Ranking the greatest scream queens in film history
From Linda Blair to Neve Campbell, from Janet Leigh to Mia Goth, here are the women (and sometimes the girls) who made an indelible mark on horror movies
Film Features Scream
Whether they’re called scream queens, final girls, or some other variation on the term, the actresses who face off against horror’s most frightening creatures are most of all survivors—of the legacy of the films in which they have appeared, if not always in the films themselves. For every Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, or Freddy Krueger, there’s at least one performer—typically female—who lives long enough to win moviegoers’ hearts, even after theirs has been excavated, quite rudely, from their chest. They’re our proxies, our objects of affection, and sometimes our best selves, not simply enduring but prevailing over forces that frequently seem too evil or powerful to defeat.
With all deference and respect to the amazing Barbara Crampton (and any other performers who prefer not to be called by this would-be term of esteem—they are considered royalty, after all), The A.V. Club has decided to rank the greatest scream queens of all time. Some of these are the people for whom the name was invented, and some have been instrumental in redefining it for new generations; but if they made this list, it’s because their work on screen has become synonymous with—and in some cases, has surpassed—the monsters they’ve faced.
This article originally published on October 18, 2022
73 Comments
Maika Monroe is waaaaaaay too low on this list. Even if she had only done It Follows she’d rate higher than Drew, but her catalogue of horror/thriller flicks stands pretty tall.
Notable omissions: Jessica Rothe (the Happy Death Day movies are a blast), Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps).
^This guy knows what’s up.
Monroe is fantastic, and Isabelle shoud have easily made the list. Rothe is really good, but I have a hard time accepting someone as a “scream queen” when they’ve only played the same role in a single franchise (like Neve Campbell or Jennifer Love Hewitt).
The performances in the Ginger Snaps movies are really great. Emily Perkins is just as good as Katharine Isabelle, and Tatiana Maslany as Ghost in the 2nd one is arguably even better
I agree about the performances of Perkins and Maslany. But Isabelle is the one with better genre credits outside of the Ginger Snaps movies (Freddy vs. Jason, American Mary, Disturbing Behavior, X-Files, etc).
Yes, for sure.
Went back to rewatch the Rob Zombie Halloween movies lately, and Scout Taylor-Compton should be high on this list. She was pretty incredible.
The Star of “You’re next” belongs on this list! She kicked fucking ass!And as someone said above, Jessica Rothe for sure also belongs on this list.
Sharni Vinson, the only other things I’ve seen her in are one of the Step Up films and Guardians of Justice, an odd Netflix live-action/animation hybrid that’s basically a retelling of the Justice League (as in the comic book characters, not the film specifically).I’ve no idea why You’re Next didn’t propel her to much greater heights.
Thanks, yeah she was great in You’re Next. I mean it was a horror movie but she made it seem like an action movie.
She was a regular on the Australian soap Home and Away for 3 years (around the same time Chris Hemsworth was in it).
How is SMG not in the top 10?
true, I don’t love The Grudge but I still think Gellar made it memorable. And Hoovephonic playing while Gellar is on the run in I Know What You Did Last Summer is one of the best slasher scenes out there.
1. Jamie Lee Curtis*What’s the asterisk for?!?!?
*=Default rank, as she is the model to which all other scream queens are compared. So good that she also inspired the spin-off title of Final Girl.
Barbara Steele from Black Sunday, The Pit and Pendulum, Shivers, and many others is the biggest snub. I would have also included Madeline Smith from The Vampire Lovers and numerous other Hammer horror movies
Absolutely what I was thinking. As much as it hurts, I don’t think we need Barrymore on this
OK, seriously, where the f—- are Rebecca Hall and Rose McGowen?
Also missing: Amy Seimetz, Katherine Isabelle, Barbara Steele, Kate Siegel, and more.
Maybe Hall’s movies are too classy?
Elevated horror is still horror.
Horror yes, but that doesn’t entail the lead actress being a “scream queen”.
We need another term for when a horror actress doesn’t really scream, but spends almost the entire movie looking like they are on the brink of a psychological collapse and are barely holding it together. That would be Hall (and Maika Monroe, to be honest).
Toni Collette right in there too.Laura Dern (going down a David Lynch rabbit hole) … Naomi Watts (Mulholland Drive, King Kong, The [frickin] Ring!)
Rose for sure, the woman contributed a lot to the genre, and deserves that recognition.
Mystery Of The Wax Museum (1993), before her tete-a-tete with the tragic Kong immortalized them both
1993 is not before King Kong.
That linear thinking holds you back.
