50 Must-See Horror Films Directed by Women
by whodoesshekill | created - 29 Jan 2018 | updated - 29 Jan 2018 | Publichttp://flavorwire.com/483888/50-must-see-horror-films-directed-by-women/view-all
Yes, I know there's only 49 on here. That's because Lizzy Borden's 2002 "Forced Entry" is not on IMDB for some reason. Shame.
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1. In My Skin (2002)
Unrated | 93 min | Drama, Horror
A woman grows increasingly fascinated with her body after suffering a disfiguring accident.
Director: Marina de Van | Stars: Marina de Van, Laurent Lucas, Léa Drucker, Thibault de Montalembert
Votes: 5,730 | Gross: $0.03M
2. The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
R | 77 min | Horror
A female high school student's slumber party turns into a bloodbath, as a newly escaped psychotic serial killer wielding a power drill prowls her neighborhood.
Director: Amy Holden Jones | Stars: Michele Michaels, Robin Stille, Michael Villella, Debra De Liso
Votes: 17,911
3. Slumber Party Massacre II (1987)
R | 77 min | Comedy, Horror, Musical
Courtney Bates, the younger sister of Valerie, and her friends go to a condo for a weekend getaway, but Courtney can't get rid of the haunting feeling that a supernatural rockabilly driller killer is coming to murder them all.
Director: Deborah Brock | Stars: Crystal Bernard, Jennifer Rhodes, Kimberly McArthur, Patrick Lowe
Votes: 7,421
4. The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
Approved | 71 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Two fishermen pick up a psychopathic escaped convict who tells them that he intends to murder them when the ride is over.
Director: Ida Lupino | Stars: Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, William Talman, José Torvay
Votes: 10,531
5. Near Dark (1987)
R | 94 min | Horror
A small-town farmer's son reluctantly joins a traveling group of vampires after he is bitten by a beautiful drifter.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton
Votes: 44,766 | Gross: $3.37M
6. American Psycho (2000)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.
Director: Mary Harron | Stars: Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Bill Sage
Votes: 716,234 | Gross: $15.07M
7. Trouble Every Day (2001)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Two American newlyweds in Paris experience a love so strong, it almost devours them.
Director: Claire Denis | Stars: Vincent Gallo, Tricia Vessey, Béatrice Dalle, Alex Descas
Votes: 9,310 | Gross: $0.01M
8. Boxing Helena (1993)
R | 107 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A surgeon becomes obsessed with the seductive woman he once was in an affair with. Refusing to accept that she has moved on, he amputates her limbs and holds her captive in his mansion.
Director: Jennifer Lynch | Stars: Julian Sands, Sherilyn Fenn, Bill Paxton, Kurtwood Smith
Votes: 13,116 | Gross: $1.80M
9. Messiah of Evil (1974)
R | 90 min | Horror
A young woman goes searching for her missing artist father. Her journey takes her to a strange Californian seaside town governed by a mysterious undead cult.
Directors: Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz | Stars: Michael Greer, Marianna Hill, Joy Bang, Anitra Ford
Votes: 5,841
10. American Mary (2012)
R | 103 min | Drama, Horror
The allure of easy money sends Mary Mason, a medical student, into the world of underground surgeries which ends up leaving more marks on her than her so-called "freakish" clients.
Directors: Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska | Stars: Katharine Isabelle, Antonio Cupo, Tristan Risk, David Lovgren
Votes: 28,336
11. Jennifer's Body (2009)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Horror
A newly-possessed high-school cheerleader turns into a succubus who specializes in killing her male classmates. Can her best friend put an end to the horror?
Director: Karyn Kusama | Stars: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody, Johnny Simmons
Votes: 151,382 | Gross: $16.20M
12. Pathogen (II) (2006)
68 min | Horror
An infection which appears to be caused by a bacteria in the water turns out to be more. A fourteen-year-old student, Dannie, feels the real cause is linked to her recurring dreams. When ... See full summary »
Director: Emily Hagins | Stars: Rose Kent-McGlew, Alec Herskowitz, Tiger Darrow, Tony Vespe
Votes: 265
13. Amer (2009)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
As a young girl Ana was a rebellious child. She was also tormented by images of death and a shadowy, ominous figure in black. Now an adult, she is once again tormented by shadowy, other-worldly forms.
