Horror Films Directed by Women
Feature-length (40+ minutes) only -- exception made if they're pre-1930.
Sources:
Sources:
- Alexandra Heller-Nicholas's book 1000 Women in Horror, 1895-2018 (Appendix)
- https://letterboxd.com/michaelhaneke/list/films-directed-by-women/detail/genre/horror/
- https://letterboxd.com/aobh/list/directed-by-women/detail/genre/horror/
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- DirectorJacob FleckLuise FleckStarsLiane HaidMax NeufeldKarl EhmannThe long dead ancestress of a noble family returns to haunt her last two remaining descendants. She can not rest until the entire family line has passed away.
- DirectorJacob FleckLuise FleckStarsLola Urban-KneidingerWilhelm KlitschJulius StroblDepicts a society lady trapped under the spell of an unskilled hypnotist.
- DirectorCharles BryantAlla NazimovaStarsAlla NazimovaNigel De BrulierMitchell LewisSalome, the daughter of Herodias, seduces her step-father/uncle Herod, governor of Judea, with a salacious dance. In return, he promises her the head of the prophet John the Baptist.
- DirectorGermaine DulacStarsAlex AllinLucien BatailleGenica AthanasiouObsessed with a general's woman, a clergyman has strange visions of death and lust, struggling against his own eroticism.
- DirectorIda LupinoStarsEdmond O'BrienFrank LovejoyWilliam TalmanTwo fishermen pick up a psychopathic escaped convict who tells them that he intends to murder them when the ride is over.
- DirectorDavid EadyGeorge More O'FerrallWendy ToyeStarsOrson WellesJohn GregsonElizabeth SellarsA trilogy of fantastic stories involving murder and the supernatural.
- DirectorJack HillStephanie RothmanStarsWilliam CampbellMarissa MathesLori SaundersA crazed artist who believes himself to be the reincarnation of a murderous vampire kills young women, then boils their bodies in a vat.
- DirectorMichael FindlayRoberta FindlayStarsKevin SullivanRoberta FindlayMichael FindlayA troubled homeless man develops an unhealthy fixation on a comely young woman likes to walk around her apartment in the nude.
- DirectorDoris WishmanStarsJoão FernandesLinda SouthernLarry HunterArthur undergoes a penis transplant and his donor penis unknowingly came from a serial rapist. Arthur soon goes berserk and he beings to rape any woman wearing gold earrings -- the favorite target of the dead rapist.
- DirectorStephanie RothmanStarsMichael BlodgettSherry E. DeBoerCeleste YarnallLee and his wife Susan accept the invitation of mysterious Diane to visit her secluded desert estate. Tensions arise when the couple, unaware that Diane is a vampire, realize that they are both objects of the pale temptress's seductions.
- DirectorBrianne MurphyStarsAnthony GearySusan DamanteSam GilmanA coven of witches captures a young man traveling through the woods. He gets involved in a power struggle between a beautiful witch and the evil queen who heads the coven.
- DirectorJane ArdenStarsSheila AllenJane ArdenJack BondJane Arden's surreal take on a group of females in a therapy session.
- DirectorTonia MarketakiStarsManolis LogiadisMika FloraVangelis KazanThe story of Ioannis Zachos, a young psychopath who commits a murder in Athens.
- DirectorMichael FindlayStarsAlan BrockJennifer StockTawm EllisA group of college students are led by their professor into the mountains in search of the Yeti. The students start to be killed off one by one.
- DirectorWillard HuyckGloria KatzStarsMichael GreerMarianna HillJoy BangA 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.
- DirectorBeverly SebastianFerd SebastianStarsClaudia JenningsJean Marie IngelsCheri HowellA group of swingers at a Caribbean resort are stalked by a mysterious killer.
- DirectorMichael FindlayHoracio FredrikssonSimon NuchternStarsMargarita AmuchásteguiTina AustinAna CarroA so-called "snuff" film involving the exploits of a cult leader leading a gang of bikers in a series of supposedly real killings on film.
- DirectorKaren ArthurStarsLee GrantCarol KaneWill GeerEllen, 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.
- DirectorAnna ThomasStarsSheelagh GilbeyNini PittEvie GarrattAn Eastern European family finds itself haunted by the spirit of a dead suitor.
- DirectorGabrielle BeaumontStarsMalcolm StoddardCyd HaymanAngela PleasenceWhen a strange woman has her baby at the Marlowe's house, then disappears, Kate Marlowe is forced to keep the baby, Bonnie. She loves the child, but when her own children are systematically killed, suspicion turns to Bonnie.
