House of Psychotic Women
A list of female neurosis in horror and exploitation films by Kier-La Janisse, author of the book House of Psychotic Women.
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- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsShelley DuvallSissy SpacekJanice RuleTwo roommates/physical therapists, one a vain woman and the other an awkward teenager, share an increasingly bizarre relationship.
- DirectorAlfred SoleStarsLinda MillerMildred ClintonPaula E. SheppardIn 1961, a divorced Catholic couple's life is turned upside-down when one of their two adolescent daughters is suspected of her younger sister's brutal murder during her First Holy Communion and a series of subsequent stabbings.
- DirectorSergio MartinoStarsGeorge HiltonEdwige FenechIvan RassimovA woman recovering from a car accident in which she lost her unborn child finds herself pursued by a coven of devil worshipers.
- DirectorJuan López MoctezumaStarsClaudio BrookDavid SilvaTina RomeroAfter the death of her parents, a young girl arrives at a convent and brings a sinister presence with her. Is it her enigmatic imaginary friend, Alucarda, who is to blame? Or is there a satanic force at work?
- DirectorDino RisiStarsVittorio GassmanCatherine DeneuveDanilo MatteiBizarre events keep occurring in an old mansion in Venezia, and it's soon obvious that something mysterious is up in the attic.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsWillem DafoeCharlotte GainsbourgStorm Acheche SahlstrømA grieving couple retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage, but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
- DirectorRoy Ward BakerStarsBarbara ParkinsRichard ToddSylvia SymsIn order to secure a job at a mental institution, a young psychiatrist must interview four patients inside the asylum.
- DirectorGeorge EdwardsGary GraverStarsCarrie SnodgressRay MillandRuth CoxA librarian devotes her life to caring for her wheelchair-bound tyrannical father after being stood up at the altar. She fantasizes about causing deaths of the men who most wronged her and finds joy only with her pet monkey. Her monkey disappears and a shocking past is revealed.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRyo IshibashiEihi ShiinaTetsu SawakiA widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.
- DirectorArmando CrispinoStarsMimsy FarmerBarry PrimusRay LovelockA young pathology doctor interning in a morgue tries to cope with a wave of suicides. A woman she just met kills herself, but she suspects someone close to her might have killed her.
- DirectorTed PostStarsAnjanette ComerRuth RomanMarianna HillA social worker, still reeling from the loss of her architect husband, investigates the eccentric, psychedelic Wadsworth Family, consisting of a mother, two daughters, and an adult son with the apparent mental capacity of an infant.
- DirectorAndrew FlemingStarsJennifer RubinBruce AbbottRichard LynchThe lone survivor of a suicide cult wakes from a thirteen-year coma in a psychiatric ward, where other patients suddenly start dying under mysterious and gruesome circumstances.
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsCho Jae-hyunWon SeoKim Yun-taeAn unfeeling gangster seeks to ruin the life of a young girl who rejected him. He forces her into prostitution and spies on her regularly, then he soon begins to fall for her.
- DirectorCheol-soo JangStarsSeo Yeong-hieJi Seong-wonMin-ho HwangA woman subject to mental, physical and sexual abuse on a remote island seeks a way out.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsClint EastwoodGeraldine PageElizabeth HartmanWhile recuperating in a Confederate girls' boarding school, a Union soldier cons his way into each of the lonely women's hearts, causing them to turn on each other, and eventually, on him.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsTony MusanteSuzy KendallEnrico Maria SalernoAn American expatriate in Rome attempts to unmask a serial killer he witnessed in the act of an attempted murder - and is now hunting him and his girlfriend.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsDeborah KerrDavid FarrarFlora RobsonA group of nuns struggle to establish a convent in the Himalayas, while isolation, extreme weather, altitude, and culture clashes all conspire to drive the well-intentioned missionaries mad.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsNatalie PortmanMila KunisVincent CasselNina is a talented but unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her artistic director and a seductive rival, Nina's grip on reality slips, plunging her into a waking nightmare.
- DirectorVicente ArandaStarsSimón AndreuMaribel MartínAlexandra BastedoNewlywed Susan is haunted by visions of Mircalla Karnstein, a centuries-old bride who murdered her husband on their wedding night.
- DirectorCarlos AuredStarsPaul NaschyDiana LorysEduardo CalvoAn ex-convict, troubled by dreams that he strangles women, is hired as the caretaker on an estate owned by three very strange sisters. Soon after his arrival, a serial killer begins slaughtering blonde, blue-eyed women and leaving their eyeballs in a bowl of water.