Directors: Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani | Stars: Cassandra Forêt, Charlotte Eugène Guibeaud, Marie Bos, Biancamaria D'Amato
Votes: 6,583
14. Ravenous (1999)
R | 101 min | Adventure, Drama, Horror
In a remote military outpost in the 19th century, Captain John Boyd and his regiment embark on a rescue mission which takes a dark turn when they are ambushed by a sadistic cannibal.
Director: Antonia Bird | Stars: Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, David Arquette, Jeremy Davies
Votes: 43,265 | Gross: $2.06M
15. Organ (1996)
110 min | Action, Drama, Horror
Two police detectives Numata and Tosaka infiltrate a group of underground black market human organ dealers. Things go haywire during a raid on the group's surgical headquarters.
Director: Kei Fujiwara | Stars: Kei Fujiwara, Kimihiko Hasegawa, Natsuyo Kanahama, Kenji Nasa
Votes: 609
16. The Captured Bird (2012)
10 min | Short, Fantasy, Horror
A darkly poetic fable that begins with a little girl drawing figures of people with chalk on the cement of a playground. She takes notice of an unusual crack in the pavement that is seeping... See full summary »
Director: Jovanka Vuckovic | Stars: Skyler Wexler, Darren Beaton, Ruby Beaton, Graydon Beaton
Votes: 351
17. Blood Diner (1987)
Unrated | 88 min | Comedy, Horror
Two brothers are entrusted by their uncle to uphold the ritualistic cannibalism of the ancient cult of Sheetar. In order to do so, they have to prepare a feast of sacrifice for the resurrection of their goddess.
Director: Jackie Kong | Stars: Rick Burks, Carl Crew, Roger Dauer, LaNette La France
Votes: 5,379
18. Pet Sematary (1989)
R | 103 min | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
After tragedy strikes, a grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground behind his home with the power to raise the dead.
Director: Mary Lambert | Stars: Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Fred Gwynne, Brad Greenquist
Votes: 115,100 | Gross: $57.47M
19. Humanoids from the Deep (1980)
R | 80 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Humanoid sea creatures start killing a fishing town's residents, and raping their women. It's up to the townsfolk and a visiting biologist to fight back and fend them off.
Directors: Barbara Peeters, Jimmy T. Murakami | Stars: Doug McClure, Ann Turkel, Vic Morrow, Cindy Weintraub
Votes: 10,516
20. Office Killer (1997)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Crime, Horror
A mousy office worker accidentally kills one of her coworkers, then proceeds to bump off a few others.
Director: Cindy Sherman | Stars: Florina Rodov, Jason Brill, Eddie Malavarca, Carol Kane
Votes: 2,392 | Gross: $0.04M
21. A Night to Dismember (1983)
Not Rated | 69 min | Horror
A woman from a "cursed" family is released from a mental facility, and soon dismembered corpses start turning up.
Director: Doris Wishman | Stars: Samantha Fox, Diane Cummins, Saul Meth, Miriam Meth
Votes: 839
22. Blood Bath (1966)
Not Rated | 62 min | Horror
A crazed artist who believes himself to be the reincarnation of a murderous vampire kills young women, then boils their bodies in a vat.
Directors: Jack Hill, Stephanie Rothman | Stars: William Campbell, Marissa Mathes, Lori Saunders, Sandra Knight
Votes: 1,095
23. Tenement (1985)
X | 94 min | Action, Crime, Horror
A drug selling and violent street-gang terrorize the renters of a big trashy apartment-house.
Director: Roberta Findlay | Stars: Joe Lynn, Mina Bern, Walter Bryant, Corinne Chateau
Votes: 1,020
24. Mirror Mirror (I) (1990)
R | 104 min | Horror, Thriller
A teenage girl begins receiving black magic power through an antique mirror that drips blood, not realizing the mirror is controlled by demonic forces.
Director: Marina Sargenti | Stars: Karen Black, Yvonne De Carlo, William Sanderson, Rainbow Harvest
Votes: 2,199
25. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
R | 89 min | Fantasy, Horror
Dream-haunting Freddy Krueger returns once again to prowl the nightmares of Springwood's last surviving teenager, and of a woman whose personal connection to Krueger may mean his doom.