- DirectorBarbara PeetersJimmy T. MurakamiStarsDoug McClureAnn TurkelVic MorrowHumanoid 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.
- DirectorAnn HuiStarsJosephine SiaoKenny BeeMang-Ha ChengA Cantonese opera company arrives in Cheung Chau to perform for a rich man, who wants to marry of his nephew Dick to the star of the company Ah Gee. As soon as they arrive, the company is thwarted by a female spirit, Catshit, who turns out to be the precursor of a whole army of spirits sent to pester the uncle and one of the older actors. Only Ah Gee and Dick find out that the danger has something to do with a crime committed by Ah Gee's ancestors. This involved selling bad medicines to soldiers as a result of which a whole platoon of ghosts is out for vengeance
- DirectorJackie KongStarsMartin LandauMarianne GordonBill OscoA mutated creature is wreaking havoc in a small town in Idaho. A police chief and a government scientist team up to save their rural town from its menace.
- DirectorAnja BreienStarsLil TerseliusBjørn SkagestadAnita BjörkThe year is 1630. A young woman in Laupstad comes to a small mountain village. She witnesses a woman being hunted and captured.
- DirectorNettie PeñaStarsJake SteinfeldVinessa ShawPeter De PaulaAn escaped mental patient steals a station wagon and makes his way to the Bradleys' Thanksgiving celebration, where he plans to make them a little less thankful...
- DirectorHelma Sanders-BrahmsStarsElisabeth StepanekNguyen Chi DanhKarl Heinz ReimannDoctors say that Veronika, a woman in her 20s, is schizophrenic. She is compliant, which makes her an easy target for men. She's religious, believing she is God's favorite child; she searches for Jesus. She has sent a letter to a filmmaker suggesting her life as the subject for a movie. We see her raped than take up with a series of men she believes are Jesus, each willing or insistent on sex. A young man with his own crisis of faith invites her to join a cult. We see her involuntarily committed to an asylum from time to time where medication and constraints await. Her wealthy parents are helpless. Will a medical professional ever talk to her? If one did, would it help?
- DirectorAmy Holden JonesStarsMichele MichaelsRobin StilleMichael VillellaA 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.
- DirectorLing ChangStarsLing ChangFeng ShihYu-Hsiang ChangA woman who was raised by wolves seeks revenge on Red Devil, the villain who ordered the murder of her parents.
- DirectorDoris WishmanStarsSamantha FoxDiane CumminsSaul MethA woman from a "cursed" family is released from a mental facility, and soon dismembered corpses start turning up.
- DirectorBeverly SebastianStarsTray LorenDonna ScogginsCana CockrellA crazed rock singer returns from the dead to murder members of his former band.
- DirectorGaylene PrestonStarsHeather BoltonDavid LetchPerry PiercyA small-town woman, fresh to the city, buys a second-hand Jaguar haunted by the ghost of a murdered woman and her killer.
- DirectorMelanie ReadStarsAnnie WhittleJudith GibsonChris BrounRosemary is a photographer, mother, and cross-country runner who temporarily leaves her family and moves into an isolated beach-house to work on a photographic assignment. Strange occurrences lead her to believe that she is being stalked by an unknown adversary.
- DirectorUlrike OttingerStarsVeruschka von LehndorffDelphine SeyrigTabea BlumenscheinOur organization will create a human being whom we can shape and manipulate according to our needs. Dorian Gray: young, rich and handsome. We will make him, seduce him and break him.
- DirectorCatherine MillarStarsJulie NihillDoug BowlesJames LaurieA woman who has an obsessed lover.
- DirectorRoberta FindlayStarsCaroline Capers PowersRoger NeilPam La TestaA spirit reaches out from beyond the grave in an attempt to contact a young woman to help it avenge its murder.
- DirectorRoberta FindlayStarsJoe LynnMina BernWalter BryantA drug selling and violent street-gang terrorize the renters of a big trashy apartment-house.
- DirectorGenie JosephThomas DoranBrendan FaulknerStarsFelix WardMaria PechukasDan ScottA wicked sorcerer tries to sacrifice a group of people inside his house with the intention of using their vitality to keep his wife alive.
- DirectorSusan ShadburneStarsDee WallaceCloris LeachmanRon KuhlmanA playwright staying with the mother of her deceased fiance, who is believed to have committed suicide, is haunted by his spirit, .