- DirectorDonald WryeStarsLinda BlairJoanna MilesAllyn Ann McLerieA young girl runs away from her abusive family and ends up in a girls' juvenile detention center, where she's raped and brutalized by her sadistic peers. Only one honest social worker shows interest in helping her.
- DirectorRay BradyStarsTim PooleDanielle SandersonMargot SteinbergA man meets a woman in a bar, the two go back to her flat and begin watching porno films. The man passes out and wakes to find himself strapped to a dentist chair. The woman, along with her accomplice begin to torture the man.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsJodie FosterTerrence HowardNaveen AndrewsStruggling to recover emotionally from a brutal assault that killed her fiancé and left her in a coma, a radio personality begins a quest for vengeance against the perpetrators that leaves a bloody trail across New York City.
- DirectorJean-Marie PélissiéStarsRobin StrasserJohn BealArthur RobertsA neurotic newlywed bride, Barbara, finds her husband in bed with his old flame. Barbara doesn't get mad, she gets even. Using funds supplied by her wealthy father, the scorned bride turns her husband's love nest into a dungeon of horror.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsOliver ReedSamantha EggarArt HindleA man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, amidst a series of brutal murders.
- DirectorDan CurtisStarsKaren BlackOliver ReedBurgess MeredithA family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.
- DirectorWilliam AsherStarsJimmy McNicholSusan TyrrellBo SvensonAn orphaned teenager finds himself being dominated by his aunt who's hell-bent on keeping him with her...at all costs.
- DirectorEsther RotsStarsRifka LodeizenWim OpbrouckChris BorowskiThe silent aftermath of a young woman's disaster is broken by her discovery of nature's old rhythms.
- DirectorEugenio MartínStarsJudy GeesonAurora BautistaEsperanza RoyTwo sisters running a small hotel in Spain kill female tourists whose morals do not meet their strict religious standards.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsSissy SpacekPiper LaurieAmy IrvingCarrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
- DirectorGustavo HernándezStarsFlorencia ColucciAbel TripaldiGustavo AlonsoA young woman becomes trapped inside a house and is unable to contact the outside world as mysterious forces haunt it.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsSimone SimonTom ConwayKent SmithAn American man marries a Serbian immigrant who fears that she will turn into the cat person of her homeland's fables if they are intimate together.
- DirectorClaude ChabrolStarsIsabelle HuppertSandrine BonnaireJacqueline BissetA newly hired maid for a rich countryside family befriends a post-office clerk who encourages her to rebel against her employers.
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsAlan OrmsbyValerie MamchesJeff GillenSix friends in a theatrical troupe dig up a corpse on an abandoned island to use in a mock Satanic rite. It backfires with deadly consequences.
- DirectorUli EdelStarsNatja BrunckhorstEberhard AurigaPeggy BussieckA teen girl in 1970s Berlin becomes addicted to heroin. Everything in her life slowly begins to distort and disappear as she befriends a small crew of junkies and falls in love with a drug-abusing male prostitute.
- DirectorAuli MantilaStarsLeea KlemolaElina HurmeRea MauranenEevi's life isn't going the way she would want it to, so she runs away, leaving destruction in her wake. No one will ever say no to her again.
- DirectorJuan Antonio BardemStarsJean SebergMarisolBarry StokesAbandoned by their husband/father, a traumatized woman and her disturbed stepdaughter hire a drifter handyman at their secluded estate while a series of murders begins.
- DirectorLouis SoulanesStarsNicole DebonneDanièle ArgenceSolange PradelA disabled young woman is tormented by two female cousins who play sexual games while she's unable to escape from them.
- DirectorNick MillardStarsPriscilla AldenMichael FloodJane LambertAn obese woman recently released from an insane asylum kills anyone who attempts to get her to stop eating.
- DirectorGunther von FritschRobert WiseStarsSimone SimonKent SmithJane RandolphThe young, friendless daughter of Oliver and Alice Reed befriends her father's dead first wife and an aging, reclusive actress.
- DirectorDouglas BuckStarsNica RayGary BetsworthJared BarskyWith her quaint suburban existence on the slow road to ruin, Sarah mutilates herself in the bathroom mirror while her husband sits downstairs watching TV.
