People love to be scared. They subject themselves to terror through movies, haunted houses and books, getting the scare they want without actually being in danger. Horror movies have existed since the late 1800s, starting with “The House of the Devil”. From the beginning of horror films, female actresses have stolen the show. From “Psycho” to “Pearl”, scream queens have been an integral part of the horror genre.
Fay Wray is considered the first scream queen with her role as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film, “King Kong”. Wray paved the way for women in horror as she was held aloft in a flowing silk dress by a giant gorilla.
Wray may be the first to be called a “scream queen”, but she was not the first woman to act in a horror film. That would be Jehanne D’Alcy who appeared in the first horror film, “The House of the Devil” as a woman conjured in a cauldron. This French silent film was only three minutes long, but started the horror movie genre.
When you think of “scream queens” of course you think of Janet Leigh screaming in the shower in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho”. Leigh’s performance changed the perception of women in horror as passive damsels in distress. Her legacy continues through her daughter and fellow scream queen, Jamie Lee Curtis.
Hitchcock’s 1963 film, “The Birds” features another iconic horror actress. Tippi Hendren played Melanie Daniels and is known for her iconic shot while driving her car in a green suit and white headscarf.
Scream queens include several different archetypes. There are the damsels in distress, the femme fatales and of course the final girls. Jamie Lee Curtis is considered the original final girl. Although, some may argue that the first final girl is Sally Hardesty from “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” portrayed by Marilyn Burns. However, Curtis made the final girl a slasher movie staple.
Curtis’s role as Laurie Strode in “Halloween” evolved this character type and changed how female characters were portrayed in horror media. Laurie does not die or just sit there and scream, she survives.
In the 90s and 2000s, the scream queen continued to evolve as horror movies such as Wes Craven’s “Scream” began to become self-aware in its subject matter. Neve Campbell portrayed Sidney Prescott, the original final girl of the “Scream” franchise. Her character evolved the final girl by having her be aware of the kind of situation she was put against with the franchise’s antagonist, Ghostface.
This self-referentical quality isn’t necessarily essential when it comes to being a final girl or scream queen. However, this adds a sort of agency to the character that is equipped with most final girl characters.
Recently we have seen the arrival of several newer scream queens. Mia Goth claimed her crown as Maxine Minx and Pearl in the “X” trilogy. She portrayed not only Maxine, but the old woman Pearl in the first movie and her younger self in the sequel, “Pearl”. Pearl is definitely not a damsel in distress, being the movie’s protagonist and villain as she takes her axe against anyone who gets in the way of her dream of being a star.
Starting off as a Disney channel actress, Jenna Ortega has made a big change from “Stuck in the Middle”. Now having been in several horror films including the 2022 remake of “Scream” and “X”. She also is playing Wednesday Addams in the spinoff series of “The Addams Family”, “Wednesday”.
Scream queens started off as scared women in beautiful flowing dresses. Now, we have dangerous women (also in pretty dresses) who are the ones doing the scaring. Still, without characters like Ann Darrow we would not have Laurie Strode. Women make up a lot of horror history, and thanks to these actresses we can sit home and be scared, throw our popcorn in fright and root for Pearl to get that acting job.