The Top 10 Horror Movies Directed By Women

For some reason, when a scary movie enthusiast mentions “horror movies directed by women,” different responses happen. And extraordinarily few of them are positive. As if women are incapable of having a twisted mind that can find darkness as quickly as old-school geniuses such as Wes Craven, Stephen King, John Carpenter, or the sinister new schoolers Ari Aster, Guillermo del Toro, and Ti West.

Is the same true for men and their presumed inept ability to make a rom-com? If so, Garry Marshall, Rob Reiner, and Cameron Crowe would like you to hold their beer.

When girl power brings the scary to a movie, it is exceptionally splendid because those films get a particular slant that many male horror directors can’t grasp with such finesse. What may surprise you is they have been making spooky, creepy, or gory movies all along.

As we approach October, the Top 10 lists are essential to keep in front of cinephiles. So, let’s kick off the spooky month with one that may puzzle even the most devoted horror lovers.

These are the Top 10 horror movies directed by women.

AUTHOR’S MEMO: If the subject of “horror movies directed by women” ever comes up during a podcast or two drunk people on the way to a local haunted house, two movies immediately come to mind. No cheating, but they may lead this list. The arm-wrestling match that occurs is what is two and what is one.

We have our reasons and will spell those out, but we wonder how many movies three through 10 you’ll get. It may surprise you. It may not. One thing is clear. They are all worthy of streaming this month. Also, adding this fun fact to your instant recall Rolodex is vital. When discussing the top horror movie directed by movies, call back to the days of VHS.

Have you ever seen The Slumber Party Massacre? In 1982, Amy Holden Jones did something different from the typical cheesebox B-movie of half-naked women and men who act like they have been huffing a bag of Grandma’s perfume. At first glance, the title screams softcore gets mashed up with Mystery Science Theater 3000. Yet, it has been celebrated as one of the best ’80s slasher films. Considering the company of that decade, that is high–and bloody–praise. (Oh, she was Martin Scorsese’s assistant on Taxi Driver, so there’s her street cred.)

On with the show…

10. Carrie (2013)

The reboot from Kimberly Peirce (not a typo and a glaring exception to the grammar rule) starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore can’t shine the shoes of Sissy Spacek in the 1976 original, but it’s not bad at all. And that should be no surprise if you saw the Oscar-winning Boys Don’t Cry with Hilary Swank.

This is someone who understands how to keep someone engrossed in her work. The fact that someone of her caliber is on a listicle about horror movies directed by women is icing on the cake. From manipulating a score, twisting cinematography, or a plot twist that’s subtle but effective, Peirce draws us in and takes us all for a ride.

9. XX (2017)

If you’re searching for girl power in scary, here is a five-pack among horror movies directed by women. This is a unique project, a horror anthology led by only women featuring the seats of Sofia Carrillo, Jovanka Vuckovic, Annie Clark, Roxanne Benjamin, and Karyn Kusama.

The latter may sound familiar because she has also directed freak shows like The Invitation (2015), Yellowjackets (currently on Showtime), and the Megan Fox peep show Jennifer’s Body. Each film short commands an avant-garde approach to contemporary horror without losing any of the classic bloodlusts. All horror fans should see this full package.

8. Pet Sematary (1989)

Mary Lambert isn’t a name recognized in horror, but talk to someone who worked at MTV and VH1 in the 1990s, and light bulbs become blinding. She made her nut with music videos starting back in 1977. But after she put out Madonna’s uber-controversial “Like a Prayer,” she chose another supernova to tackle–Stephen King. Can’t say the girl backs down from a challenge. Lambert ended up making what is still one of the best King adaptations. Life on the Native American burial ground freaks people out then and now.

7. Revenge (2017)

Men can be pigs. Sometimes, misogynistic dinosaurs. And there is the type of spineless jellyfish in Revenge. Jen (played triumphantly by Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz) is a mistress of a married millionaire. The guy is a tool, but then there is a situation during a desert getaway where other guys show up in the house, have their way (or just sit and watch), and try to get rid of the evidence.

