{"id":700903,"date":"2026-04-09T11:22:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/numero.com\/?p=700903"},"modified":"2026-04-09T15:23:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T13:23:37","slug":"why-do-scream-queens-in-horror-movies-fascinate-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/numero.com\/en\/culture-en\/movies\/why-do-scream-queens-in-horror-movies-fascinate-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do scream queens in horror movies fascinate us?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Jenna\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Jenna Ortega starring in
Scream<\/em> (2022) \u00a9 Paramount Pictures Germany.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For some, <\/span>Scream Queens<\/i><\/strong> (2015\u20132016) simply refers to the satirical horror series created by Ryan Murphy<\/strong> and available on Disney+, starring Emma Roberts<\/strong>, Keke Palmer<\/strong>, andLea Michele<\/strong>. Just like the “final girl”, the last survivor in a slasher \u2014 a film where a killer takes out victims one by one \u2014 the scream queen<\/strong> is a central figure in horror cinema.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scream queen, a key figure in horror cinema<\/b><\/h2><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Scream queens are female protagonists in horror films who are relentlessly pursued by the main villain of the story. For most of the movie, they are hunted, terrified, in distress, and letting out piercing screams that must sound as realistic as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strangely enough, this captivating figure emerged early with silent films in the 1920s. But everyone generally agreed that actress Fay Wray<\/strong> was the first true scream queen, thanks to her role as a woman held captive by a love-struck gorilla in <\/span>King Kong<\/span><\/i> (1933).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sydney\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Sydney Sweeney starring in
 Immacul\u00e9e<\/em> (2024) \u00a9 Capelight pictures OHG.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The curse of horror movie actresses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the 1950s and 1960s, a few actresses became known for their screams, especially the heroines in Hitchcock<\/strong> films. But it was in the 1970s and 1980s that scream queens truly made a breakthrough. In B-movies, they were portrayed as psychologically fragile victims with half of their clothes off. Their characters were often bimbos that were easy prey because of their general lack of cunning as the monster or killer pursued them.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marilyn Burns (<\/span>The Texas Chainsaw Massacre<\/span><\/i>), Sandra Cassel (<\/span>The Last House on the Left<\/span><\/i>), Brinke Stevens (The <\/em><\/span>Slumber Party Massacre<\/span><\/i>), Olivia Hussey (<\/span>Black Christmas<\/span><\/i>), giallo film heroine Daria Nicolodi (Dario Argento<\/strong>\u2019s wife and Asia Argento<\/strong>\u2019s mother, another scream queen), and Linnea Quigley (<\/span>The Return of the Living Dead<\/span><\/i>) were among the most notable scream queens of that era. Some actresses also led tragic lives, echoing the roles they played in horror films. Linda Blair<\/strong>, star of the cult classic <\/span>The Exorcist<\/span><\/i> (1973) by William Friedkin, saw her career derailed after a drug-related arrest in 1977 at just 18 years old. Hollywood never truly forgave her misstep. Are scream queens cursed?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

American actress Shelley Duvall, <\/strong>who recently passed away, found the filming of <\/span>The Shining<\/i><\/strong> (1980) by Stanley Kubrick<\/a> so intense that it took her years to go back on set. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jamie\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Jamie Lee Curtis starring in
Halloween<\/em> (1978) \u00a9 Splendor Films.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jamie Lee Curtis: the quintessential scream queen of the 1970s and 1980s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But if one scream queen were to be remembered from that era, it would be American actress Jamie Lee Curtis<\/strong>, who starred in <\/span>Halloween<\/i><\/strong> (1978), <\/span>The Fog<\/i><\/strong> (1980), and <\/span>Prom Night<\/i><\/strong> (1980). She was the daughter of Janet Leigh, who was herself famous for her shrieking in Alfred Hitchcock\u2019s <\/span>Psycho<\/i><\/strong> (1960). With her androgynous looks and charisma, Jamie Lee Curtis completely reinvented the scream queen image, giving it more depth, intelligence, and strength. While the original <\/span>Halloween<\/span><\/i> (1978) was criticized for being sexist, since the victims were girls deemed \u201ceasy lay\u201d, the actress fiercely defended her character, pointing out that she stands up to the terrifying Michael Myers. Therefore, she is a powerful woman.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith #MeToo, women are finally being heard and Laurie is a symbol of their fight.<\/em>\u201d Jamie Lee Curtis<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, while starring in yet another instalment of <\/span>Halloween<\/span><\/i>, Jamie Lee Curtis told the newspaper <\/span>20 Minutes<\/span><\/i> about her character Laurie Strode: \u201cLaurie is a strong woman who tried to prepare her daughter and granddaughter for Michael\u2019s return but failed to convince them.\u201d <\/em>The <\/span>True Lies<\/span><\/em> (1994) heroine even added: \u201cWith #MeToo, women are finally being heard and Laurie is a symbol of their fight. I don\u2019t want my character to be seen as a victim<\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The downside of the actress’s powerful performance as the brave Laurie Strode? She remained associated with her scream queen image for years before expanding her acting range<\/span>. Ultimately<\/span>, she won the 2023 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as a tax auditor in the comedy <\/span>Everything Everywhere All at Once<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Neve Campbell starring in
