Editor's Pick | Our Female-Directed Horror Movie Marathon
It's officially scary movie season, y'all! When most people think of classic horror film directors, names like Wes Craven, John Carpenter, George A. Romero, Sam Raimi and Alfred Hitchcock come to mind. With those names come visions of the hapless female victims, Final Girls, and shadowy femme fatales that populate their films. It's time the lens shifted to the horror films crafted, written and directed by women. Join SlutBox as we celebrate the women of horror with our marathon of 10 female-directed horror films! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YnGhW4UEhc
American Psycho (2000) Director: Mary Harron
Director Harron and Guinevere Turner co-wrote the script for this iconic film, adapted from Bret Easton Ellis' satirical best-seller about a materialistic, narcissistic, serial-killing wall street yuppie. The role of Patrick Bateman turned Christian Bale from a beloved child star to a formidable name in horror and pitch-black humor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5WQZzDRVtw
The Babadook (2014) Director: Jennifer Kent
Australian filmmaker Jennifer Kent authored the harrowing tale of a widowed mother (Essie Davis) struggling to raise her rambunctious son alone while dealing with the specter of her grief and loss. Things go from bad to worse when the mother and son become tormented by a sinister creature from the pages of a children's book. Don't be fooled - this is no simple story of a monster under the bed. The Babadook can be hard to watch, but the acting and construction is superb and the payoff is huge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGQP6PIXzyc
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) Director: Rachel Talalay
The monumental task of directing the sixth installment of horror mega-franchise Nightmare on Elm Street, in which we meet Freddy's daughter and travel into the Son of a Hundred Maniacs' mind via 3D, went to Rachel Talalay in '91. A producer to two previous Elm Street films, Freddy's Dead was Talalay's directorial debut. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YGmTdo3vuY
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014) Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
You wouldn't think a Persian feminist neo-noir vampire flick shot in black and white would rock the charts, but Amirpour's indie darling film cemented her as a director to watch. At once a spaghetti Western, a romance, a vampire movie and a noir thriller, A Girl defies genre and definition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8azftM5puI
Jennifer's Body (2009) Director: Karyn Kusama
Jennifer's Body is a film about a bisexual cheerleader unwittingly transformed into a demonic succubus. Directed by Kusama (Girlfight, Aeon Flux) and written by Diablo Cody (Juno) and starring ultimate sex kitten Megan Fox and good girl Amanda Seyfried, Jennifer's Body is smartly written, weird and darkly funny enough to cement itself as a cult classic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQxnVrg2TSQ
Near Dark (1988) Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Before Kathryn Bigelow made history as the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Director in 2009 for her searing film The Hurt Locker, she made possibly the best vampire-biker-Western ever. Near Dark is a gorgeous, dark, violent journey backed by Tangerine Dream's moody synth-y soundtrack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpjpUOXQZac
Pet Sematary (1989) Director: Mary Lambert
An 80's horror staple, this Stephen King adaptation features one of the most genuinely terrifying kiddo psychopaths of all time. Side note: before directing Pet Sematary, Labert directed iconic clips for Janet Jackson ("Nasty" "Control"), Madonna ("Borderline," "Like a Virgin" "Like a Prayer") and other MTV stars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vrSx--k0_k
The Slumber Party Massacre (1982) Director: Amy Holden Jones
Slaher flicks aren't just for male directors! Amy Holden Jones' 1982 classic shows the boys how its done. Oh also, the two subsequent sequels were also written and directed by women, so settle in for a mini Slumber Party Massacre marathon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXqHADm_cZQ&has_verified=1
American Mary (2012) Director: Jen & Sylvia Soska
Body horror, anyone? Canadian twin filmmakers Jen and Sylvia craft a terrifying tale about a disenchanted medical student whose career takes a dark turn when she enters the world of underground surgery and extreme body modification. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFlXVX2af_Y
Raw (2017) Director: Julia Ducournau
The most recent pick in our marathon, Raw follows the tale of a young woman who is proud of her strict vegetarian diet - until she has her first taste of raw meat during her first week of veterinary school. Deliciously graphic, bloody and, well, raw, this film brilliantly intertwines sexual and personal awakening with cannibalism. Yum.
