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Izzy Lee

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American filmmaker and writer
Izzy Lee
Lee in 2014
Alma materMassachusetts College of Art and Design
Occupation(s)Filmmaker, director, producer, actor, writer

Izzy Lee is an American filmmaker and writer, known for her short films Re-Home (2019), The Obliteration of the Chickens (2019), My Monster (2018), and Innsmouth, which she produced through her company Nihil Noctem. She has written for multiple outlets such as Birth.Movies.Death, Rue Morgue, TwitchFilm, and Fangoria and has also helped program and curate film festivals like the Boston Underground and the Boston Sci-Fi Fest.

Lee began showing an interest in horror in kindergarten and later attended the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where she received a BFA in illustration. She initially started as an actor and writer, but branched out into filmmaking in order to "see if I could do it".

Lee started her filmmaking career in Massachusetts, where she was featured on WCVB Channel 5’s news show, Chronicle. in 2021. Lee has gained a following leading up to articles which shine a light on her talent as an up-and-coming director, such as "one of 10 female horror directors Blumhouse should hire" from The A.V. Club, as well as from author and film festival programmer Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, who stated that "...Izzy Lee... is going to be massive once she gets the break that she deserves" in Entertainment Weekly.

Lee often works with socio-political themes in horror and thrillers, as well as cult or weird genres. Lee's first short film, Legitimate, was released in 2013 and was partially inspired by Representative Todd Akin's comments about "legitimate" rape. The following year, Lee directed a trailer, Come Out and Play, for Christopher Golden's 2014 novel Snowblind. In 2015 Lee released Innsmouth, which was inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft, particularly The Shadow over Innsmouth. The short received some media attention for Lee's choice to feature a predominantly female cast, which she did in order to "make roll over in his grave a little by having the cast 98% female and switching the gender roles.” Her short film Re-Home (2019) started as a reaction to the promise of a wall built between the United States and Mexico. Lee has also tackled abuse within the Catholic Church with Rites of Vengeance (2017) and revenge porn with For A Good Time, Call... (2017).

In 2023, her short film, Meat Friend starring Marnie McKendry (daughter of fellow horror filmmakers Rebekah and David McKendry), Megan Duffy, and Steve Johanson, was nominated for Best Short by Fangoria for their annual Chainsaw Awards.

The filmmaker often casts other directors in her short films, such as: Gigi Saul Guerrero in Re-Home; Brea Grant and Daniel Isn't Real director, Adam Egypt Mortimer in My Monster; Silvia Graziano and The Ranger producer Heather Buckley in Rites of Vengeance; and Sophia Cacciola in Innsmouth. The author Bracken MacLeod provided the voiceover for the experimental, Werner Herzog-influenced The Obliteration of the Chickens (2019), while Lee herself narrated Disco Graveyard (2020).

Lee's debut feature, House of Ashes, premiered at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival in 2024.

Filmography

Year Film Director Writer Producer Actor Notes
2013 Legitimate Yes Yes Yes Yes Short film, as Masked Woman
2013 Ave Maria No No No Yes Short film
2014 Come Out and Play Yes Yes Yes No Short film
2014 Picket Yes Yes Yes No Short film
2014 Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling: Episode 15 - The Girl Who Was Death No No No Yes Video short, as Barfly
2015 Bring Us Your Women Yes Yes No Yes Segment "Arya Tara", Actress in segment "Sirens", as Persephone
2015 Invisible Friend Yes Yes Yes No Short film
2015 A Favor Yes Yes Yes No Short film
2015 Innsmouth Yes Yes Yes Yes Short film, as Izzy
2015 Postpartum Yes Yes Yes No Short film
2016 Grindsploitation Yes Yes No No Segment "John Smith"
2016 60 Seconds to Die Yes No No No Segment "Necrosis"
2016 Trinity No No No Yes as Tarot Card Reader Two
2017 For a Good Time, Call… Yes No Yes No Short film, written by Chris Hallock, shot by Bryan McKay, co-produced with Severin Films
2017 Rites of Vengeance Yes Yes Yes No Short film, co-produced with Mary McDonagh and Paul Furio
2018 My Monster Yes Yes Yes No Short film, co-produced with Richard Stringham
2019 Clickbait No No No Yes as Biology 433: Plant Taxonomy and Human Dissection student, Halloween Partier
2019 The Obliteration of the Chickens Yes Yes Yes No Short film
2020 Disco Graveyard Yes Yes Yes Yes Short film
2020 Consider the Titanic Yes Yes Yes No Music Video
2022 Meat Friend Yes Yes Yes No Short film
2022 Memento Mori Yes Yes Yes Yes Short film
2024 House of Ashes Yes Yes Yes Yes Feature film