Following the grotesque impalement (that she survives), Jen leads us through one of the bloodiest, rancorous journeys you never knew you were missing. The brutality seems gratuitous, but then you cheer for Jen (loudly) through each massacre of the hunted men who tried to ruin her life. Whatever French director Coralie Fargeat has experienced in the past, word of caution: Stay on this lovely lady’s good side. This horror film will surprise even the most enthusiastic fan.

6. Raw (2016)

Her name is Julia Ducournau, and this woman knows how to tell a disturbing story. Considering what is cherished bougie cuisine today, the plot of a lifelong vegetarian suddenly jonesin’ for human flesh seems like a Master’s thesis at North Dakota State Film School. Yet, this film is primal and terrifying, with spectacular cinematography and a methodical pace that keeps that knot in your stomach. Of course, you may have bubblegut because of the raunchy gore and surrealistic cannibalism, but that’s another post for another time. This is a must-see for all horror enthusiasts. Prepare your diet.

5. Saint Maud (2020)

If you enjoy Morfydd Clark as Galadriel in Prime Video’s The Rings of Power, thank Maud! Under the sardonic lead of director Rose Glass, Saint Maud is a fascinating film that forces you to reconsider what you would do on a quest to help rescue someone’s soul.

Here’s this sweet, demure nurse who works overtime, hiding her true nature of theological transgression. The symbolism is as rich as the gore, trauma as real as the supernatural force drawing Maud closer. The world is falling around her. Good thing Maud is already way down there to catch it. Great vision, this one.

4. Ravenous (1999)

This movie is a such a treat. Guy Pearce, branded an American traitor, was assigned to Fort Spencer. There, all supplies are low, fear is high, and imagination takes over as a “stranger” shows up and teaches the accosted soldiers a different way to gather protein in a diet.

Yeah, dude’s a cannibal. Not in the “it’s good for protein and vitamins,” but in the “I haven’t eaten in three weeks, and you are my next meal” way. Co-starring the dynamic and criminally underrated Robert Carlyle, who leads a fun story in real life here:

Carlyle recommended to 20th Century Fox that Milcho Manchevski helm the gig. Milcho would later bounce over the generic “irreconcilable differences” cited between studio and director. Once he was shown the door, the studio reached out to Antonia Bird, who actually worked with Carlyle on Priest. Turns out it ironically took prayer to make this movie come together. And many gory thriller fans would thank their God it did.

3. Near Dark (1987)

There is proof that a female can stand on stage as a male director as equal. Two words: Kathryn Bigelow. Before she became the second woman in history to win an Oscar for Best Director (way too few, AMPAS–there are now only three), Bigelow was in love with making a good movie with a great story.

Before Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker, and Strange Days. Even before the beloved Point Break with Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves, there was Near Dark. When you see the trailer, you think, “Ah, vampiric gang. Common trope. I’m out.” When you see the movie, you’ll know how wrong you are.

2. American Psycho (2000)

Mary Harron shocked the world with this perspective of nihilism and psychosis related to the douchebaggery of the 1980s middle-upper class. Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is one of the best characters in recent memory.

His haughty narration and clumsy machismo of what makes him tick begin to stand still as he devolves into an axe-murdering menace who can’t stop himself. And it’s fantastic. Harron creates the perfect mix of out-loud hilarity and shock value gore that few directors of any gender, creed, or culture manage to make.

1. The Babadook (2014)

Can we say it, “This girl is a badass!” Jennifer Kent created a movie in 2014 that many cinephiles and critics believe rekindled an industry’s appreciation for these films and created the neo-horror genre. For decades, fear meant blood, gore, and butchery of victims. The Babadook was what fear is to everyone else–psychological, bone-chilling, toe-curling, what-the-hell-is-coming-out-of-my-closet fear.

Sometimes, your mind can be the very weapon that tortures you the most–supernaturalism, symbolism, syntax. Kent takes the fear from the inside out, cloaks it in grief, and makes us squirm in our seats with CGI, obligatory gore, or easy jump scares. There is a reason this movie is lauded this much–it’s that blood-curdling good. And even Wes Craven, Stephen King, or John Carpenter would tell you so.