Day 19: After.Life

Day 19: Female-Helmed Horror Movies For October After.Life Directed and Co-Written By Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo 2009 1 hour, 44 minutes I watched it on Shudder.   Christina Ricci stars as Anna in “After.Life.” (Not sure why that period in the middle of the title but I swear it’s there.) Anna is restless and unhappy in her life, even though she seems to like being a teacher and has a sweet boyfriend…

Read More

Day 18: Surveillance

Day 18: Female-Helmed Horror Movies For October Surveillance Directed and Co-Written by Jennifer Lynch 2008 1 hour, 38 minutes I watched it on Shudder. This was a rich one. Not only is it a twisty road, it’s so full of social issues and harsh realities, it’s almost weighed down by them. But Jennifer Lynch keeps her high wire act going. This thing is a major ensemble; there are something like…

Read More

Day 17: The Bye Bye Man

Day 17: Female-Helmed Horror Movies For October The Bye Bye Man Directed by Stacy Title 2017 1 hour, 36 minutes I watched it on iTunes.   I had a lot of fun watching “The Bye Bye Man.” I was spooked. I was having major ‘90s slasher movie vibes. But then I went online and read about the movie and found its terrible reviews. And I’m talking vicious. I was so…

Read More

Day 16: Blood and Donuts

Day 16: Female-Helmed Horror Movies For October Blood and Donuts Directed by Holly Dale 1995 1 hour, 29 minutes I watched it on Shudder (a horror movie and TV streaming service).   There’s something endearing about the misfit group of friends in “Blood and Donuts.” But I can see why I hadn’t heard of this movie before this project. There’s something about it that doesn’t quite hit all the way….

Read More

Day 15: The Hitch-Hiker

Day 15: Female-Helmed Horror Movies For October The Hitch-Hiker Directed and Co-Written by Ida Lupino 1953 1 hour, 10 minutes I suspect this movie just hasn’t aged well, but I was bored. Like fell asleep on two separate occasions to get through it bored. Now, granted, I’m a mom and once that parent happens, sleep gets entirely more erratic. But even with that lens on this viewing experience, I can…

Read More

Day 14: Ravenous

Day 14: Female-Helmed Horror Movies For October Ravenous Directed by Antonia Bird 1999 1 hour, 40 minutes I watched it on iTunes.   Right away, “Ravenous” lets you know exactly what you’re in for. It’s 1846-ish, the Mexican-American War. Captain John Boyd (Guy Pearce) is being celebrated for being a war hero, but he can’t stomach sitting through the meat-filled dinner. It reminds him of his bloody time on the…

Read More

Day 13: Dark Touch

Day 13: Female-Helmed Horror Movies For October Dark Touch Written and Directed by Marina de Van 2013 1 hour, 31 minutes I watched it on iTunes.   Set in a small town in the Irish countryside, “Dark Touch” follows the mystery of Naïmh (Missy Keating), a little girl who may or may not have profound psychic abilities that she uses to channel her anger.  It has a real attention-grabbing opening….

Read More

Day 8: Silent House

Day 8: Female-Helmed Horror Movies For October Silent House Directed by Laura Lau and Chris Kentis (They bill themselves the opposite way and I imagine they have a good reason for that (alphabetical?) but I’m putting her first for my purposes.) Lau is also the writer and one of the producers of the film. It was based on a “La casa muda (The Silent House)” directed by Gustavo Hernandez in…

Read More

Day 7: Thou Wast Mild and Lovely

Day 7: Female-Helmed Horror Movies For October Thou Wast Mild and Lovely Written and Directed by Josephine Decker 2014 1 hour, 34 minutes I watched it on Shudder. (Shout out to Shudder for having a Female Director showcase!) (Oh and a quick clarification to my new horror fan or horror-curious friends, Shudder is a horror movie lover’s dream of a paid subscription service. They have a wide variety of scary…

Read More

Day 6: The Love Witch

Day 6: Female-Helmed Horror Movies for OctoberThe Love Witch Written, Directed, Produced and Edited by Anna Biller 2016 2 hours I watched it on iTunes. Wow, this movie is angry. Biller is constantly working out her frustrations with the minefield that is love between the genders and when she’s firing hard at those themes, it’s fantastic. It’s supposedly a horror comedy but I only found it somewhat funny. But to…

Read More