References

  1. "Cinepocalypse 2019: Izzy Lee's 'Re-Home' – Short Film Review". Pop Horror.
  2. "THE SHORT FILMS OF IZZY LEE #2 (2019)". Cinedump.
  3. "INTVW: A SIX PACK OF NEW ENGLAND FILM-MAKING MASTER MINDS, PT.1". Icons of Fright. 2016-04-28. Archived from the original on 2020-04-04. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  4. "Interview with 'Innsmouth' Director Izzy Lee". Tom Holland's Terror Time. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  5. "Izzy Lee". Birth. Movies. Death.
  6. "Izzy Lee". Rue Morgue.
  7. ^ "NO-BUDGET NIGHTMARES: SHORT FILM ROUNDUP (IZZY LEE'S LEGITIMATE)". Daily Grindhouse. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  8. ^ Torretti, Barbara (2015-08-14). "Interview with actress, writer and director Izzy Lee". DarkVeins. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  9. "New England native Izzy Lee takes on the strange and unusual in her short films". WVCB5.
  10. Rife, Katie. "We rounded up 10 female horror directors for Jason Blum, who seems to have trouble finding them". The A.V. Club.
  11. "1000 Women in Horror author says book could have been ten times longer". Entertainment Weekly.
  12. "Writer/Directory Izzy Lee once again defies the "Genre Box" with the experimental short film, 'The Obliteration of the Chickens'". Hellbent for Horror.
  13. "THE SHORT FILMS OF IZZY LEE (2017)". Cinedump.
  14. Lee, Izzy (January 5, 2014). "Come Out and Play". YouTube. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  15. "Travel to Innsmouth for a Teaser and Some Stills". Dread Central. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  16. "INNSMOUTH (Short Film)". Starburst Magazine. Archived from the original on 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  17. "Izzy Lee puts a New Spin on Lovecraft with Short INNSMOUTH". Diabolique Magazine. 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  18. "Cinepocalypse 2019: Izzy Lee's 'Re-Home' – Short Film Review". Pop Horror.
  19. "RITES OF VENGEANCE: Short Film Review". SCREAM.
  20. "Short Film, Short Review: FOR A GOOD TIME, CALL..." Screen Anarchy.
  21. Malone, Stephanie. "13 Stellar Shorts From Genreblast 2022". Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  22. Melanson, Angel. "A Sentient Pile Of Murderous Hamburger Meat: Watch The MEAT FRIEND Teaser Now". Fangoria. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  23. Fassel, Preston. "[review] With 'memento Mori' And 'meat Friend,' Izzy Lee Ups Her Short Game- And Shows She Needs A Feature". Daily Grindhouse. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  24. Gilchrist, Todd (27 January 2023). "Jordan Peele's 'Nope,' Ti West's 'Pearl' Lead Fangoria's Chainsaw Award Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  25. "Gigi Saul Guerrero To Direct Orion Horror Thriller '10-31′". Deadline. 14 January 2020.
  26. "BRACKEN MACLEOD". Macmillan Publishers.
  27. "The Obliteration of the Chickens' (2019) Short Review". Pop Horror. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  28. Danielle, Tori. "[Short Film Review] DISCO GRAVEYARD". Nightmarish Conjurings. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  29. Lore, Justin. "BROOKLYN HORROR FILM FESTIVAL 2024: Izzy Lee's HOUSE OF ASHES". Cinepunx.
  30. Dolan, Patrick. "Review: Izzy Lee's new short A FAVOR". Rue Morgue. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  31. Unsworth, Martin. "A FAVOR (Short Film)". Starburst. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  32. Muller, Stuart. "FrightFest 2015 Review: A FAVOR Engenders Favour". Twitch Film. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  33. Villalpando, Tiffany (17 July 2015). "Favor, A (Short)". Dread Central. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  34. Hallam, Scott (8 September 2015). "Innsmouth (Short, 2015) (review)". Dread Central. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  35. Mueller, Stuart. "Review: POSTPARTUM. So, Speaking Of Six-Minute Emotional Roller Coasters". Twitch Film. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  36. Lidstone, David. "We review Izzy Lee's short horror film POSTPARTUM". Rue Morgue. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  37. XIII, Daniel (5 February 2022). "Short Film Review: Meat Friend (2022)". Horror Fuel.
  38. XIII, Daniel (5 May 2022). "Short Film Review: Memento Mori (2022)". Horror Fuel.
  39. Lore, Justin. "BROOKLYN HORROR FILM FESTIVAL 2024: Izzy Lee's HOUSE OF ASHES". Cinepunx.

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