10 Films to Stream for Women in Horror Month

A common complaint about the horror genre is that it sometimes depicts violence towards women or perpetuates negative stereotypes. This criticism was especially lobbed at the slasher genre, most notably through Siskel and Ebert’s 1980 take on I Spit on Your Grave and various slasher films. Dubbed “Women in Danger,” their commentary said that the 1970s wave of horror films gleefully terrorized women on screen, while the audience cheered. Their thoughts are still debated today, but as we begin a new decade, there are plenty of women making brilliant horror films and thus diversifying the genre. Furthermore, February is now Women in Horror Month. In honor of that, here is a list of 10 contemporary horror films directed by women.
 

​A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014/Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour)
Ana Lily Amirpour, an English-born, Iranian-American film director, created one of the most innovative vampire films of the last decade. The vampire, simply name Girl (Sheila Vand), skateboards, listens to indie rock, and terrorizes hyper-masculine pimps. This black and white film is part horror, part western, and part love story. It weaves together these diverse elements rather seamlessly.
Currently streaming on Shudder.

The Ranger (2018/Directed by Jennifer Wexler)
Jennifer Wexler’s debut feature film is a fresh take on the tired slasher genre. It follows a merry band of punk rockers hunted and killed by a deranged park ranger (Jeremy Holm). It also explores issues of identity through its protagonist Chelsea (Chloë Levine), a lost soul who longs for family. This film is a fun romp that manages to explore some more serious themes, while adding plenty of blood, guts, and creative kills.
Currently streaming on Shudder.

The Nightingale (2019/Directed by Jennifer Kent)
Jennifer Kent’s follow-up to The Babadook is far different than her first feature. This 19th Century historical piece takes on issues of colonialism and gender violence through the story of Clare (Aisling Franciosi), an Irish convict sentenced to a British penal colony. This film’s sheer brutality, especially within the first 25-30 minutes, is not for the faint of heart. However, between The Babadook and The Nightingale, Kent has already proved she’s a director who’s here to stay and has much to say.
Currently streaming on Hulu.

Rabid (2019/Directed by the Soska Sisters)
After 2012’s American Mary, the Soska Sisters proved they’re a force to be reckoned with in horror. Their latest film is a remake of the David Cronenberg classic. While Jen and Sylvia generally stick to the main storyline, there are enough changes to make their take feel incredibly fresh, interesting, and relevant. Though they stick with some of the body horror themes, they also show what it’s like for a woman to operate within a high-pressure job via the fashion industry. The class themes are notable.
Currently streaming on VOD.

Revenge (2017/Directed by Coralie Fargeat)
This French rape-revenge film is not for the squeamish. Coralie Fargeat’s film echoes the French extremity movement of the early 2000s in its use of violence and gore. That said, this is an incredibly sleek and powerful film that reverses the male gaze and has a badass female protagonist in the likes of Jen (Matilda Lutz). You’ll be rooting for her once she takes up arms against the men who did her wrong.
Currently streaming on Shudder.

Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017/Directed by Issa López)
Writer/director Issa López’s fairy-tale like Tigers Are Not Afraid is beautiful, poetic, haunting, and heart-breaking. It follows a group of children left parentless, due to the Mexican drug cartel. They rely on each other to survive and share stories to pass the time. The film’s child actors, especially leads Juan Ramón López as the tough Shine, and Paola Lara as Estrella, give remarkable performances. This film earned high praise from the likes of Stephen King, Guillermo del Toro, and Neil Gaiman, and deservingly so. López is a director to watch.
Currently streaming on Shudder.

The Devil’s Doorway (2018/Directed by Aislinn Clarke)
Irish director Aislinn Clarke has managed to do something unique with the tired found footage genre in The Devil’s Doorway, which follows the story of two priests dispatched by the Vatican to investigate reports of a Virgin Mary statue that weeps blood at a Catholic asylum for fallen women. There are layers of issues at play in Clarke’s film, including faith v. doubt, abortion, and the role of women in the Catholic Church. Furthermore, the film features plenty of unnerving and frightening scenes. The weeping statue is only the beginning.
Currently streaming on Hulu.

Raw (2016/Directed by Julia Ducouranu)
Raw follows the story of Justine (Garance Marilliar), a vegetarian who encounters a dangerous and seductive world during her first week at veterinarian school. Like Revenge, Raw may be a tough watch for the more casual horror viewer. Its gore and themes of cannibalism can be stomach-churning, but the film’s red tones and visuals are arresting. What Ducouranu’s debut has to say about identity is even more interesting.
Currently streaming on VOD.
 
Near Dark (1987/Directed by Kathryn Bigelow)
By now, if you haven’t seen Near Dark, then what are you waiting for? This neo-western horror film follows a pack of nomadic vampires and a young, Midwestern man, cowboy Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar), who slowly turns and must decide who his real family is, the vampires or his actual blood relatives. The cinematography in this is stunning, and the scene where a leather-clad Bill Paxton jumps on a bar and terrorizes its patrons is one of the best that modern horror has to offer.
Currently streaming on VOD.

The Slumber Party Massacre (1982/Directed by Amy Holden Jones)
Amid the glut of 1980s slasher films, writer, producer, and director Amy Hold Jones released her debut, a film about an escaped mental patient who terrorizes a slumber party with a drill. The flick has plenty of humor, some unintended and some not, and it spawned two sequels, neither of which live up to the original.
Currently streaming on Tubi and Shudder.

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Author

Brian Fanelli fell in love with horror movies the first time he watched Night of the Living Dead as a kid. His writing on the genre has been published by Horror Homeroom, The Schuylkill Valley Journal, and Signal Horizon Magazine. He is also the author of two books of poems, Waiting for the Dead to Speak (NYQ Books), winner of the Devil's Kitchen Poetry Prize, and All That Remains (Unbound Content). His non-horror writing has been published in The Los Angeles Times, World Literature Today, Paterson Literary Review, Pedestal Magazine, and elsewhere. Brian has an M.F.A. from Wilkes University and a Ph.D. from Binghamton University. Currently, he teaches at Lackawanna College. www.brianfanelli.com.