near Dark is a gritty and violent film about a group of nomadic vampires,
roaming the countryside, trying to teach a newly-turned vamp how to survive.
The film features heavy-hitters like Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton
(previously of the Alien Franchise) as well as little-known actors like Adrian
Pasdar who stars are the newby in their dysfunctional vamp family. One of the
best scenes is when the vampires hit up this biker bar and just completely tear
through the place. A truly phenomenal film.
American Psycho (Mary
Harron) – Mary Harron not only directed this film, she co-wrote this iconic
black-comedy alongside Guinevere Turner. American Psycho is based on the Bret
Easton Ellis novel of the same name, Starring Christian Bale in the lead role
as Patrick Bateman, a narcissistic yuppie with an obsession for music and
killing. Featuring a star-studded cast with Jared Leto, Josh Lucas, Reese
Witherspoon, Willem Dafoe and many others. This stylish take on the American
serial-killer gave a whole new look to the monster most audiences were familiar
with. This wasn’t Leatherface in the backwoods of Texas, this was set in
upscale New York, among the rich elites. This film is deliciously bloody and
savy and continues to be an influential staple in horror.
Jennifer’s Body
(Karyn Kusama) – Kusama’s Jennifer’s Body remains a cult-classic to this day.
It features the same wit and snarky attitude that was present in the writer
Diabo Cody’s Oscar winning film Juno – however, this film didn’t quite get the
same amount of praise. While the film fell flat for mainstream audiences,
horror-lovers still love quoting this black comedy about a cheerleader who is
turned into a succubus after being sacrificed to Satan by some generic emo
band. Despite the “obvious surface flaws”, this film still remains a
cult-favorite.
Pet Sematary (Mary
Lambert) – This Stephen King adaptation was directed by Mary Lambert, who was
also a sought-after music video director after being responsible for the iconic
videos for hits like Janet Jackson’s “Nasty” and Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”.
This dark and incredibly creepy film follows a father, haunted by the death of
his youngest child that decides to cheat death by digging up their dead son and
burying him in an ancient Indian burial ground. There are so many things wrong
with that statement but alas, he soon found out that “dead is better”. Mary
Lambert brought us one of horror’s favorite creepy kids and for that, we thank
her.
Freddy’s Dead: The
Final Nightmare (Rachel Talalay) – Yes, the director responsible for giving
horror icon Freddy Krueger a proper send-off in the 90s was a woman. Rachel
Talalay worked on the Nightmare franchise as a producer on the 3rd
and 4th installments in the series (which are arguably the best
sequels in the series) and made her directorial debut on Freddy’s Dead: The
Final Nightmare. Not only was this the only film directed by a woman in the
series, but it also kept true to the tradition of having a strong female lead
(minus the second film), introducing us to Freddy’s daughter who would
ultimately bring upon his demise. It also featured another bad ass female,
Lezlie Deane, who went on to form glam-rock group Scary Cherry and the Bang
Bangs, Clueless’ Breckin Meyer, and Ricky Dean Logan. There was an array of
cameos in the film from stars like Rosanne Barr, Tom Arnold, Alice Cooper, and
Johnny Depp, who was in the original Nightmare. Freddy’s Dead was also the
first film released in 3D From New Line Cinema.
The Rage: Carrie 2
(Katt Shea) – In another film inspired by Stephen King characters, this
horror-sequel directed by Katt Shea who was also responsible for the 1992 Drew
Berrymore film Poison Ivy. While this film doesn’t hold a candle to the Brian
De Palma 1976 film, it still holds some charm. In this film, we see Rachel
Lang, another misfit teen harboring telekinetic powers that unleashes hell on
her tormentors. Amy Irving also reprises her role as Sue Snell as she attempts
to help Rachel before things turn bloody as they did years before. This film is
like the moody, emo sister to the original but it still manages to hold its
own. The 2013 remake featuring Chloe Grace Moretz was also directed by a female
– Kimberly Peirce.
The Babadook (Jennifer
Kent) – Arguably one of the best horror films of the recent years, Australian
director Jennifer Kent brought us this eerie psychological horror film in 2014
and introduced us to a new horror icon – The Babadook. This tale follows a
distressed widow struggling to take care of her troubled son, but things take a
dark turn when a strange creature begins wreaking havoc in their lives. This
film is hauntingly clever and thoughtful as it’s so much more than your typical
creature feature. The film is based on a short film titled Monster, that was
also written and directed by Kent.
Buffy the Vampire
Slayer (Fran Rubel Kuzui) – Before Sarah Michelle Gellar started staking vamps
in Sunnydale, Kristy Swanson was Buffy Summers in this 1992 film. The film
adaptation is a lot campier than Joss Whedon’s darker, more edgy tv series but
it’s still incredibly entertaining. The film also stars Beverly Hill’s 90210
hunk Luke Perry, Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer, Hilary Swank, and David
Arquette.
A Girl Walks Home
Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour) – Speaking of vampires … this Indie-vampire
western is one of the more recent films on this list, and by far the strangest.
Tagged as the “first Iranian vampire Western”, this film is about a ghost-town
that’s being stalked by a vampire that skateboards through town, devouring men
that disrespect women. A modern-day feminist horror film shot in
black-and-white, it’s a stylistic take on the vampire film that delivers a hell
of a bite – pun intended.
Do you have any
favorites that I missed? Let me know in the comments and stay tuned for the
next WiHM post.