Director: Rachel Talalay | Stars: Robert Englund, Lisa Zane, Shon Greenblatt, Lezlie Deane
Votes: 51,019 | Gross: $34.87M
26. Blood & Donuts (1995)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Horror
A vampire falls for a woman working at a donut shop.
Director: Holly Dale | Stars: Gordon Currie, Louis Ferreira, Helene Clarkson, Fiona Reid
Votes: 1,401
27. Kiss of the Damned (2012)
R | 97 min | Drama, Horror, Romance
A beautiful, lonely vampire falls in love with a screenwriter and transforms him into one of the undead, but their budding romance is threatened by her vivacious, troublemaking sister.
Director: Xan Cassavetes | Stars: Joséphine de La Baume, Ching Valdes-Aran, Milo Ventimiglia, Caitlin Keats
Votes: 5,403 | Gross: $0.01M
28. The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)
R | 104 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A horrible massacre strikes up after an outcast teenage girl is taunted by a group of high school jocks, all of them unaware of her cutthroat telekinetic powers.
Directors: Katt Shea, Robert Mandel | Stars: Emily Bergl, Jason London, Dylan Bruno, J. Smith-Cameron
Votes: 17,894 | Gross: $17.76M
29. Carrie (2013)
R | 100 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A shy girl, outcast by her peers and sheltered by her religious mother, unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom.
Director: Kimberly Peirce | Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Gabriella Wilde, Portia Doubleday
Votes: 148,221 | Gross: $35.27M
30. Spookies (1986)
R | 85 min | Comedy, Horror
A wicked sorcerer tries to sacrifice a group of people inside his house with the intention of using their vitality to keep his wife alive.
Directors: Genie Joseph, Thomas Doran, Brendan Faulkner | Stars: Felix Ward, Maria Pechukas, Dan Scott, Alec Nemser
Votes: 4,185
31. Soulmate (I) (2013)
Not Rated | 104 min | Horror, Mystery
Widowed Audrey retreats to an isolated Welsh cabin after a failed suicide attempt, to recuperate. Still haunted by the tragic death of her husband and struggling with her psychosis, she begins to hear strange noises.
Director: Axelle Carolyn | Stars: Anna Walton, Tom Wisdom, Tanya Myers, Nick Brimble
Votes: 869
32. Silent House (2011)
R | 86 min | Horror, Thriller
A girl is trapped inside her family's lakeside retreat and becomes unable to contact the outside world as supernatural forces haunt the house with mysterious energy and consequences.
Directors: Chris Kentis, Laura Lau | Stars: Elizabeth Olsen, Adam Trese, Eric Sheffer Stevens, Julia Chan
Votes: 24,658 | Gross: $12.56M
33. The Countess (2009)
Not Rated | 98 min | Biography, Drama, History
A 17th century Hungarian countess embarks on a murderous undertaking, with the belief that bathing in the blood of virgins will preserve her beauty.
Director: Julie Delpy | Stars: Julie Delpy, Daniel Brühl, William Hurt, Anamaria Marinca
Votes: 8,661
34. The Commune (2009)
91 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery
When Jenny Cross has to spend summer vacation with her deadbeat dad in his creepy commune, she thinks clean living and boredom will kill her. But some fates are worse than death.
Director: Elisabeth Fies | Stars: Chauntal Lewis, David Scott Lago, Stuart G. Bennett, Elisabeth Fies
Votes: 163
35. Roman (2006)
Not Rated | 92 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A lonely young man's obsession with his neighbor gets the best of him, resulting in a murder, a cover-up ... and a potential new romance?
Director: Angela Bettis | Stars: Lucky McKee, Nectar Rose, Kristen Bell, Ben Boyer
Votes: 1,450
36. A Visit from the Incubus (2001)
26 min | Short, Horror, Musical
A young Victorian woman struggles with an incubus against a backdrop of the Old West. With original period costumes, sets, and a western-vaudeville soundtrack.
