| Izzy Lee | |
| Alma Mater: | Massachusetts College of Art and Design |
| Occupation: | Filmmaker, director, producer, actor, writer |
Izzy Lee is an American filmmaker and writer, known for her short films Re-Home (2019),[1] The Obliteration of the Chickens (2019),[2] My Monster (2018), and Innsmouth, which she produced through her company Nihil Noctem.[3] [4] She has written for multiple outlets such as Birth.Movies.Death,[5] Rue Morgue,[6] 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.[7] 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.[8] 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,[9] 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.[10]
Lee often works with socio-political themes in horror and thrillers, as well as cult or weird genres.[11] [12] 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.[13] In 2015 Lee released Innsmouth, which was inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft, particularly The Shadow over Innsmouth.[14] [15] 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.”[16] Her short film Re-Home (2019) started as a reaction to the promise of a wall built between the United States and Mexico.[17] Lee has also tackled abuse within the Catholic Church with Rites of Vengeance (2017)[18] and revenge porn with For A Good Time, Call... (2017).[19]
In 2023, her short film, Meat Friend[20] starring Marnie McKendry[21] (daughter of fellow horror filmmakers Rebekah and David McKendry),[22] Megan Duffy, and Steve Johanson, was nominated for Best Short by Fangoria for their annual Chainsaw Awards.[23]
The filmmaker often casts other directors in her short films, such as: Gigi Saul Guerrero[24] 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[25] provided the voiceover for the experimental, Werner Herzog-influenced The Obliteration of the Chickens (2019),[26] while Lee herself narrated Disco Graveyard (2020).[27]
| Year | Film | Director | Writer | Producer | Actor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Legitimate | Short film, as Masked Woman[28] | ||||
| 2013 | Ave Maria | Short film | ||||
| 2014 | Come Out and Play | Short film | ||||
| 2014 | Picket | Short film | ||||
| 2014 | Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling: Episode 15 - The Girl Who Was Death | Video short, as Barfly | ||||
| 2015 | Bring Us Your Women | Segment "Arya Tara", Actress in segment "Sirens", as Persephone | ||||
| 2015 | Invisible Friend | Short film | ||||
| 2015 | A Favor | Short film[29] [30] [31] [32] | ||||
| 2015 | Innsmouth | Short film, as Izzy[33] | ||||
| 2015 | Postpartum | Short film[34] [35] | ||||
| 2016 | Grindsploitation | Segment "John Smith" | ||||
| 2016 | 60 Seconds to Die | Segment "Necrosis" | ||||
| 2016 | Trinity | as Tarot Card Reader Two | ||||
| 2017 | For a Good Time, Call… | Short film, written by Chris Hallock, shot by Bryan McKay, co-produced with Severin Films | ||||
| 2017 | Rites of Vengeance | Short film, co-produced with Mary McDonagh and Paul Furio | ||||
| 2018 | My Monster | Short film, co-produced with Richard Stringham | ||||
| 2019 | Clickbait | as Biology 433: Plant Taxonomy and Human Dissection student, Halloween Partier | ||||
| 2019 | The Obliteration of the Chickens | Short film | ||||
| 2020 | Disco Graveyard | Short film | ||||
| 2020 | Consider the Titanic | Music Video | ||||
| 2022 | Meat Friend[36] | Short film | ||||
| 2022 | Memento Mori[37] | Short film | ||||