A Look Behind Horror’s Women Filmmakers

When we think about women in horror, more often than not, we think of them as film stars, body count, the proverbial “scream queen.” When fans pay homage to the genre creators and re-inventors, names like Wes Craven, John Carpenter, and George Romero come to mind, yet women have offered more than just their screams to the gore-filled genre.

In 1978, Deborah Hill co-wrote the original Halloween screenplay with Carpenter, and women ran both set and costume designers for the first Nightmare on Elm Street. Even further back, actress turned director and producer, Ida Lupino, took on the role of director (and co-writer) for the 1953 thriller, The Hitch-Hiker. Today, Lupino is credited as the first American women to direct a “mainstream” film noir.

Over the years, many women directors have followed in Lupino’s wake. Some – like Karyn Kusama – have used their monster flicks to express social disdain, a la Romero; others – like Rachel Talalay, of Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare – have simply enjoyed basking in a good, old fashioned, slasher film.

Take a look, and get to know some of Hollywood’s most terrifying lady directors.

Mary Harron
Hailing from Canada, Harron has been in the movie (and television) making business for 25 years. A triple threat, this director, writer and producer has consistently shown an interest in the strange. Her first film, which she also wrote, was 1996’s cult classic, I Shot Andy Warhol. Four years later, Harron went on to direct Christian Bale in the brutal American Psycho. Along with Guinevere Turner, Harron co-wrote the screenplay based off of a novel by Bret Easton Ellis. Since American Psycho, the director has worked on multiple TV shows and films, including a biopic on Bettie Page, the iconic pinup girl of the fifties.

Jen and Sylvia Soska
Also known as the Twisted Twins, the Soska sisters have lived and breathed horror since they were children. With a strong interest in stunt work and filmmaking the duo attended film school together. Though their projects were too offensive for the faculty’s taste, the pair quickly gained a cult following. For their first movie – a low budget production, which they paid for – the girls, took on the roles of writers, directors, producers, stars and stunt doubles, proving that they aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty. In 2008 they went official and incorporated their Twisted Twins Production Company. Now, with three feature films – including American Mary and See No Evil 2 – under their bloody stained belts, the Soska twins are quickly becoming the new voice of horror.

Ana Lily Amirpour
Amirpour was 12 when she decided to make her first horror film during a sleepover with friends. Having detoured through art and music, Amirpour’s first feature, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, debuted earlier this year as part of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Though the film slides into the category of horror, it’s specific genre has been described as an “Iranian Vampire Western” and has received positive reviews from critics across the board. Fans of the indie vampire film can follow The Girl in Amirpour’s comic book series of the same name.

Karyn Kusama
Over the course of her 14-year long career, Kusama’s films have spanned the genre spectrum from drama to sci-fi to horror. In 2009, she teamed up with Juno writer, Diablo Cody to direct the chick monster flick, Jennifer’s Body. Unlike many teen horror movies, this one features some intelligent dialogue, as well as two strong female leads. What’s more, in Jennifer’s Body, both Cody and Kusama turn the typical horror plot upside down. Instead of the leading ladies running for their lives, this time it’s the boys who are the monster’s targets. Since Jennifer’s Body, Kusama has worked on several products including her latest film, The Invitation, due out in 2015.

Jennifer Chambers Lynch
Proving that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, Lynch is the daughter of Hollywood’s infamous writer/director, David Lynch. At the age of 18, she took her first foray into filmmaking with the “deranged fairy tale,” Boxing Helena. Since then, she’s helmed several other horror/thrillers, including Surveillance, for which she won the Best Director Award from the New York City Horror Film Festival. Lynch was the first woman to receive the honor. Similar to her father, most of Lynch’s work aims to be a bit more complex than just a “slice ‘em and dice ‘em” scary movie. And while she’s also lent her directorial talent to several television shows, her features stay true to her creepy roots.

Kathryn Bigelow
In 2009, Bigelow won the Best Director Oscar for her Iraq War drama, The Hurt Locker – making her the first and only woman to receive that honor. However, two decades before she filmed her Academy Award winning movie, Bigelow wrote and directed the vampire western, Near Dark. Released in 1987, the neck-biting thriller is credited for the rebirth of vampire movies in the late eighties and early nineties. Despite the film’s cult following, however, Bigelow soon strayed from the horror genre. Aside from The Hurt Locker, she also directed the surfer action film, Point Break in 1991, and 2012’s acclaimed Zero Dark Thirty for which she also helped produce.

Mary Lambert
Eclectic might just be the best way to describe Lambert’s filmmaking career. For nearly four decades, the director has created a hodgepodge of horror movies, music videos, and TV programs. In 1989, 12 years into her career, Lambert directed both Madonna’s notorious “Like a Prayer” video, and her first feature horror film, Pet Cemetery. Based off Steven King’s novel by the same name, Pet Cemetery was the film that launched a thousand horror flicks looming in Lambert’s future. Today, the director continues to stay true to her creative origins. She has two scary movies in pre-production, and she continues to work with Madonna – and other pop stars – as well.

Julie Delpy
Though Delpy is more frequently credited as an actress, the Before Sunrise star has also worked her magic behind the camera. In 2009, she wrote, directed and starred in The Countess. Drawing her inspiration from the 16^th Century Hungarian Countess, and serial killer, Elizabeth Báthory, Delpy’s film is a drama with fantastical, horror elements. The Parisian talent has continued to write, act, and direct. In fact, she’s once again taking on the three roles for her current project, Lolo, which is currently in production.

As these ladies pioneer the way for future horror freaks and fans, Hollywood’s genre world will continue to evolve. Coming in 2015, several of the aforementioned ladies will be featured in XX, an anthology of horror shorts by women directors. Confirmed by Entertainment Weekly earlier this month, each XX segment will also star female lead characters.

This Halloween, help further the evolution by discovering a new scream queen director.

Photos courtesy of Wikipedia, feature photo: Kathryn Bigelow at the 2010 Academy Awards, and Twisted Twins Production Company