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. she also writes fiction.
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 studied filmmaking through Sundance’s films festivals, and started her filmmaking career in Massachusetts. She was first a journalist and copywriter, 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 [Lovecraft] 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 Notes2013Legitimate Short film, as Masked Woman2013Ave Maria Short film2014Come Out and Play Short film2014Picket Short film2014Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling: Episode 15 - The Girl Who Was DeathVideo short, as Barfly2015Bring Us Your WomenSegment "Arya Tara", Actress in segment "Sirens", as Persephone2015Invisible Friend Short film2015A Favor Short film2015Innsmouth Short film, as Izzy2015Postpartum Short film2016GrindsploitationSegment "John Smith"201660 Seconds to DieSegment "Necrosis"2016Trinity as Tarot Card Reader Two2017For a Good Time, Call…Short film, written by Chris Hallock, shot by Bryan McKay, co-produced with Severin Films2017Rites of VengeanceShort film, co-produced with Mary McDonagh and Paul Furio2018My MonsterShort film, co-produced with Richard Stringham2019Clickbaitas Biology 433: Plant Taxonomy and Human Dissection student, Halloween Partier2019The Obliteration of the ChickensShort film2020Disco GraveyardShort film2020Consider the TitanicMusic Video2022Meat FriendShort film2022Memento MoriShort film2024House of AshesFeature film
References
External links
Interview at (re)Search My Trash Interview at Cinedelphia Interview at Women in Horror Month Interview at Cinema Crazed