Eight Modern Female Storytellers in Horror

Women in Horror have always shined in front of the screen, but it’s the unsung women behind the stories who are changing the face of the genre.

There are only amazing actresses and characters in horror, but also the people behind the camera or the words on the page that conduct the grim and gory stories.

This list focused more on modern women in film and literature, so unfortunately horror queens like Mary Shelley and Shirley Jackson won’t be included.

FILMMAKERS

Jennifer Kent

Rumoured to have been on the list to direct Wonder Woman, Jennifer Kent is a director, screenwriter, actress and producer based in Australia. Her first film The Babadook not only earned her and her crew praise and attention, but also several awards and a box office of 7.5 million (in comparison to its 2 million budget).

Kent has also spoken out about the lack of female directors in horror, stating:

“It will shift, as the world shifts. Women do love watching scary films. It’s been proven, and they’ve done all the tests. The demographics are half men, half women. And we know fear. It’s not like we can’t explore the subject.”

Notable Works:

• THE BABADOOK (2014 – feature film), director and screenwriter
• TWO TWISTED (2006 – television series, episode 13 ‘Love Crimes’), director
• MONSTER (2005 – short film), director and screenwriter 

Awards:

• Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards
  • WINNER: Best Direction for The Babadook
  • WINNER: Best Screenplay for The Babadook
• Empire Awards
  • WINNER: Best Horror for the Babadook
• New York Film Critics Circle Awards
  • WINNER: Best First Film for The Babadook
• Detroit Film Critics Society Awards
  • NOMINATED: Best Breakthrough for The Babadook

Mary Harron

Harron’s most famous work, American Psycho is considered not only a cult classic but also a landmark in horror films. Her talent in mixing gore with a grim comedy is what arguably made the flick so successful, along with her expertise in screenwriting. She has continued to work not only in horror but in films that unlike American Psycho feature powerful female characters such as The Moth Dairies and Alias Grace.

Notable Works:

• AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000 – feature film), director and screenwriter
• THE MOTH DIARIES (2011 – feature film), director and screenwriter
• ALIAS GRACE (2017 – miniseries), director

Awards:

• Provincetown International Film Festival
  • WINNER: Filmmaker on the Edge Award

Rachel Talalay

Talalay’s career has spread over the past three decades with her resume including sequels of the famous Nightmare on Elm Street. She is also (like many filmmakers) a jack of all traits with talent and experience in film and television directing, producing and screenwriting.

Notable Works:

• A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4: THE DREAM MASTER (1988 – feature film), producer
• FREDDY’S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE (1991 – feature film), director and screenwriter
• GHOST IN THE MACHINE (1993 – feature film), director
• SHERLOCK (2017 – television series, episode 4.1 ‘”The Six Thatchers”), director

Awards:

• Women in Film & Television Vancouver’s Spotlight Awards (CA)
  • WINNER: Woman of the Year (2016)
• Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival
  • Nominated: Best Film for Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare

Find her on Twitter: @rtalalay

Kathryn Bigelow

Bigelow’s horror, crime and thriller themed filmography is filled with award-winning and critically acclaimed works. She is also a history-maker as she was the first woman to (and collectively, the only woman) win the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing, the BAFTA Award for Best Direction, and the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Director.

Notable Works:

• NEAR DARK (1987 – feature film), director and writer
• THE WEIGHT OF WATER (2000 – feature film), director
• THE HURT LOCKER (2008 – feature film), director and producer

Awards (a selective list):

• Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award
  • WINNER: Best Director for The Hurt Locker
  • WINNER: Best Picture for The Hurt Locker
  • WINNER: Best Woman Director for The Hurt Locker
  • WINNER: Outstanding Achievement by a Woman in the Film Industry
• NOMINATED: Saturn Award for Best Director – Near Dark
• WINNER: Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – The Hurt Locker
• WINNER: BAFTA Award for Best Direction for The Hurt Locker

Honourable Mentions

• Veronika Franz – Goodnight Mommy (2014)
• Stephanie Rothman – The Velvet Vampire (1971)
• Ana Lily Amirpour – A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

AUTHORS

Joyce Carol Oates

Oates’ first piece dates back to 1964, continuing to release novel after novel on almost an annual basis, including under the pseudonyms ‘Rosamond Smith’ and ‘Lauren Kelly’. Her work comes in the form of novels, novellas, short stories, young adult and children’s fiction, essays, memoirs and poetry.

Notable Works:

• Mudwoman (2012)
• With Shuddering Fall (1964)
• Beasts (2001)

Awards (selective list):

• WINNER: Scholastic Art & Writing Award (1955-56)
• WINNER: Henry Award– ‘In the Region of Ice’ (1967)
• WINNER: L. Rosenthal Award, National Institute of Arts and Letters – ‘A Garden of Earthly Delights’ (1968)
• WINNER: National Book Award for Fiction– ‘them’ (1970)
• WINNER: Henry Award – ‘The Dead’ (1973)

Find her on: Twitter: @JoyceCarolOates

Tananarive Due

Due was first published in 1995 with her debut horror/speculative fiction novel ‘The Between’. Ever since she has graced our spooky shelves with additional novels in the dark fantasy and science fiction such as her African Immortals Series.

Notable Works:

• The Between (1995)
• The Good House (2003)
• My Soul To Take (2011)
• African Immortals Series
• My Soul to Keep (1997)
• The Living Blood (2001)
• Blood Colony (2008) 

Awards:

• WINNER: The American Book Award for The Living Blood
• WINNER: 2016 British Fantasy Award for Ghost Summer.
• NOMINATED: Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel for The Between
• NOMINATED: Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel for My Soul to Keep

Find her on: Twitter: @TananariveDue – Facebook: @tananariveduewrites

Kathe Koja

Drawing inspiration from gothic novels such as Dracula and Wuthering Heights, horror and fantasy novelist, playwright, director AND independent producer Kathe Koja has published many novels and many short stories throughout her lengthy career. She is also one of the few horror writers to include a primary LGBT couple in her stories (eg. Skin, 1994).

Notable Works:

• The Cipher (1991)
• Skin (1994)
• Strange Angels (1994)

Awards:

• WINNER: The Bram Stoker Award for The Cipher
• WINNER: The Locus Award for The Cipher

Anne Rice

Bestselling gothic and fantasy fiction author Anna Rice has built up an amazing resume over the years with thirty-five novels, seven comic book adaptions and four film adaptions under her belt. Her most notable work is arguably ‘Interview with Vampire’ from ‘The Vampire Chronicles’ that eventually graced the silver screen in 1994 with Kirsten Dunst, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. 

Notable Works:

• Interview With A Vampire (1976)
• Servant of the Bones (1996)
• Lives of the Mayfair Witches
  • The Witching Hour (1990)
  • Lasher (1993)
  • Taltos (1994)

Awards:

• 2014 Goodreads Choice Awards
  • WINNER: Best Horror for Prince Lestat
• WINNER: 2003 Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement
• DISTINCTION: World Horror Convention Grand Master Award

Find her on: Twitter: @AnneRiceAuthor – Facebook: @annericefanpage – Instagram: @annericeauthor

Honourable Mentions

• Octavia E Butler
• Caitlín R. Kiernan
• Asa Nonami