HONEYCUTT, Heidi
I Spit On Your Celluloid: The History of Women Directing Horror Movies

Slumber Party Massacre, directed by Amy Jones [and written by Rita Mae Brown; Pet Sematary, directed by Mary Lambert; Near Dark, directed by Kathryn Bigelow; American Psycho, directed by Mary Harron: these horror movies directed by women have heavily contributed to pop culture and are loved by horror fans everywhere. But so many others have been forgotten by history. From the first silent reels to modern independent films, in this book you’ll discover the creepy, horrible, grotesque, beautiful, wrong, good, and fantastic horror films directed by women that changed the way we see the genre.

Having conducted hundreds of interviews and watched thousands of horror films, Heidi Honeycutt defines the political and cultural forces that shape the way modern horror movies are made by women. The women’s rights and civil rights movements, new distribution technology, digital cameras, the destruction of the classic studio system, and the abandonment of the Hays code have significantly impacted women directors and their movies. So, too, social media, modern ideas of gender and racial equality, LGBTQ acceptance, and a new generation of provocative, daring films that take shocking risks. [publishers’ note]

Published by Headpress, 2024
Essays / Film & Video