Neve Campbell is number one for me. I’d have liked to see Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps) or Fairuza Balk (The Craft) here. Very strange ordering like Drew Barrymore over Sarah Michelle Gellar?
I’d be willing to accept Neve as #2 under Jamie Lee Curtis, but she’s #1 for me as well
No love for Brinke Stevens?
I know it’s a thriller, but Nancy Allen was a literal scream queen in Brian De Palma’s Blow Out: Not to mention Carrie and Dressed to Kill, which were horror. Big miss.
Also Poltergeist 3, which is better than people remember (though not, y’know, good).
No Sigourney Weaver is an unbelievably massive oversight. The Alien franchise, Ghostbusters, Cabin in the Woods, and in one of her first roles, she played Woody Allen’s date. Absolutely chilling.
I was thinking Weaver as well. Would Cabin in the Woods count since she’s more of a villain? Also, if we extend the parameters a little bit, we can include Copycat and The Village. (The latter, while a bad film, is better than people give it credit for.)
Avatar too.
chilling
Her Cabin in the Woods character is more morally grey than villain, and, well, she was kinda right. Her Futurama character is also very Fatal Attraction.
Greatest scream queen acting award goes to?Cinema has rarely reached such high highs.
I love that movie so much.
Oh man me too!
I’d put Danielle Harris higher if only because of the way she got treated by the studios. They lowballed her on salary, then after she emancipated herself from her parents, at the studios request, they still didn’t give her the part for one of the Halloween movies where her character appeared and was unceremoniously killed off.
Why Danielle Harris Didn’t Play Jamie Lloyd In Halloween 6: The Curse Of Michael Myers (slashfilm.com)
Nancy Thompson ranks #1 in my books because 1. Freddy is a whole other level of difficulty because of the whole he gets you in your sleep and you’re normally playing on his turf.2. Unlike a lot of Scream Queens who usually spend their time screaming, crying and playing defense, Nancy keeps the hysterics to the bare minimum. She sets her jaw, says “F this” and goes on the offense. Hell, she Home Alone-d Freddy a decade before Kevin Mccallister terrorized the wet bandits.
3. She dies, but she gets a hero’s death and takes Freddy with her.4. Heather Langenkamp playing Heather Langenkamp/Nancy kicks Dark Freddy’s ass in hell. That is all.
“Unlike a lot of Scream Queens who usually spend their time screaming”
I mean, do you even qualify if you’re not screaming?
Marilyn Burns will always be my #1. Just so damned RAW.
I’m only realizing now that not only did Shawnee Smith have an awesome career in horror in addition to comedy but she was also in the 1980’s movie Summer School, which combined horror and comedy in the scene with the Chainsaw pranking the teacher by having the entire class dress like murder victims in amazing prosthetics. One of my favorite movies.
Neve Campbell changed the game forever after.I feel Rose McGowan deserves a spot on this list too, with Planet Terror as well. She’s iconic to the genre.
McGowan was the bomb in Phantoms
Do I wanna scroll through another slideshow?Why no. No, I do not.
Did I miss Naomi Watts? Not only is she a muse of David Lynch – a master of horror – she’s now involved with Ryan Murphy in The Watcher, two episodes of which were directed by David Lynch’s daughter, Jennifer. And while we’re on Lynch, I think Sheryl Lee and Grace Zabriskie earned a spot. No one screams quite like Laura and Sarah Palmer. They might be a bit obscure, but more known that a lot on this list.
I posted up aways before I saw your post, so Second Naomi Watts (The Ring mf-ers!) Also Laura Dern. Jennifer Jason Leigh has had her share of horror (The Hitcher) but maybe she’s more often the villain.
I was really surprised Watts wasn’t in there. I can’t think of a movie where she wasn’t a scream queen, which I think is a defining factor. Good call on Jennifer Jason Leigh and Laura Dern, two who’ve joined the legion of David Lynch muses. Although like you said, Leigh is more often the villain. Bridget Fonda was a great scream queen of her’s in Single White Female.
Sheryl Lee, all day long.
All. Day. Long. I read somewhere that her scream was the reason she was cast as Laura Palmer, and Lynch created the role of Maddie because he wanted more of her, and her scream, in Twin Peaks.
I’ve always wondered why she hasn’t done more because she’s a standout actress from a show full of soapy melodrama. I have to think she’s had offers, especially in horror, but is just living a comfortable retired life.
I’d heard that as well, but I don’t think it stands up as she was originally cast just to be a dead body and a homecoming queen photo. But then Lynch gradually discovered she was a decent actor and started building up her part, first through flashbacks, then as Maddie, and then in Fire Walk With Me. Obviously Lynch loved her scream, hence its prominence at the end of The Return.