- DirectorNiki De Saint PhallePeter WhiteheadStarsNiki De Saint PhalleRainer von DietzMia MartinA fantasy about a woman's attempts to exorcise the influence of her sexually domineering father.
- DirectorAndrew ParkinsonStarsBeverley WilsonAntonia BeamishBrendan GregoryA group of women afflicted with a horrible disease (which forces them to cannibalism) try to support one another.
- DirectorMark SavageStarsSusanne HausschmidBethany FisherColin SavageA woman seeks revenge after being brutally attacked by dishonest land developers.
- DirectorJohn ParkerBruno VeSotaStarsAdrienne BarrettBruno VeSotaBen RosemanThis film, with no dialogue at all, follows a psychotic young woman's nightmarish experiences through one skid-row night.
- DirectorTalia LugacyStarsRosario DawsonChad FaustMarcus PatrickA college co-ed is brutally raped and struggles alone to rebuild her life.
- DirectorRoddy McDowallStarsAva GardnerIan McShaneRichard WattisAn older woman uses witchcraft to keep her young jet-set friends. Based on an ancient Scottish folk song.
- DirectorKen RussellStarsVanessa RedgraveOliver ReedDudley SuttonIn 17th-century France, Father Urbain Grandier's protection of the city of Loudun from the corrupt Cardinal Richelieu is undermined by a sexually repressed nun's accusation of witchcraft.
- DirectorAndrzej ZulawskiStarsLeszek TeleszynskiWojciech PszoniakMalgorzata BraunekDuring the Prussian army's invasion of Poland in 1793, a young Polish nobleman, Jakub, is saved from the imprisonment by a stranger who wants in return to obtain a list of his fellow conspirators. Following his mysterious savior across the country, Jakub sees the overall chaos and moral corruption, including his father's death and the betrayal of his friend who stole his fiancee. Being apparently demented by what he has seen, he commits a number of seemingly motiveless and gory killings.
- DirectorSilvio NarizzanoStarsTallulah BankheadStefanie PowersPeter VaughanA young woman is terrorized by her deceased fiancé's demented mother who blames her for her son's death.
- DirectorLuca CostaStarsLuca CostaChristine Rose AllenWilliam MartinSparks fly when two events are scheduled in the same place at the same time-the execution of a convicted serial killer... and the anniversary dinner party of the judge who condemned him. "The Dinner Party" is a short, darkly comic morality meal that serves up courses of hypocrisy, philosophy, love... and justice.
- DirectorMichael WinnerStarsLia WilliamsRufus SewellMichael CuleThis is the story of Bella, who woke up one morning and realized she'd had enough. All it took was one rather nasty man to transform her from a meek and mild secretary into a murderous femme fatale.
- DirectorWalerian BorowczykStarsUdo KierMarina PierroPatrick MageeIn 19th century London, a sex maniac sneaks into the engagement party of Dr. Henry Jekyll and Miss Fanny Osbourne, turning the event into a nightmarish whirlpool of murder and debauchery.
- DirectorJoël SériaStarsJeanne GoupilCatherine WagenerBernard DhéranTwo bored Catholic schoolgirls spending summer in the countryside decide to become Satanists, and begin committing a series of morbid and increasingly dangerous crimes.
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsJulie ChristieDonald SutherlandHilary MasonA married couple grieving the recent death of their young daughter are in Venice when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom is psychic and brings a warning from beyond.
- DirectorLucio FulciStarsFlorinda BolkanBarbara BouchetTomas MilianWhen a southern Italian town is rocked by a string of child murders, the police and two urban outcasts search for the culprit amid scapegoating within the superstitious community.
- DirectorAvi NesherStarsDrew BarrymoreGeorge NewbernDennis ChristopherA writer with a room for rent acquires a strange new roommate with a psychotic alter-ego that follows her wherever she goes.
- DirectorLambert HillyerStarsOtto KrugerGloria HoldenMarguerite ChurchillWhen Countess Marya Zaleska appears in London, mysterious events occur that lead Dr. Von Helsing to believe that the Countess must be a vampire.
- DirectorHo-Cheung PangStarsJosie HoChing WongHelen ToCheng Li-sheung is a young, upwardly mobile professional finally ready to invest in her first home. But when the deal falls through, she is forced to keep her dream alive - even if it means keeping her would-be neighbors dead.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsBarbara HersheyRon SilverDavid LabiosaA woman is tormented by an invisible being.
