When you’re a monumentally talented actress, there are all kinds of roles that can let you truly shine. But something fascinating has happened in recent years: horror has become the ultimate resume highlight.
And with Halloween approaching, we thought we’d compile a list of Hollywood’s scream queens— not only are they the finest performers of their generation, but they’re capable of scaring us to death whilst turning out Oscar-worthy turns in some truly terrifying flicks.
Jenna Ortega
It’s impossible to ignore Jenna Ortega’s stratospheric rise. You may have first clocked her in X, Ty West’s 2022 cult horror hit about a bunch of aspiring adult filmmakers who decide to shoot their movie in a creepy house in the middle of nowhere (huge mistake). Jenna’s role was a supporting one, but she turned heads, and before long was the star of Wednesday, the Tim Burton-helmed Adams Family TV series with Jenna as the titular lead. Her devastatingly deadpan energy was a perfect fit for Wednesday and is equally well-used in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, where she plays the daughter of Winona Ryder’s iconic character from the original. Ortega’s decidedly cool exterior hides a sharp, intelligent performer whose career is clearly going places.
Winona RyderWinona is an absolute legend. Not just for playing the iconic unflappable it-girl of horror in the original Beetlejuice, nor for reprising the role in the new and brilliant sequel. But for countless other scream-worthy turns. Joyce Byers, in the groundbreaking smash-hit Stranger Things, where she went from scared mum to hero over the course of four riveting seasons. She starred opposite Keanu in Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula. She blew us away in Heathers. And in another quirky horror slash feelgood Tim Burton outing, Edward Scissorhands, she absolutely broke our hearts. You truly can’t spell Winona without “win”.
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is one of the OG scream queens, perhaps THE scream queen. First off, her mum was Janet Leigh (from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho - a family connection which helped nab her the role). Secondly, she’s broken records by playing Laurie Strode, the heroine from the Halloween films, seven times (eight, if you count a brief voice cameo in Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which we do). Laurie is an utterly captivating scream queen - she’s a survivor, sure, but Curtis brings real heft and emotional depth to the role, over and over again. In fact, the most recent trilogy might be her best work as Laurie to date. Fun fact: she starred in Freaky Friday, but in spite of what the name would imply? Not a horror film!
Mia Goth
Remember when we mentioned X earlier on? Well, the roaring, screaming, pounding heart of that film is Mia Goth, one of the finest actors of this generation. She plays the lead in X - in fact, she plays both leads. An aspiring adult film actress named Maxine, and an elderly woman named Pearl. She went on to play Pearl in the genuinely disturbing prequel, Pearl, and reprised her role as Maxine in Maxxxine, a threequel set in the nineteen eighties. Mia’s credentials as a scream queen come down to many things - her oddly ageless quality, her ability to turn on a dime, and her performative intensity. But honestly, she’s able to scare the crap out of audiences, and that’s a rare thing. So if you’re up for a Halloween movie marathon and have the stomach for it, Mia’s got you covered
Vera Farmiga
It must be odd for fans of Vera - of which there are many - to go from her role as a young mother of Norman Bates in the Psycho TV series, Bates Motel, to her role as the ultimate goodie of the horror genre in the Conjuring series. Vera has an immediate ability to infuse characters with likeability, believability and compassion, which makes her portrayal of Lorraine Warren one-of-a-kind. Honestly, The Conjuring and its various multitude of sequels and spinoffs are, in part, so damned good because Vera brings a really special quality to Lorraine. She screams, sure. And does she get scared? Yes. But she also prevails more often than not, and she’s almost criminally likeable (we stan her and Patrick Wilson’s Ed Warren so hard it’s not funny).
The best thing about all of these scream queens? They can act the house down. They take a genre which can be a bit too goofy and camp for some, and they elevate it into the realm of true cinema. So if you’re up for a slightly elevated Halloween experience… just scream, queen.