Female-driven plot lines have led the horror genre in Hollywood, from the “final girl” trope to “scream queens”.
For every Michael Myers there is a Laurie Strode and for every Ghostface there is a Sidney Prescott. The shrieking screams of a woman are vital to horror movies.
With new actresses like Jenna Ortega being dubbed this generation’s scream queen, the role isn’t something new in Hollywood.
Ortega started her acting career with “Stuck in the Middle” a Disney channel show, her first taste of a role in a horror movie was in “Insidious: Chapter 2”.
Ortega is taking the horror genre by storm and ready to be this generation’s scream queen, with her performance in “Scream” (2022), and “X” (2022). Her streak of horror continues with her role of Wednesday Addams in the new “Wednesday” series.
Modern horror has allowed women to be front and center in films instead of side characters.
New Scream Queens:
A24, an entertainment company, has been bringing new scream queens to the big screen.
Mia Goth has received praise for her performance in “Pearl” (2022) and X (2022) where she starred alongside Ortega.
Toni Collette has been a staple in Hollywood but she knocked out her performance in “Hereditary” (2018) that leaves viewers with a haunting scream.
“Bodies Bodies Bodies” (2022) is a satirical horror where the main group is female and focuses on the modern complex female relationships and the horrors of it.
The new horror era has revived old beloved movies like “Scream”(1996) and “Halloween” (1978) bringing back the original scream queens.
Hollywood has loved screen queens in horror movies, their scream factor has been traced in movies since 1993.
OG Scream Queens:
Fay Wray is known as one of the early scream queens, her damsel-in-distress performance in “King Kong” (1933) is the driving force for scream queen roles to be a vital part in the horror genre.
Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” (1960) showcases Janet Leigh’s famed scream when she becomes a shower stabbing victim. This 45-second shower murder is one of the most famous scenes in Hollywood, Leigh’s performance is one of the most notable scream queens in an early slasher film.
Leigh’s daughter Jamie Lee Curtis, has been crowned as the scream queen, with her constant faceoff with Michael Myers in the “Halloween” (1978) franchise. In the newest sequel trilogy, “Halloween Ends” (2022) Curtis says goodbye to her boogeyman and playing her iconic character that crowned her the title of “scream queen”, Laurie Strode.
With the new era of horror, the old scream queens get a break to let shining stars like Ortega take care of the new generations of scream queens and final girls.
Who is your favorite scream queen? Let us know @HerCampusSJSU!