- DirectorJean RollinStarsLaurence DubasChristiane CoppéMarianne ValiotTwo young women escape from an insane asylum and are taken in by a travelling erotic dance troupe. When the travelling show is raided by the police they are out on the lamb again.
- DirectorKen WiederhornStarsLauren TewesJennifer Jason LeighJohn DiSantiA news anchorwoman begins to suspect a man living in the same apartment complex as her to be the serial killer that's been raping and killing women in the Miami area.
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsMichael DouglasGlenn CloseAnne ArcherA married man's one-night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family.
- DirectorBrett LeonardStarsAlex O'LoughlinPatrick ThompsonGabby MillgateA cybercrime investigator tracks a man suspected of force-feeding women to death.
- DirectorGreg SwinsonRyan ThiessenStarsSandra PaduchDanielle LilleyMia YiThe teenagers Isabella, Jamie, Melanie, Caroline and Stephanie are lost in a shortcut they took in their way back home. The inexperienced Bell is driving her mother's van and is worried about the late hour. The quintet decides to stop in an isolated store to ask for directions, and Bell accidentally bumps one headlight of a parked SUV. The girls decide to leave the place and drive in the dark and lonely road trying to reach the main road. They decide to make a u-turn and they are chased by the driver of the SUV along a night of terror.
- DirectorLuigi BazzoniMario FanelliStarsFlorinda BolkanPeter McEneryNicoletta ElmiAfter being tormented by dreams about astronauts on the moon, a translator visits a deserted seaside town whose inhabitants know her, although she does not know them.
- DirectorLuciano ErcoliStarsDagmar LassanderPier Paolo CapponiSimón AndreuThe wife of a struggling businessman is blackmailed by a mysterious man into having a sadistic affair with him, or he will leak evidence implicating her husband of murder.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsMichael BrandonMimsy FarmerJean-Pierre MarielleA musician is stalked by an unknown homicidal maniac, who blackmails him for the accidental killing of another stalker.
- DirectorTakashi IshiiStarsHarumi InoueShingo TsurumiKazuki KitamuraA woman is raped by 3 men. She moves south to Tokyo and 5 years later is about to marry a colleague, when one of the rapists enters her apartment. The other 2 come later.
- DirectorPiero SchivazappaStarsPhilippe LeroyDagmar LassanderLorenza GuerrieriA rich man with a penchant for degrading women subjects a female journalist to unpleasant S&M games, but, unbeknownst to him, she's the one who's manipulating him.
- DirectorPete WalkerStarsRupert DaviesSheila KeithDeborah FairfaxAfter escaping a death sentence for her hideous crimes, a seemingly rehabilitated woman settles in an isolated farmhouse with her husband, only to ache, once more, for blood, and a crash-course in surgery. Is, indeed, her old self back?
- DirectorWilliam FruetStarsKay HawtreyLesleh DonaldsonBarry MorseA young woman arrives at her grandmother's house, which used to be a funeral home, to help her turn the place into a bed-and-breakfast inn. After they open, however, guests begin disappearing or turning up dead.
- DirectorSergio MartinoStarsEdwige FenechAnita StrindbergLuigi PistilliA series of murders are committed near the estate of a degenerate author and his mistreated wife.
- DirectorAuli MantilaStarsTanjalotta RäikkäLeea KlemolaKari SorvaliWhen her sister is mugged and raped, Oili, a young female forensic dentist, meets a group of abused women who have taken matters to their own hands to make the living in fear and just letting it happen stop.
- DirectorGregory WilsonStarsWilliam AthertonBlythe AuffarthBlanche BakerFollows the unspeakable torture and abuses committed on a teenage girl in the care of her aunt and the boys who witness and fail to report the crime.
- DirectorEloy de la IglesiaStarsCarmen SevillaDean SelmierPatty ShepardMarta spends a few days alone while her husband is on a business trip. But she starts to get scared when she hears some mysterious steps every night on the top floor. Her neighbor will try to convince her that it is her husband's footsteps when he returns from work, but Marta does not believe it and begins to investigate.
- DirectorAlan GibsonStarsJudy GeesonMartin PotterMichael RedgraveUnnaturally-close jet-setting twins become enmeshed in the Swinging London scene, where their relationship is strained after they befriend a predatory hustler and his girlfriend.
- DirectorTodd MorrisStarsDeborah TwissBenja K. ThomasRene AlbertaA woman comes to New York City from Ohio to escape an abusive husband and gets entangled with murderous female vigilantes who prey on abusive men.
