By Ariel Messman-Rucker

Mary Lambert began her directorial career making music videos, but we can imagine at least some of the artists she had to work with were pretty horrifying. She was behind many of Madonna’s iconic videos, including “Like a Virgin,” “Material Girl” and “Like a Prayer,” but has also been brought in by various other acts, such as Chris Isaak, Sting, Janet Jackson and even Mötley Crüe!

So, what is she doing on our lists of Diabolical Dames?

Mary Lambert is also an accomplished horror director, who made her debut in the genre with one of my very favorite fright flicks, 1989’s Pet Semetary, based on the novel by master horror author Stephen King. How she managed to get the little boy (Miko Hughes) who played Gage to be so convincingly evil, I don’t know—”First I play with mommy, Then Judd came—We had an awful good time—now I want to pay with you!” Shudder!

Lambert’s made multiple flicks since, and her next, a vampire western called High Midnight, is due this year. After that comes Hydrophobia, which is also planned for 2010. It’s about a killer zombie mermaid played by Asian actress Bai Ling and it’s … in 3-D! I sense a ZG double feature!

Genre Cred: Pet Semetary (1989), Tales from the Crypt episode “Collection Completed” (1989), Pet Semetary II (1992), Face of Evil (1996), Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge (2001), Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2006), The Attic (2008), The Dark Path Chronicles (2008), High Midnight (in production) and Hydrophobia (in development)