- DirectorCarol FrankStarsAngela O'NeillWendy MartelPamela RossCollege student Beth and her sorority sisters are stalked by an escaped psychopathic killer who shares a strange telepathic link with her.
- DirectorJanet GreekStarsKaren AustinDiana ScarwidChristine BelfordA raped policewoman forms a vigilante group of various rape victims. They abduct and castrate men whom have committed repeated violations of women, and got away with it through legal technicalities.
- DirectorVera ChytilováStarsMiroslav MachácekTomás PalatýStepánka CervenkováA group of teenagers are mysteriously invited to a skiing workshop in the mountains. There are eleven of them, but the camp supervisors insist that there should be only ten, and that one of them is an intruder.
- DirectorTina HirschStarsHarvey KormanCharlie StrattonNadine Van der VeldeA scientist discovers a strange little creature in a cave. The "munchie" is obviously of extraterrestrial origin, but what he doesn't know is the danger it represents.
- DirectorKatt SheaStarsKay LenzGreg EviganNorman FellWhen Detective Cody Sheehan discovers the body of a stripper from the Rock Bottom dance club, she wants the case. But the only way Cody can get the assignment is to go undercover - uncovered - at the club.
- DirectorJackie KongStarsRick BurksCarl CrewRoger DauerTwo 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.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsAdrian PasdarJenny WrightLance HenriksenA small-town farmer's son reluctantly joins a traveling group of vampires after he is bitten by a beautiful drifter.
- DirectorDeborah BrockStarsCrystal BernardJennifer RhodesKimberly McArthurCourtney 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.
- DirectorRoberta FindlayStarsChristine MooreGary WarnerMarina TaylorA woman is haunted by flashbacks of her dead mother and visions of dead people floating.
- DirectorRoberta FindlayStarsAmy BrentanoShannon McMahonDaniel EricksonSeven girls must spend the night in an old house, which once was a brothel, as part of an initiation.
- DirectorKaren ArthurStarsDiane LaneMichael WoodsCotter SmithCute Katya starts as window dresser at a Pittsburgh department store. She dates a reporter. A fan stalks her and is increasingly nasty.
- DirectorZhifang BaoStarsXiaopin YanShihuai WangMin ZhangA woman's life is in dangerous because of the secret of hidden gold in the house left by her parents.
- DirectorDeryn WarrenStarsJulie MerrillJanet GrahamRay QuirogaAn abused woman conjures up a spirit to take revenge on the men who have misused her.
- DirectorRoberta FindlayStarsWilliam BeckwithChristine MooreMavis HarrisA coven of devil-worshiping monks living in New York City search for victims for their sacrificial ceremonies.
- DirectorJanet GreekStarsTim DalyKelly PrestonRick RossovichA young lawyer, after falling in love with a beautiful woman, finds that she has an extremely mysterious past.
- DirectorDeryn WarrenStarsAarin TeichAnthony JenkinsTwink CaplanA teenage boy is hidden at an orphanage by his mother to protect him against his father, who wants to use the boys body to be reborn.
- DirectorKristine PetersonStarsMitchell AndersonJuliette CumminsXander BerkeleyFrom the director of the highly acclaimed "Body Chemistry," comes a frightening excursion into terror. Alex is caught in a web of distrust between his brother, his best friend, a beautiful stranger and the renewed dreams of the slaughter of his family.
- DirectorCatherine OrdStarsValerie BuhagiarStan LakeThomas RickertA girl who is stalked by a psychotic manic hides out with transvestites who aren't at all what they seem.
- DirectorDeborah RomareStarsMark BlankfieldLeslie JordanJonathan FarwellA mad doctor puts together a new body by using body parts he steals from a mortuary at the hospital where he works.
- DirectorKatt SheaStarsMaria FordEb LottimerKaren Mayo-ChandlerWhen a sadistic slasher begins his reign of terror in the alleys behind Los Angeles' strip clubs, the hottest stripper in town must walk a tightrope between her own fragile sanity and the murderer's blade.
- DirectorAnn TurnerStarsRebecca SmartNicholas EadieVictoria LongleyAn imaginative and somewhat disturbed young girl fantasizes about evil creatures and other oddities to mask her insecurities while growing up in rural Australia.
- DirectorKatt SheaStarsStarr AndreeffCyril O'ReillyDebbie NassarA vampire follows his instincts to a strip joint where he focuses in on one of the performers. He picks her for his meal because she is contemplating suicide, but he wants to share her life before taking it, and during the course of the evening they discuss their differences, their fears, and their lifestyles. As the moment of truth approaches, the woman becomes less sure that she wants to die.