- DirectorWhitney RansickStarsTreat WilliamsSeymour CasselPaul SchulzeJack is in the midst of a major robbery, which leaves him injured and his accomplices dead. Jack manages to hide the $500,000 from the robbery before he makes his way to his death bed.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsMelissa Sue AndersonGlenn FordLawrence DaneAt the snobby Crawford Academy, Virginia's group of friends start to go missing years after horrible events that happened to her as a child around her birthday.
- DirectorDavid SladeStarsPatrick WilsonElliot PageSandra OhHayley's a smart, charming teenage girl. Jeff's a handsome, smooth fashion photographer. An Internet chat, a coffee shop meet-up, an impromptu fashion shoot back at Jeff's place. Jeff thinks it's his lucky night. He's in for a surprise.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie HarrisClaire BloomRichard JohnsonHill House has stood for about 90 years and appears haunted: its inhabitants have always met strange, tragic ends. Now Dr. John Markway has assembled a team of people who he thinks will prove whether or not the house is haunted.
- DirectorRichard LoncraineStarsMia FarrowKeir DulleaTom ContiAfter her daughter's death, wealthy American homemaker Julia Lofting moves to London to restart her life. All seems well until she is haunted by the ghosts of other children while mourning for her own.
- DirectorAlexandre AjaStarsCécile de FranceMaïwennPhilippe NahonBest friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia's parents' secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls' idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsMelanie LynskeyKate WinsletSarah PeirseTwo teenage girls share a unique bond; their parents, concerned that the friendship is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.
- DirectorLeonard KastleDonald VolkmanStarsShirley StolerTony Lo BiancoMary Jane HigbyAn obese, embittered nurse doesn't mind if her toupee-wearing boyfriend romances and fleeces other women, as long as he takes her along on his con jobs.
- DirectorAdam WingardStarsAJ BowenAmy SeimetzJoe SwanbergAn escaped murderer is in pursuit of his ex-girlfriend, who has fled to start a new life in a small town.
- DirectorAnthony PageStarsBibi AnderssonKathleen QuinlanBen PiazzaA disturbed, institutionalized 16-year-old girl struggles between fantasy and reality.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsSusannah YorkRene AuberjonoisMarcel BozzuffiWhilst writing a children's book, a woman interrupted by images unsure if they may, or may not be real
- DirectorMarina de VanStarsMarina de VanLaurent LucasLéa DruckerA woman grows increasingly fascinated with her body after suffering a disfiguring accident.
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsDeborah KerrPeter WyngardeMegs JenkinsA young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.
- DirectorAlexandre BustilloJulien MauryStarsAlysson ParadisJean-Baptiste TabourinClaude LuléFour months after the death of her husband, a woman on the brink of motherhood is tormented in her home by a strange woman who wants her unborn baby.
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsJung SuhKim Yu-seokCho Jae-hyunWorking at a fishing resort in an idyllic location, but surrounded by various facets of human unpleasantness, a young mute woman falls in love with a man on the run from the law for committing murder.
- DirectorPaul NicholasStarsAnthony FranciosaSybil DanningIsabelle MejiasA teenage girl whose inaction caused her mother's death arranges a similarly gruesome fate for her stepmother and brother.
- DirectorKazuyoshi KumakiriStarsShigeru BokudaSumiko MikamiShunsuke SawadaWhile the leader is in jail, his leftist group is controlled by his girlfriend, but her leadership lacks conviction and perspective. When the leader commits suicide in prison, despair and confusion rule the group and revenge and violence erupts in graphic way.
- DirectorGiulio BerrutiStarsAnita EkbergAlida ValliMassimo SeratoLegendary Swedish sex bomb Anita Ekberg stars as Sister Gertrude, a cruel nun who discovers depraved pleasure in a frenzy of drug addiction, sexual degradation and sadistic murder.
- DirectorLynne StopkewichStarsMolly ParkerPeter OuterbridgeJay BrazeauOver the years, a child's romantic ideals about death blossom into necrophilia, the study of embalming and the most profound relationship of her life.
- DirectorJanet GreekStarsKaren AustinDiana ScarwidChristine BelfordA raped policewoman forms a vigilante group of various rape victims. They abduct and castrate men whom have committed repeated violations of women, and got away with it through legal technicalities.
- DirectorDaniel StammStarsPatrick FabianAshley BellIris BahrA troubled evangelical minister agrees to let his last exorcism be filmed by a documentary crew.