Izzy Lee
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.[7][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 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] Her short film Re-Home (2019) started as a reaction to the promise of a wall built between the United States and Mexico.[13] Lee has also tackled abuse within the Catholic Church with Rites of Vengeance (2017)[14] and revenge porn with For A Good Time, Call... (2017).[15]
The filmmaker often casts other directors in her short films, such as: Gigi Saul Guerrero[16] 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[17] provided the voiceover for the experimental, Werner Herzog-influenced The Obliteration of the Chickens (2019), while Lee herself narrated Disco Graveyard (2020).
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][8] She initially started as an actor and writer, but branched out into filmmaking in order to "see if I could do it".[8] Lee's first short film, Legitimate, was released in 2013 and was partially inspired by Representative Todd Akin's comments about "legitimate" rape.[7] The following year Lee directed a trailer, Come Out and Play, for Christopher Golden's 2014 novel Snowblind.[18] In 2015 Lee released Innsmouth, which was inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft, particularly The Shadow over Innsmouth.[19][20] 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.”[21]
Filmography[]
Year | Film | Director | Writer | Producer | Actor | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | Legitimate | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short film, as Masked Woman[7] |
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[22][23][24][25] |
2015 | Innsmouth | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short film, as Izzy[26] |
2015 | Postpartum | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Short film[27][28] |
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 |
References[]
- ^ "Cinepocalypse 2019: Izzy Lee's 'Re-Home' – Short Film Review". Pop Horror.
- ^ "THE SHORT FILMS OF IZZY LEE #2 (2019)". Cinedump.
- ^ "INTVW: A SIX PACK OF NEW ENGLAND FILM-MAKING MASTER MINDS, PT.1". Icons of Fright. 2016-04-28. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
- ^ "Interview with 'Innsmouth' Director Izzy Lee". Tom Holland's Terror Time. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
- ^ "Izzy Lee". Birth. Movies. Death.
- ^ "Izzy Lee". Rue Morgue.
- ^ a b c d "NO-BUDGET NIGHTMARES: SHORT FILM ROUNDUP (IZZY LEE'S LEGITIMATE)". Daily Grindhouse. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ a b c Torretti, Barbara (2015-08-14). "Interview with actress, writer and director Izzy Lee". DarkVeins. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
- ^ Rife, Katie. "We rounded up 10 female horror directors for Jason Blum, who seems to have trouble finding them". The A.V. Club.
- ^ "1000 Women in Horror author says book could have been ten times longer". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ "Writer/Directory Izzy Lee once again defies the "Genre Box" with the experimental short film, 'The Obliteration of the Chickens'". Hellbent for Horror.
- ^ "THE SHORT FILMS OF IZZY LEE (2017)". Cinedump.
- ^ "Cinepocalypse 2019: Izzy Lee's 'Re-Home' – Short Film Review". Pop Horror.
- ^ "RITES OF VENGEANCE: Short Film Review". SCREAM.
- ^ "Short Film, Short Review: FOR A GOOD TIME, CALL..." Screen Anarchy.
- ^ "Gigi Saul Guerrero To Direct Orion Horror Thriller '10-31′". Deadline.
- ^ "BRACKEN MACLEOD". Macmillan Publishers.
- ^ Lee, Izzy (January 5, 2014). "Come Out and Play". YouTube. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ "Travel to Innsmouth for a Teaser and Some Stills". Dread Central. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
- ^ "INNSMOUTH (Short Film)". Starburst Magazine. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
- ^ "Izzy Lee puts a New Spin on Lovecraft with Short INNSMOUTH". Diabolique Magazine. 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
- ^ Dolan, Patrick. "Review: Izzy Lee's new short A FAVOR". Rue Morgue. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- ^ Unsworth, Martin. "A FAVOR (Short Film)". Starburst. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- ^ Muller, Stuart. "FrightFest 2015 Review: A FAVOR Engenders Favour". Twitch Film. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- ^ Villalpando, Tiffany. "Favor, A (Short)". Dread Central. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- ^ Hallam, Scott. "Innsmouth (Short, 2015) (review)". Dread Central. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ Mueller, Stuart. "Review: POSTPARTUM. So, Speaking Of Six-Minute Emotional Roller Coasters". Twitch Film. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- ^ Lidstone, David. "We review Izzy Lee's short horror film POSTPARTUM". Rue Morgue. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
External links[]
- American film directors
- American film producers
- American women screenwriters
- 21st-century American actresses
- Living people
- American women film producers