Scarlett Amaris

Scarlett Amaris is an American-born screenwriter and author known for her work in the horror genre, including the film H.P. Lovecraft's Color Out of Space (2019), for which she was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Screenplay.[1][2] She has also authored dark fiction novels and contributed essays on the occult and witchcraft.[3]

A music video director, she has taught courses on mythology and witchcraft and has been a featured speaker at international conferences, including the Magickal Women Conference in London.[4][5][6]

Screenwriting career

Amaris began her screenwriting career with the horror anthology The Theatre Bizarre (2011), co-writing and serving as Second AD on the segment "Mother of Toads." She went on to co-write the award-winning documentary L'Autre Monde (The Otherworld) (2013)[7][8] and the science fiction horror film Replace (2017).[9]

Her highest-profile credit is H.P. Lovecraft's Color Out of Space (2019), directed by Richard Stanley and starring Nicolas Cage. The fifth version of Lovecraft's cosmic horror/body horror tale, which Amaris co-wrote with director Stanley version, updated and set in contemporary Arkham, became a cult horror hit, winning Best Horror Film at Fantastic Fest, Best Feature and Audience Choice at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, the Creative Coalition’s Spotlight Initiative Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Limited Release Film.[1][10][11][12][13][14]

Directing

Amaris directed the music video for "Nail Me Down" by artist Scarlett Seraphim (2024), shot by cinematographer Elle Schneider.[15] The video screened at the Austin Spotlight Film Festival, the Bogota Music Video Festival, and the Canberra Short Film Festival.[16][17] In 2025, it won Best Video Clip at the Etreum Horror Film Festival and was selected as a finalist at the Etheria Film Festival.[5]

Author

Amaris is co-author of the folk-horror series Saurimonde.[18] She has contributed essays to several publications, including three pieces for The Heretic Magazine (2015–2016): "Through a Kaleidoscope Darkly: The Enigmatic Life and Work of Irene Hillel-Erlanger," "On the Trail of the Tetramorph," and "Gloraie to the End of the World: The Apocalyptic Paintings of Juan Valdes Leal." She also contributed "The Mythology Behind the Popular Dark Fantasy Series Saurimonde" to the anthology Folk Horror Revival: Field Studies (2015).[3]

Lectures

Amaris has been a featured speaker at several international events, including the Magickal Women Conference in London (2019), the Making Magical Fiction Forum in London (2021), and Edgeways in London (2024, 2025, 2026).[4]

From 2009 to 2014, Amaris was in a relationship with cult horror director Richard Stanley, with whom she collaborated on several film projects, including L'Autre Monde (2013) and Color Out of Space (2019).

In October 2014, Amaris filed a report with French police documenting domestic violence. In December 2015, Stanley was issued a Rappel à la loi — a formal legal measure issued by a public prosecutor as an alternative to prosecution — by the public prosecutor in Foix, France.

Upon her return to the States, Amaris learned of other domestic violence charges against Stanley by other women, including one filed in February 2021. That case is currently pending trial in France.[19]

Amaris appeared in the 2024 documentary Shadowland, directed by Otso Tiainen, which chronicles the community surrounding Stanley in Montségur, France, and includes her account of the domestic violence case.[19][20][21] The film premiered at Beyond Fest and screened at the Imagine Filmfestival Amsterdam.[22]

References

  1. 1 2 Murphy, Timothy S. "Variations on visibility: 'The Color Out of Space' on Film". liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk. Liverpool University Press. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  2. ↑ "The 2019 Bram Stoker Award Winners". The Bram Stoker Awards. The Horror Writers Association. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Scarlett Amaris". The Heretic. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Scarlett Amaris". Magickal Women Conference. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Etreum Horror Film Fest's Post". Etreum Horror Film Fest Facebook. Etreum Horror Film Fest. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  6. ↑ Black, Emilie. "Writer, Music Video Director Scarlett Amaris Interview [Women In Horror Month 2025]". cinema-crazed.com. cinema-crazed. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  7. ↑ Brown, Todd. "Exclusive First Look At Richard Stanley's L'autre Monde". Screenanarchy.com. Screen Anarchy. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  8. ↑ Tremblay, Pat. "The Other World (L'Autre Monde)". Pattremblay.com. Pat Tremblay. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  9. ↑ Craze, Baron. "Replace (2017)". The Horror Times. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  10. ↑ "Color Out of Space". IMDb. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  11. ↑ Wampler, Scott. "Fantastic Fest 2019 Review: Color Out of Space Is A Goddamn Triumph". Birth Movies Death. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "Color Out of Space Wins Big at 24th Annual H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival, Plus All 2019 Award Winners!". HPLovecraft Film Festival. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Tsirbas, Christos. "Toronto: Nicolas Cage Tells Spotlight Initiative Awards Art Is "Healthiest Medicine". The Holly Reporter. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  14. ↑ Borders, Meredith. "A Full List of the 2021 Chainsaw Awards Winners!". Fangoria. Sangria. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "Nail Me Down by Scarlett Seraphim". IMDb. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  16. ↑ Schneider, Elle. "Nail Me Down". Elle Schneider. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "Austin Spotlight Film Fest 2024 Award Winners". Austin Film Festival. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "Scarlett Amaris". Folk Horror Revival. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  19. 1 2 Bradley, Laura. "Three Women Accuse Horror Director of Monstrous Abuse". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  20. ↑ Mack, Andrew. "BeyondFest 2024 Review: SHADOWLAND, Compelling, Infuriating, And Sobering". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  21. ↑ Wittemore, Liz. "'SHADOWLAND' (Beyond Fest 2024) A shapeshifting doc from filmmaker Otso Tiainen". Reelnewsdaily. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "Fest Sched". Imagine Film Festival. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
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