499 Nights of Female-Fronted Frights

487 movies   3 TV shows  

With the horrors of 2020, do you need a horror movie a day to keep the demons at bay? I do, and if you do too, challenge yourself to discover more of the powers of women in cinema. Many believe female horror directors and their films are impossible to find, particularly certain, ahem, studio execs. To prove them wrong, aid others in pursuit of a good scare, and challenge myself, I decided to put together a list of female-directed horror to watch and rate. To date, I have found almost 500 feature-length creeps and scares from women all over the world, with many more coming out in 2020. In this list, I have organized the films I’ve found so far by title. I encourage others to use this list as a jumping-off point to dive into new discoveries in horror. A warning: some inclusions are multi-genre or have major horror elements used for dramatic purposes while not being horror per se. I aggregated many other people’s lists and did a lot of my own research and digging, but can’t verify anything until I complete this watching project myself. Suggestions for additions welcome! Big thanks to Lyzette’s <a href="https://boxd.it/tz9G">list of Women-Made Horror</a>, which helped me form the basis for this list. Not on Letterboxd: Let’s Go Home (2019).

Movie

Southbound (2015)
Southbound
★ 6.5 48 ratings
Roxanne Benjamin / David Bruckner … actor: 查德·威利亚 / Matt Bettinelli-Olpin …
other title: 一路向南 / 南荒邪教大本营(港) …
The film contains five stories set on desolate stretches of a desert highway. Two men on the run from their past, a band on its way to a gig, a man struggling to get home, a brother in search of his long-lost sister and a family on vacation are forced to confront their worst fears and darkest secrets in these interwoven tales.

Movie

Spiderwebhouse (2015)
Im Spinnwebhaus WikiData IMDb TMDB Douban
玛拉·艾布尔-艾贝斯费尔特 actor: 本·利特文舒 / 卢茨·西蒙·埃勒特 …
other title: 蛛网屋 / Im Spinnwebhaus …
When 12-year-old Jonas’ mother leaves to “fight her demons”, he steps up as head of the household, becoming the unofficial guardian to his younger siblings. With food and money running out, the children retreat into a world of their own where, cloaked eerily in black-and-white, their home turns into one of bugs and mysticism – they make saucepan gardens, they take on insects as pets and spiderwebs encroach. Only the friendship of an odd young homeless man gives Jonas hope to survive in an adult’s world.

Movie

Spirit Lost (1997)
Spirit Lost WikiData IMDb TMDB
John Chapman and his beautiful wife Willie have just moved into a seaside village on the North Carolina coast. But they quickly discover that their quaint new house already has a long-standing tenant. Built 200 years ago by a philandering sea captain, the house is residence to the spirit of Arabella, an abandoned lover with an insatiable, centuries-old lust and a viciously jealous nature. Spirit Lost welcomes you to the dark side of Ghost - an erotic tale of the supernatural.

Movie

Split (2016)
Split IMDb TMDB Skybridge
The story of a young woman who takes an epic journey to claim her own darkness and sexuality so she can stop putting it into the hands of her abusive lover. When Inanna, a young actress, working as a stripper, becomes obsessed with a mask maker, she sacrifices parts of herself and her life, piece by piece, in order to win his love. At the same time she enters a mythic journey in the theater. One that forces her to face the many abuses endured by women around that world and that blurs her performance, her dreams and her real life and results in a provocative and powerful confrontation that frees her. -- from official website

Movie

Stasis (2017)
Stasis WikiData IMDb TMDB Douban
other title: 沉睡 / 停滞 …
After a night out of partying and left behind by her friends, Ava wakes up and sneaks back home only to find that she's already safe in bed. But that's not Ava - it's someone who looks just like her. A time-traveling fugitive has stolen Ava's body, her identity, and her life. What's more -- she's not alone. There are others, hiding in the past, secretly living among us, plotting to alter the future. Without her body, Ava is a virtual ghost, silent and invisible to the world. And, so far as she knows, she's the only one who can stop them and put the timeline back on course.

Movie

The Stitcher (2007)
The Stitcher IMDb TMDB
Something strange is happening in this eerie backwoods town. Inspired by true events, a group of friends must survive the weekend in order to escape the terror that is beyond their imagination. Desperate and fearing for their lives, the horror surges when a legendary killer wants something they all possess. They soon find out the town is not what it seems, and with no hope of rescue, they must find their way out before they fall victim to the Stitcher's obsession. This blood curdling story will make you never want to wear certain pieces of clothing again.

Movie

Djinns (2010)
Djinns WikiData IMDb TMDB Douban
Hugues Martin / Sandra Martin actor: 格雷戈瓦·勒普兰斯-林盖 / 蒂埃里·弗雷蒙 …
other title: 沙漠迷城 / Stranded …
Algeria, 1960. A section of French paratroopers are sent in search of a missing aircraft in the Algerian desert. The wreckage of the plane is quickly located, but there are no survivors, just a suitcase stamped “Top Secret”. Stormed by enemy soldiers, the troops find refuge in a strange abandoned citadel. Despite warnings from the place’s Guardian to leave at once, they wake up the Djinns, the evil spirits of the desert .

Movie

The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears (2014)
L'étrange couleur des larmes de ton corps WikiData IMDb TMDB Douban
★ 6.3 6 ratings
布鲁诺·福扎尼 / 伊莲娜·卡泰特 actor: 克劳斯·坦格 / Ursula Bedena …
other title: 더 스트레인지 컬러 / L'Étrange Couleur des larmes de ton corps …
Returning home from a business trip to discover his wife missing, a man delves deeper and deeper into a surreal kaleidoscope of half-baked leads, seduction, deceit, and murder.

Movie

Strange Days (1995)
Strange Days
★ 7.6 66 ratings
other title: 스트레인지 데이즈 / ストレンジ・デイズ/1999年12月31日 …
Former policeman Lenny Nero has moved into a more lucrative trade: the illegal sale of virtual reality-like recordings that allow users to experience the emotions and past experiences of others. While they typically contain tawdry incidents, Nero is shocked when he receives one showing a murder.

Movie

Strange Frequency (2001)
Strange Frequency IMDb TMDB Douban
other title: 非常频道 / 生死幻界 …
A Rock 'n Roll version of the Twilight Zone, with four segments: "Disco Inferno," where metalheads find themselves in hell; "My Generation," where hitchhikers help you die before you get old; "Room Service," rock star room-trasher vs. the hotel maid; "More Than a Feeling," an A&R man feels talent in his gut but can't hold on to the artists he finds.

Movie

Strange Girls (2007)
Strange Girls IMDb TMDB
A drug-addicted psychiatrist inherits the case of twin sisters who speak to nobody and do everything in complete synchronization. Will she be able crack their mysterious case or will she die trying? Set in the deteriorating vistas of rust-belt Pittsburgh, Strange Girls is a dark tale of horror, manipulation, violence, and obsession.
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