Monthly Archives: October 2017

Halloween Horror Recommendations

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In addition to my focus on feminist horror films for my 31 Days of Horror film watching (which you can find here), I thought I’d offer some other recommendations in honor of the best month of the year, October, and my favorite holiday, Halloween. October is the month when everyone is a horror fan (for some of us it’s a year-round thing). If you’re looking for some must read or watch, check out the list below. (Note: None of the films I’m featuring in my Feminist Horror #31DaysOfHorror will be on the below list.)

First, I’d be a bad scholar if I didn’t recommend my own book, so check out Gender in the Vampire Narrative (2016) edited by U. Melissa Anyiwo and me.

To Read
Non-Fiction

Histories of Haunts and Halloween

Fiction, Comics, and Graphic Novels

To Watch
Must Watch Contemporary Horror Films

  • Get Out (2017, director Jordan Peele), available to rent on Amazon and Vudu
  • Train to Busan (2016, director Sang-ho Yeon), available on Netflix
  • The Devil’s Candy (2015, director Sean Byrne), available on Netflix
  • The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016, director André Øvredal), available to rent on Amazon and Vudu
  • The Purge: Election Year (2016, director James DeMonaco), I would recommend the entire series but Election Year was particularly poignant in light of our current political climate, available to rent on Amazon and Vudu
  • The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014), director Adam Robitel), available to rent on Amazon and Vudu
  • The Innkeepers (2012, director Ti West), available on Amazon Prime and Shudder
  • Stake Land (2010, director Jim Mickle), available on Netflix

Must Watch Classic Horror Films

31 Days of Feminist Horror

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It’s that time of the year…my favorite month…my favorite holiday. Happy Samhain month everyone!  It means #31daysofHalloween. As a horror film scholar, it also means #31DaysofHorror, which is a yearly challenge to watch a horror film a day.  This year I’m doing 31 horror films but with my twist: 31 feminist horror films.  In brief, feminist horror films examine elements of gender and sexuality and also explore the cultural systems that build and buttress those gender and sexual social boundaries. (Want a longer explanation of feminist horror full with specific film analysis. Well it’s coming soon in the form of my dissertation. Or you can check out my slightly longer explanation here.)

The one very practical criteria for my viewing list was that I had to have easy access to the film, which means it is either streaming somewhere that I subscribe to or I own a copy of the film. Most of the films on the list are full-length feature films, but a few are short films by some great indie filmmakers.  Pre-warning though, a couple I haven’t seen before, but they were recommended as feminist horror films that I might like.

  1. XX (Anthology directors: Jovanka Vuckovic, Annie Clark, Roxanne Benjamin, and Karyn Kusama, 2017), if you’d like to read my initial reaction you can find it here, available on Netflix.
  2. Dead Hooker in a Trunk (Directors Jen and Sylvia Soska, 2009), available on Hulu.
  3. The Babadook (Director Jennifer Kent, 2014), for more analysis on this film from me, you can find it here, available on Netflix
  4. Venefica (Director Maria Wilson, 2016), available on Shudder.
  5. Jennifer’s Body (Director Karyn Kusama, 2009), available to rent on Amazon and Vudu.
  6. Slumber Party Massacre (Director Amy Holden Jones, 1982), available on Amazon Prime Video.
  7. Raw (Director Julia Ducournau, 2016), available to rent on Amazon and Vudu.
  8. We Need to Talk about Kevin (Director Lynne Ramsay, 2011), available on Netflix and Shudder.
  9. The Witch (Director Robert Eggers, 2015), available on Amazon Prime Video.
  10. The Countess (Director Julie Delpy, 2009), if you are interested in in-depth analysis of this film, see my chapter in Gender in the Vampire Narrative, not currently available to stream.
  11. Honeymoon (Director Leigh Janiak, 2014), available on Netflix.
  12. Prevenge (Director Alice Lowe, 2016), available on Shudder.
  13. Dark Touch (Director Marina de Van, 2013), available on Shudder.
  14. The Midnight Swim (Director Sarah Adina Smith, 2014), available on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Shudder.
  15. Office Killer (Director Cindy Sherman, 1997), not currently available to stream.
  16. Byzantium (Director Neil Jordan, 2012), if you are interested in in-depth analysis of this film, see my chapter in Gender in the Vampire Narrative, available on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu.
  17. Blood Hunters (Director Tricia Lee, 2016), available on Amazon Prime Video.
  18. The Love Witch (Director Anna Biller, 2016), available on Amazon Prime Video.
  19. Chained (Director Jennifer Lynch, 2012), available to rent on Amazon and Vudu.
  20. Scream (Director Wes Craven, 1996), available on Amazon Prime Video.
  21. The Captured Bird (Director Jovanka Vuckovic, 2012), available on Vimeo.
  22. Consummé (Director Catherine Fordham, 2015)
  23. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Director Ana Lily Amirpour, 2014), available to rent on Amazon and Vudu.
  24. Eve’s Bayou (Director Kasi Lemmons, 1997), available on Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.
  25. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Director Fran Rubel Kuzui, 1992), available on Amazon Prime Video.
  26. The Invitation (Director Karyn Kusama, 2015), available on Netflix.
  27. The Stylist (Director Jill Gevargizian, 2016), available on Shudder.
  28. The Girl with All the Gifts (Director Colm McCarthy, 2016), available on Amazon Prime Video.
  29. Soulmate (Director Axelle Carolyn, 2013), available on Shudder.
  30. Paralysis (Director R. Shanae Williams, 2015), available on Vimeo.
  31. American Mary (Jen and Sylvia Soska, 2012), for my more in-depth look see here, available to rent on Amazon.