Director: Anna Biller | Stars: Anna Biller, Jared Sanford, Natalia Schroeder, Gerald J.J. Johnson
Votes: 207
37. Of Dolls and Murder (2012)
Not Rated | 70 min | Documentary, Crime, Mystery
Of Dolls and Murder explores a haunting collection of dollhouse crime scenes and our universal fascination with murder. From CSI and real-life forensics, to the Body Farm and a crime ... See full summary »
Director: Susan Marks | Stars: John Waters, Jamie Bowen, Darrolyn Butler, Rajesh Chopra
Votes: 138
38. Hood of Horror (2006)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Horror
A hip hop horror anthology of three tales of terror told by the Hound of Hell that revolve around the residents of an inner-city neighborhood whose actions determine where they will go in the afterlife.
Director: Stacy Title | Stars: Snoop Dogg, Daniella Alonso, Anson Mount, Hawthorne James
Votes: 3,164 | Gross: $0.33M
39. Lip Stick (2010)
11 min | Short, Fantasy, Horror
A lonely woman with an overwhelming obsession of masturbation must extricate herself from what consumes her every moment.
Director: Shannon Lark | Star: Shannon Lark
Votes: 8
40. Visible Secret (2001)
Unrated | 101 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
A man develops a relationship with a mysterious woman who sees ghosts.
Director: Ann Hui | Stars: Eason Chan, Shu Qi, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Sam Lee
Votes: 502
41. Death in Charge (2009)
Not Rated | 15 min | Short, Fantasy, Horror
In the tradition of E.C. Horror Comics, this cautionary tale examines life through the eyes of Death who gets derailed when an impatient single Mom carelessly mistakes the scythe-carrying ... See full summary »
Director: Devi Snively | Stars: Kylie Chalfa, Gillian Shure, Brittany Sarkisian, Tom Burke
Votes: 76
42. The Babadook (2014)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.
Director: Jennifer Kent | Stars: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney
Votes: 247,413 | Gross: $0.92M
43. Se acabó la fiesta (2011)
4 min | Short, Crime, Horror
Tomas wakes up after a party to realize a strange woman crawled into his bed.
Director: Gigi Romero | Stars: Gonzalo Kindelán, Ramon Pujol, Alicia Rubio
Votes: 6
44. Carver (2015)
75 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A group of teenagers are haunted by a despicable act they committed when they were younger. Their actions caused the deaths of three innocent people. Now, on the anniversary of those deaths... See full summary »
Director: Emily DiPrimio | Stars: Lea Davis, Mark Ryan Anderson, Alex Tordi, Adrian Arthur
Votes: 124
45. DeGeneration (1994)
110 min | Horror
Directors: Antonio Antonelli, Asia Argento, Pier Giorgio Bellocchio, Eleonora Fiorini, Alex Infascelli, Antonio Manetti, Marco Manetti, Andrea Maulà, Andrea Prandstraller, Alberto Taraglio, Alessandro Valori | Stars: Alessandro Haber, Marco Manetti, Andrea Prandstraller, Antonio Manetti
Votes: 123
Segment "Prospettive" by Asia Argento
46. Hide and Seek (III) (2013)
11 min | Short, Drama, Fantasy
A girl visits a house to take a Koto lesson. (Koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument.) She sees a teacher and her son, they play 'HIDE and SEEK'. And Koto lesson starts, a teacher's behavior becomes odd.
Director: Kayoko Asakura | Stars: Asaka Nakamura, Sakiko Takao, Keitarô Komuro
Votes: 62
47. Among Friends (2012)
R | 80 min | Comedy, Horror
A group of friends get together for a murder mystery party, but things take a dark turn when one hijacks the evening and is out for blood.
Director: Danielle Harris | Stars: Chris Meyer, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Kamala Jones, AJ Bowen
Votes: 1,821
48. The Mafu Cage (1978)
R | 102 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Ellen, a successful astronomer, cares for her mentally-ill sister, Cissy, who keeps a variety of primates in the home they inherited from their anthropologist father. When Ellen begins a romance, Cissy's jealousy proves deadly.
Director: Karen Arthur | Stars: Lee Grant, Carol Kane, Will Geer, James Olson
Votes: 710
49. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama, Horror, Romance
In the Iranian ghost-town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, the townspeople are unaware they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire.
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour | Stars: Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Marshall Manesh, Mozhan Navabi
Votes: 38,656
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