Scream 4<\/em> (2011) \u00a9 SND.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Neve Campbell and the heroines of the Scream<\/em> saga: increasingly feminist figures<\/b><\/h2><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the 1990s, a true shift occurred regarding the scream queen archetype. While she initially appeared as a helpless, fragile little thing in both the literal and figurative sense, the Buffy<\/strong> era changed the game. During that decade, legendary screaming heroines emerged, like Laura Palmer<\/strong> (<\/span>Twin Peaks<\/i><\/strong> by David Lynch<\/strong>) or the leads in <\/span>I Know What You Did Last Summer<\/span><\/i> (1997) with Sarah Michelle Gellar<\/strong> and Jennifer Love Hewitt<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the real turning point was largely thanks to the heroines of the <\/span>Scream<\/i><\/strong> saga, whose first instalment dates back to 1996. It is true that the fact that the girls who have active sex lives and party are the first to die in this cult slasher series may seem sexist. As in nearly all slashers, the final girl<\/strong> survives because she remains a virgin and \u201cpure\u201d. But the franchise offsets these misogynistic tropes by offering characters with far more depth than just sexy victims wearing mini skirts and drinking too much.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new take on the “final girl”<\/b><\/h2><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Take the badass Neve Campbell<\/strong> in the role of Sidney Prescott. An inspiring heroine who fights back fiercely, confronts the killer with a weapon, and answers him with sarcasm. Everyone remembers the words exchanged between <\/span>The Craft<\/span><\/i> actress and Ghostface:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“- Are you alone in the house?<\/em><\/span>
– Randy that’s so unoriginal. I\u2019m disappointed in you<\/em>.<\/span>
– Maybe that\u2019s because I\u2019m not Randy<\/em>.”<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also Courteney Cox<\/strong> (<\/span>Friends<\/span><\/i>) who portrays a combative, smart and resilient tabloid journalist. More recently, in <\/span>Scream 6<\/span><\/i> (2023), we saw two bold and smart rising scream queens \u2014 Jenna Ortega<\/a>, star of the <\/span>Wednesday<\/i><\/strong> series, and Melissa Barrera<\/strong> (<\/span>Carmen<\/span><\/i><\/a>), perfectly in tune with a new generation that embraces girl power. It’s worth noting that the <\/span>Scream<\/span><\/i> saga features many other iconic scream queens, even if some play up the pin-up clich\u00e9: Drew Barrymore<\/strong>, Rose McGowan<\/strong>, and Sarah Michelle Gellar<\/strong> among others.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sophie\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Sophie Thatcher for the premiere of Yellowjackets in Los Angeles, on March 22nd, 2023. Photo by Michael Buckner\/Variety via Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jenna Ortega, Anya Taylor-Joy, Mia Goth\u2026 A new generation of inspiring horror heroines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Today, the scream queen figure seems less superficial than it was from the 1920s to the 1970s. However, it still lacks diversity. Indeed, the horror film protagonist is almost always slim and white, aside from Jordan Peele<\/strong>\u2019s films<\/a> and a few exceptions, such as Jada Pinkett Smith<\/strong> in <\/span>Scream 2<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the scream queens who have left the strongest impression in recent years, many possess unusual beauty, in tune with the gothic universes of some film directors. It is the case for Anya Taylor-Joy<\/a> <\/strong>(<\/span>The Witch<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Last Night in Soho<\/span><\/i>), Mia Goth<\/a> <\/strong>(<\/span>Suspiria<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>X<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Pearl<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>MaXXXine<\/span><\/i>), Jenna Ortega<\/strong><\/a> (<\/span>Insidious: Chapter 2<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Scream 6<\/span><\/i>),Sophie Thatcher<\/strong> (<\/span>Heretic<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Yellowjackets<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>MaXXXine<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Companion<\/span><\/i>), and Maika Monroe<\/strong> (<\/span>Longlegs<\/span><\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other stars of bloody cinema? One could name Sarah Paulson<\/strong> (<\/span>American Horror Story<\/span><\/i>), Lupita Nyong\u2019o<\/strong> (<\/span>Little Monsters<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Us<\/span><\/i>), Victoria Pedretti (<\/span>The Haunting of Hill House<\/span><\/i>), Riley Keough<\/strong> (<\/span>Kiss of the Damned<\/span><\/i>), Emma Roberts (<\/span>Scream 4<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>American Horror Story<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Scream Queens<\/span><\/i>), Melissa Barrera<\/strong> (<\/span>Scream 6<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Abigail<\/span><\/i>), Allison Williams (<\/span>M3GAN<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Get Out<\/span><\/i>), Samara Weaving (<\/span>Ready or Not<\/span><\/i>), Naomi Scott (<\/span>Smile 2<\/span><\/i>), and Chlo\u00eb Grace Moretz (<\/span>The Amityville Horror<\/span><\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Maika Monroe starring in the film
Longlegs<\/em> (2024) by Oz Perkins \u00a9 Neon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Maika Monroe, Sydney Sweeney and Sophie Thatcher: rising scream queens<\/b><\/h2><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Recently, the stunning Bond girl Olga Kurylenko<\/strong> also takes on the role of scream queen in the horror thriller <\/span>Other<\/span><\/i>, coming out on July 9th, 2025. Madelyn Cline<\/strong>, Chase Sui Wonders, and Gabbriette<\/a><\/strong> are keeping the tradition alive in <\/span>I Know What You Did Last Summe<\/strong>r<\/span><\/i>, released on July 16th, 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, singer and actress Addison Rae<\/a><\/strong> is among the screaming victims of a serial killer in the series Monster: The Ed Gein Story<\/strong><\/em>, available on Netflix since September 2025. Euphoria<\/em> star Sydney Sweeney<\/a><\/strong> was even categorised as a scream queen for her performance in the film Immaculate<\/strong><\/em> (2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Une publication partag\u00e9e par Addison (@addisonraee)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>