- DirectorMary LambertStarsDale MidkiffDenise CrosbyFred GwynneAfter tragedy strikes, a grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground behind his home with the power to raise the dead.
- DirectorSachi HamanoStarsKyôko SawamuraNatsuki YamamotoKan'ichi HiragaFollowed by two guys in a van, two girls find themselves in a secluded country house. Then, they are forced to dine with a perverted grandpa on a wheelchair.
- DirectorRoberta FindlayStarsAmy BrentanoFred CabralRoger ColemanA mellow jazz guitarist is possessed by the ghost of a wild punk rocker
- DirectorMarina SargentiStarsKaren BlackYvonne De CarloWilliam SandersonA teenage girl begins receiving black magic power through an antique mirror that drips blood, not realizing the mirror is controlled by demonic forces.
- DirectorSally MattisonStarsKeely ChristianBrittain FryeMichael HarrisJackie Cassidy and her friends are stalked by a serial killer while having a slumber party.
- DirectorFhiona-LouiseStarsBob FlagMartin Byrne-QuinnGeoffrey GreenhillFictionalized account based on the actions of serial killer Dennis Nilsen.
- DirectorTanya RosenbergStarsGregory Scott CumminsLaura AlbertLee BentonWhen an all girl baseball team beats a group of rowdy rednecks from a small town, they soon find themselves the prey in a deadly bounty hunt. Now they are playing for their lives. In HD.
- DirectorV.V. Dachin HsuMichael W. LeightonStarsGeorge ChakirisWings HauserPamela LudwigA vampire arrives in Los Angeles to investigate a recent series of murders which bear the hallmarks of vampire attacks. Wanting to track down the murderer, he hires a private investigator who herself is obsessed with vampire mythology.
- DirectorHope PerelloStarsBrendan HughesMichele MathesonSean SullivanA villainous carnival owner traps a young werewolf to include in his growing menagerie of inhuman exhibits.
- DirectorDeryn WarrenStarsApollonia KoteroMark HamillStella PacificThe owner of a suburban art gallery searches for someone to perform an exorcism after a witch casts a spell on him.
- DirectorMarina SargentiStarsTony DenisonBrad DavisPaxton WhiteheadA Roman Catholic priest is sent out to investigate two alleged virgin births. One is about to give birth to the Christ, the other to the Antichrist. The race is on to determine which one is which, with the fate of the world at stake.
- DirectorRachel FeldmanStarsCharles Solomon Jr.Lisa ToothmanDomonic LucianaA warlock refuses to use his powers for evil, but comes across another warlock who isn't bothered by such trivial matters. In fact, the evil warlock falls for the good warlock's girlfriend, and decides to get rid of his competition so he can turn the girlfriend into one of his many sex slaves. The good warlock, not quite sure how to handle the situation, turns to an African witch doctor for help.
- DirectorKristine PetersonStarsJohn CalvinAimee BrooksChristian CousinsThe tiny fur ball aliens that will eat anything or anyone set their sights on a Los Angeles apartment tower.
- DirectorMaria LeaseStarsDenise CrosbySam BottomsRip TornA toy manufacturer buys the 'Dolly Dearest' factory in Mexico, where the malevolent spirit of Sanzia, a devil child, has taken refuge in one of the porcelain dolls, and eventually takes control of his daughter.
- DirectorRachel TalalayStarsRobert EnglundLisa ZaneShon GreenblattDream-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.
- DirectorPetra HaffterStarsAnthony PerkinsUwe BohmSophie WardA strangler known as the Kenbourne Killer has been murdering streetwalkers for 25 years. The police set out to track him down.
- DirectorDorna X. van RouveroyStarsGeorge KennedyKoen WautersNada van NieA famous surgeon gets into a coma after a car accident. Seven years later, he wakes up as a mutilated monster and starts a massacre.
- DirectorJill Rae ZurborgStarsRhona BrodyKathryn A. MensikTammy PescatelliPhyllis Loden is an overweight shy nerd who is relentlessly picked on by the more popular girls. This year's Slivis Slough Queen Beauty Pageant is fast approaching and Muffy Fairlane is a lock to win. However, Muffy doesn't want any of her friends to come in last so she enters Phyllis in the pageant. The plan works and also provides the girls with some opportunities to embarrass Phyllis in front of the whole school. As if that isn't bad enough Elizabeth McKay thinks she could've won it all if it wasn't for her allergic reaction the Phyllis' cat. So the girls decide to dispose of the feline. That turns out to be the final straw which sends Phyllis on a murderous rampage to eliminate the beauty queens one by one.
