We’re halfway through Women in Horror Month already, and it always goes by much too fast! Even so, we’re keeping the celebration going for the rest of the month and beyond.
So if you’re looking for new movies to add to your watchlist this weekend, here are six fantastic horror films directed by women!
Messiah of Evil
Released in 1974, Messiah of Evil was written and directed by the husband-wife team of Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck, and since it’s a movie not nearly enough horror fans have seen, it deserves a spotlight during Women in Horror Month.
The plot is simple enough: a woman goes looking for her missing father in coastal California. Things quickly go south (and cultish) from there. From start to finish, the whole film feels like the creepiest fever dream you’ll ever have, but two sequences in particular—at the grocery store and at the movie theater—will stick with me for the rest of my life.
This is a horror film for the ages, so run, don’t walk, to stream this macabre masterpiece.
The Velvet Vampire
Desert vampires: on the surface, the concept doesn’t even make sense. What do you mean vampires hanging out in one of the most sun-drenched landscapes on Earth?
But in the hands of director Stephanie Rothman, this fabulous and fearsome film works all too well. A gorgeous and incredibly stylish vampire meets a young couple and invites them to her desert estate, complete with a mansion and even a dune buggy. From there, she proceeds to seduce them both with disastrous results.
Produced by Roger Corman, this underrated gem still isn’t on enough horror fans’ radars, so for this Women in Horror Month, put on your sun hat and head out to the desert with The Velvet Vampire. Without a doubt, it’s worth the ride.
Shirley
Based on the book of the same name by Susan Scarf Merrell, Shirley follows an eccentric and imagined friendship between Shirley Jackson and the wife of a new professor who’s just moved to her insular Vermont town.
Released in 2020, this one seemed to come and go way too quickly at the beginning of the pandemic, which is a shame, because director Josephine Decker and screenwriter Sarah Gubbins crafted a truly beautiful and unsettling portrait of the beloved author.
While the horror is not necessarily overt, the dread-filled undercurrents of Shirley perfectly mirror the vibes of the real Shirley Jackson’s work, and Elisabeth Moss gives a fully committed performance as Jackson.
This is a true treat for fans of Shirley Jackson and a perfect film to watch this Women in Horror Month.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Another indelible vampire film, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a dreamlike ride, written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour.
This beautiful black-and-white film is set in a fictional city in Iran (though it was shot in California) and follows a lonely young man caring for his toxic father. His life seems to be going nowhere until he happens to meet a mysterious woman who’s seen riding around the streets on a skateboard.
And yes, the film is every bit as weird and wonderful as the description makes it sound. I really want to live in a world where more people have seen this strange (and strangely moving) film, so please add it to your streaming queue as soon as you can.
Celia
Written and directed by Ann Turner, Celia follows the eponymous little girl in 1950s Australia during the Red Scare as she does her best to grow up despite the cruelty of society and even the cruelty of her own family.
But don’t let that simple description fool you: steeped in surrealism and folklore, this film has the feel of a twentieth-century Grimm fairy tale. At turns heartbreaking and triumphant, Celia is one of the most underappreciated horror films of the last fifty years.
If you haven’t seen it yet, please do your best to find it on a streaming platform as soon as you can. It’s absolutely more than worth your time.
Boxing Helena
So this one is a bit of a wild card. First off, it’s nearly impossible to find. It hasn’t streamed anywhere that I’ve ever seen, and believe me, I tried for years to locate it. A friend only recently sent me her DVD copy from the early 2000s (thanks, Donna Lynch!), and that’s pretty much the only way you’ll be able to watch it: from an old VHS or DVD.
That being said, if you can locate a copy, the weirdness doesn’t stop there. Directed by Jennifer Lynch, the plot is straightforward enough: brilliant surgeon Nick Cavanaugh played by the late Julian Sands is obsessed with the gorgeous and caustic Helena (Sherilyn Fenn, only a couple of years removed from her iconic turn on Twin Peaks).
When Helena has an accident in front of Nick’s remote mansion, he decides to operate on her himself and hold her hostage in hopes of making her fall in love with him. Things get increasingly bizarre and body horror-laden from there.
Throughout Boxing Helena, there are certainly moments of strangeness that mirror her father David’s sensibilities, but at the end of the day, this film is entirely Jennifer Lynch’s own.
From its tonal shifts that swing from fairy tale to melodrama to softcore and back again, as well as its offbeat soundtrack that mixes everything from classical to Lenny Kravitz to Enigma, Boxing Helena is truly bonkers in every possible way.
If you can manage to get your hands on a copy, absolutely watch this movie. And to all the streamers out there: somebody please get the rights to show this film. Shudder? Tubi? Criterion? Are you listening? Because more people need this weird little 90s movie in their lives.
Featured still via Neon.
