​TOP TEN FEMALE DIRECTED HORROR MOVIES BY NICO BELL

 
10. Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1992) Directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui

Valley girl cheerleader Buffer Summers (Kristy Swanson) discovers her fate as a vampire slayer in this campy underrated flick that spawned a franchise. The movie scored a 35% on Rotten Tomatoes, but I urge vampire fans to give it another chance. Yes, it’s cheesy, but that’s part of the appeal. Director Fran Rubel Kuzui delivers a fun comedy horror that delights in its absurdity. If you love vampires, but don’t want to be terrorized and left with nightmares, this is the movie to watch.
 
9. Revenge (2018) Directed by Carolie Fargeat

A mistress is swept away to a remote home with her lover and his friends. But soon, she finds herself in a dangerous situation. Raped and left for dead, she discovers the will to survive and get revenge in this bloody action horror film. Fargeat holds nothing back and creates a brutal gore filled “pay back” movie where the villains get exactly what they deserve.
 
8. American Mary (2012) by The Soska Sisters

This list wouldn’t be complete without the Soska Sisters, and what better film to showcase their directorial skills then American Mary. Mary Mason (Katharine Isabelle) is a medical student who delves in the world of body modification in order to earn a little extra cash. What we get is a gore filled delightful horror movie with feminist undertones. This is not for the weak stomached! But if you’re a fan of blood, consider donating some of your own. The Soska Sisters are advocates for many causes including blood donations, which they create a PSA about every February in celebration of Women in Horror month.
 
7. Pet Sematary (1989) by Mary Lambert

Doctor Louis Creed buries his family’s cat in the land near an old pet cemetery. When the cat returns to life, it has changed into something nefarious. When Creed’s son dies, he buries his boy in the same ground, despite warnings. Mary Lambert has a long resume, directing several horror films including Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005) and The Attic (2007), it is for Pet Sematary that she is perhaps most well-known.
 
6. The Invitation (2015) by Karyn Kusama

This dinner party has a lot more than food on the menu. A man believes his ex-wife and her new husband have something nefarious planned in this eerie thriller horror movie directed by Karyn Kusama. You may know Kusama as the director of Girlfight, which won the Award of the Youth at the Cannes Film Festival. She creates an unsettling atmosphere in The Invitation with high tension from start to finish.
 
 
5. Raw Julia Ducournau

Sixteen-year-old Justine (Garance Marillier) is an aspiring veterinarian, attending school where her parents attended and older sister Alexia (Ella Rumpf) is currently a student. Everyone in the family are vegetarians. Justine participants in a hazing ritual where she is forced to eat raw rabbit kidney. This awakens a yearning for fresh meat. But as her lust for meat develops, she transforms from an awkward shy girl into a confident sexually charged woman. Julia Ducournau is a French film director and screenwriter, and she shines with this movie. Raw won several awards including the 2016 Cannes Festival FIPRESCI award and the 2016 SITGES Film Festival Citizen Cane Award for Best Up-And-Coming Director.
 
 
4. American Psycho (2000) by Mary Harron

This psychological horror movie based on Brent Easton Ellis’s 1991 novel has been disturbing audiences for almost twenty years. Christian Bale stuns as Patrick Bateman, a New York executive whose vanity and greed manifest into blood lust. Director Mary Harron holds nothing back. Her perspective on Bateman as a vile creature trapped in a dog-eat-dog alpha male world creates a haunting and repulsive villain.
 
3. The Babadook (2014) Directed by Jennifer Kent

It’s been six years since the death of Ameila’s (Essie Davis) husband, but her grief and anger still linger. She struggles to connect with her young son, who is certain a monster from an eerie children’s book entitled “Mister Babadook” is out to kill him. As his hallucinations grow, so does the tension between mother and child until Ameila begins seeing the very monster her son has been warning her about. Jennifer Kent’s brilliance shines in this unnerving horror flick that delves into the very real emotions of loss, despair and rage. She brilliantly weaves together the figurative nightmare of a ‘boogeyman’ with the internal nightmares which include losing a loved one, struggling with motherhood, and the long-lasting effects of postpartum depression. This is a brilliant and terrifying movie worthy of all the acclaim.
 
2. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour

Is feminist horror a genre? If so, this movie leads the pact. Skateboarding vampire (Sheila Vand) feasts on men who disrespect woman in the Iranian town, Bad City. Set in black-and-white, director and writer Ana Lily Amirpour paints a hypnotic story world that is both beautiful and eerie. There’s a graphic novel vibe combined with horror and a dash of spaghetti western. Yes, it has subtitled, but don’t let that deter you. You’ll be sucked into the gorgeous cinematography and unique vision.
 
1.Tigers Are Not Afraid (2019) by Issa López

This beautiful and heart-breaking horror fantasy will stick with you long after the credits role. A group of orphans must survive their trauma as well as the drug cartel that killed their parents. With three wishes at their disposal, they undergo a spell-bounding journey that devastates and captivates from the first to final scene. Writer and director Issa López twists a tragic and haunting fantasy with real-world horror. If you enjoyed Pan’s Labyrinth, you’ll sink into Tigers Are Not Afraid.
 
BONUS: Be on the lookout for Nia DaCosta who will be directing Jordan Peele’s Candyman coming in 2020!

Nico Bell is a horror author and book reviewer. She's had several short stories published, and her debut novel Food Fright is available March 2020. You can find her at www.nicobellfiction or  @nicobellfiction on twitter and instagram.