- DirectorLisa HammerStarsTerrence FlemingDoc HammerBrian SullivanTwo religious maniacs, Judas (played by Terrence Fleming) and Corned Beef (played by Eric Hammer), are visited by two aliens, Madeline Virbasius and Dion. Virbasius, dressed as the Virgin Mary, tells the two to kill people for Jesus and to drain the puss from their heads and bring it back to them. Fleming and Hammer set out to bring "the Virgin Mary" back as much puss back as possible in a bucket (hence the title).
- DirectorJudith PriestStarsSteve WesterheitConnie SpeerRichard PerrinEdgar Allan Lovecraft is the brainy outcast in the hard partying Delta Epsilon Delta Fraternity. Edgar develops a reanimating serum to bring a severed head back to life - attracting the attention of a local gangster.
- DirectorMichael Paul GirardJan Marlyn ReesmanStarsTeri MarlowRichard MondaClement von FranckensteinA psycho videotapes his dismemberment of strippers.
- DirectorFran Rubel KuzuiStarsKristy SwansonDonald SutherlandPaul ReubensFlighty teenage girl Buffy Summers learns that she is her generation's destined battler of vampires.
- DirectorMary LambertStarsEdward FurlongAnthony EdwardsClancy BrownA teenage boy and his father move to his recently-deceased mother's hometown, where they encounter the ancient Native American cemetery with the power to raise the dead.
- DirectorLesley ManningStarsMichael ParkinsonSarah GreeneMike SmithIn a "live" broadcast on Halloween night, a BBC team investigate a reported poltergeist in an ordinary London home.
- DirectorTonia MarketakiStarsFrançois DelaiveMichele ValleyTania TrypiA German woman who believes in magic falls in love with a Jewish young man.
- DirectorFrancesca FisherTaggart SiegelStarsMayra SerbuloThom VernonMalena DoriaA young woman uses witchcraft to take her revenge on an artist who dumped her.
- DirectorShimako SatoStarsJulian SandsSuzanna HamiltonKenneth CranhamCondemned to life without end, and to an undying passion for a lost love he can never find, a vampire stalks a beautiful young woman.
- DirectorLaura KeatsStarsSharon KaneAngst ArgyleLisa TurcoAt John's funeral, a seemingly kind old man stands near John's widow Hope. He is the master of The Crystal, possessor of its light and terror. Hope accepts The Crystal in good faith, praying it contains New Age love powers. But she has gravely miscalculated.
- DirectorNatalya MotuzkoStarsRaisa NedashkovskayaOlga SumskayaNele SavicenkoRetelling of a folk legend about a beautiful sorceress and her young apprentice. The older witch initiates the younger into a magical world while two winged men observe them.
- DirectorJennifer LynchStarsJulian SandsSherilyn FennBill PaxtonA 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.
- DirectorTracey MoffattStarsDiana DavidsonJack CharlesBen KennedyThree Australian stories of the supernatural are recounted in this anthology. Rick (Jack Charles), an Aboriginal boy living near a swamp on Bribie Island, is haunted by an American solider who drowned in quicksand. Ruby (Tracey Moffatt) and her family live in a house near long-abandoned train tracks, which still carry ghostly apparitions. A landlord (Lex Marinos) has trouble evicting the tenants of an old warehouse: a couple that's been dead for years.
- DirectorRachel TalalayStarsKaren AllenChris MulkeyTed MarcouxAn electric surge causes a serial killer's soul to end up in a computer system.
- DirectorCynthia RobertsStarsAndrew ScorerEd FieldingMichael GottliA reclusive seeker-of-immortality scientifically keeps his body youthful, but is not able to control the devastating effects of aging on his mind. He wanders about his creaky estate; quoting scripture, taking mind-altering drugs, engaging in bizarre rituals and vaguely interacting with his dysfunctional family...until, of course, the inevitable blood-soaked climax.
- DirectorJulie DavisStarsJerry SpicerDebra K. BeattyShannon McLeodA serial killer targets young women wearing gold crosses; Detectives Lutz and Garner enlist Will Spanner to help with the occult angles of the case.
- DirectorLinda HassaniStarsConstantin DraganescuAngela FeatherstoneCristina StoicaA woman destined for freedom manages to escape Hell. When she arrives from the sewers of Earth, she decides to punish Sinners. But the last thing she expected to find was love.