Karyn Kusama

I think that there's something about short films that just kind of keeps your muscles sharp.

— Karyn Kusama

I think my narrative is actually pretty interesting if I step back from it and don't engage too much in it, personally…

— Karyn Kusama

When horror films are made in times of political strife, I think they're not made with an instinct to add to the…

— Karyn Kusama

I grew up in the Midwest. I understand a sense of the small-town mentality, small-town social politics.

— Karyn Kusama

I was lucky to work with Gamechanger Films, who are a consortium of investors financing films directed by women. This is a…

— Karyn Kusama

There are times when I'm kind of anti-social, I'm just really shy, and I don't feel like I fit in, and I…

— Karyn Kusama

Making movies, even though it's a business, is also an art, and sometimes you don't hit the bull's-eye.

— Karyn Kusama

Our society is constantly creating this framework for girls to feel that their only worth is their appearance, and it's damaging on…

— Karyn Kusama

I've been asked countless times, 'Why are you drawn to horror films? Why do you think women are drawn to horror films?'…

— Karyn Kusama

To me, the thing that sets us apart from so many other animal species is our ability to ask questions, investigate, gather…

— Karyn Kusama

I have had to really grapple with the fact that, while I wish things could be different at times, I ultimately needed…

— Karyn Kusama

I think we forget that part of parenthood means having to face and reject or face and embrace a kind of animal…

— Karyn Kusama

I want people to leave the theater wrestling with the idea that our pain - physical, emotional, and spiritual pain - is…

— Karyn Kusama

Pain in all its forms is also a message, a kind of distress signal to our hearts and minds. There are times…

— Karyn Kusama

For me, I guess I feel like the notion of 'feel good' entertainment... I'm all for it, but I just think you…

— Karyn Kusama

Horror, almost better than any of the other genres, pits the will to live against the will toward nihilism. I just think…

— Karyn Kusama

Claire Denis's 'Beau Travail' is one of Denis's greatest achievements. One of the most mysterious and beautiful endings in movies.

— Karyn Kusama

I feel like, generally, the golden eras of cinema seem to be in moments of incredible political turmoil and strife and struggle.

— Karyn Kusama

A lot of the best suspense operates on a careful withholding of information as opposed to the doling out of information.

— Karyn Kusama

I'm ultimately drawn to film many kinds of stories if they are sort of about unlocking the secrets of our human potential.

— Karyn Kusama

For me, I feel like I don't see myself as all that different from other humans as a woman, but I'm surprised…

— Karyn Kusama

I would love to take another stab at really smart, speculative sci-fi - my first was a bit of a stumble. I…

— Karyn Kusama

I am honored and lucky to be one of the first films funded by Gamechanger Films, a consortium of investors who finance…

— Karyn Kusama

It's hard to prep a movie in five days and shoot it in five days and cut it in barely any time.…

— Karyn Kusama

I think there's a reason why some companies have such dismal records. It's not because they're clueless; it's because they systematically don't…

— Karyn Kusama

I understand the power of sorrow, and I understand how far it can take us from ourselves if we let it.

— Karyn Kusama

What might the world look like if we took some chances on the film-makers we might be afraid of?

— Karyn Kusama

What I do think is really interesting is that, as I get older and more mature, I'm really attuned to how frightening…

— Karyn Kusama

To me, sound is a crucial component to, really, any moviegoing experience, but particularly with suspense films or thrillers. I think you…

— Karyn Kusama

I feel like I don't see myself as all that different from other humans as a woman, but I'm surprised by how…

— Karyn Kusama

It is important to know what audiences might expect from their genre movies, but I think it is also important to not…

— Karyn Kusama

Making 'The Invitation' and waiting to make it on my terms and getting final cut and doing it the way I needed…

— Karyn Kusama

Sometimes you realize that the thing an actor is asking for isn't exactly the thing they want. Maybe they're asking for more…

— Karyn Kusama

Along with loving the script, the reason I did 'Aeon Flux' was because I needed the job, and I couldn't find $5…

— Karyn Kusama

I get why we don't want to be in pain, but there's something very essential about what happens when we're in pain…

— Karyn Kusama

Day-to-day concerns really trumped big dreams for quite a while in my life. I was so freaked out about money. And until,…

— Karyn Kusama

I feel a kinship to the idea of beloved stories and beloved pieces of art that we can imagine in different ways…

— Karyn Kusama

The people in the decision-making positions need to be thinking differently about who to hire, and looking more unsparingly at their choices.…

— Karyn Kusama

Sci-fi and horror, particularly, allow a storyteller to depart from, let's say, the demands of cinema verite or kitchen-sink realism or, even,…

— Karyn Kusama

For better and for worse, I feel like sorrow and grief are really transformative personal experiences for me, and I question what…

— Karyn Kusama