That’s what I thought too. I’ll have to try to find the article. I remember reading about her audition process a long time ago, maybe back in the ‘90s, and it sounded really cute. The end of The Return was phenomenal. I can’t put my finger on exactly what made it so damn unsettling, but that man – who’s apparently a very sweet man to work with – really knows how to make you feel like you just woke up for a horrible dream. P.S., if you’re a Lynch fan, look closely at the theater scene in Mulholland Drive. Sheryl Lee and Phoebe Augustine (Ronette Pulaski) are sitting in the background. Apparently that was originally envisioned as a Twin Peaks spinoff for Sherilyn Fenn in Naomi Watts’ role as the small town girl who moves to Tinsel Town to find fame. I still like to consider it a spiritual sequel.
Not to mention The Ring and King Kong.
In the beginning good always overpowered the evils of all man’s sins…but in time the nations grew weak and our cities fell to slums. While evil stood strong. In the dusts of hell lurked the blackest of hates for he whom they feared awaited them…Now many many life times later they law destroyed and beaten down. Only corpses of rebels, ashes of dreams and blood stained streets… It has been written that those who have the youth have the future. So come now children of the beast. Be strong and shout at the devil!
Clicked for Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Clicking away very disappointed.
Where the fuck is Alice from Nightmare 4 and 5?
I’d throw in a vote for Mary Elizabeth Winstead too. 10 Cloverfield Lane … The Thing prequel … The Ring Two … Final Destination 3 … and way better than anyone needed to be in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
Add Lily Taylor for me. Not a huge amount of horror roles, but when she applies she gives her all and remains the best thing about the movie.
She didn’t do much in the way of screaming, but you cannot mention female horror movie stars without the One True Queen:
So will Karen Black be number two or three?
…I see.
I feel like Judith O’Dea (Barbara, Night of the Living Dead) deserves an honorable mention, even if she didn’t do much else.
I guess they’re more known for television horror but:
Victoria Pedretti
Emma Roberts
Sarah Paulson
Kate Siegel
Carla Gugino
EDIT: sorry I was sleepy
No Evelyn Ankers? The Wolf Man, The Ghost of Frankenstein, The Mad Ghoul, Son of Dracula, The Invisible Man’s Revenge — I would have thought this would have put her way up in the rankings, but I don’t see her anywhere.
Sissy Spacek, JoBeth Williams, Denise Crosby, but the truly offensive snub is Lin Shaye. I mean Jamie Lee Curtis and Janet Leigh might have popularized the mainstream screen queen genre, but Lin freakin’ Shaye is the definitive, lifelong scream queen. Also, please, Cassandra Peterson. This listicle is just downright irresponsible without any mention of Elvira. The more I look at this list, the more I wonder if Todd Gilchrist has ever seen a horror movie, or if he just put together a bad list to get the comments going.
Half of this list is garbage. Seriously. So many missing actors who are mainstays in movies across the horror genre. What is up with the 90s one franchise actresses included? If you want to do the list by actual final girl character, then it makes sense to include Neve Campbell and Jennifer Love Hewitt, but otherwise this is like someone just googled slasher movies/female leads and got excited when some of the same actresses appeared in a spooky tv episode somewhere, too. Honestly, Veronica Cartwright deserves her due – she started out in The Birds as a child actress playing “the Brenner girl”, then later was in Alien – giving one of the most noteworthy cinematic scream/squeals of all time, she was in the Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Witches of Eastwick, one of the sequels to Candyman, and is still playing the Grandma in horrors like the revamped The Town That Dreaded Sundown. Katherine Isabelle, Sigourney Weaver, Naomi Watts, Amy Seimetz, and Barbara Steele all certainly count, PJ Soles, too maybe. But I feel like Veronica Cartwright is not given credit for how much she’s appeared in horror spanning close to the 60 years.
This.
How did you guys miss Jessica Ross as Tree in Happy Death Day.
I just researched both Mystery of the Wax Museum and doctor X and if you are judging in the basis of her acual screaming you just cant top Fave Wray Simply the best,
Goth is the absolute worst. She’s a thirteen year old’s idea of what scary is. She doesn’t have an ounce of talent and will be gone soon because of it.
There are way too many people in here that don’t understand the meaning of “Scream Queen”. Being a female in a thriller/horror movie doesn’t just qualify you for that title. Its if you are a female in a horror movie that is being stalked/haunted/hunted by a creature/entity/being. Just being a female in a scary movie isn’t the qualifier. The type of role that it is is what qualifies it.
Tiffany Shepis is a glaring, nay, blinding omission from this list.