Monday, October 31, 2011

My Top 10 Scream Queens

This is a list of my Top 10 Scream Queens after some thought i finally narrowed it down to these 10 women. their not all from one time period but most are from back when being a scream queen actually Meaningful something unlike today even though a few from present day actually makes this list....



10.Mary Elizabeth Winstead( Black Christmas,Death Proof, Final Destination 3, The Thing)


With only five horror movies to her credit she has become one of my favorites of the modern Scream Queens because her characters are kinda similar to that of Jamie Lee Curtis characters from the late 70s/80s weather she's being stalked by psycho killers in Black Christmas or a Maniac Stuntman in Death Proof, trying to cheat death in Final Destination 3, or find out who is the thing in her most recent horror film The Thing, she always in my opinion brings a girl next door charm that you can't help but be attracted too.

9. P.J. Soles(Carrie,Halloween,)


She came on the scene in the late 70s as the baseball cap wearing Norma in Brian De Palma's  Carrie and as Lynda in John Carpenter's Halloween were she showed a lot of her self in one scene( you all know the scene). after those two big memorable  roles she continued on with a lot of roles during the 80s showing up in Stripes along Bill Murray and Rock n Roll High School and most recently she had a small but memorable scene in Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects.

8.Janet Leigh(Psycho,The Fog,Halloween H20)

Before "Scream Queen" was actually a real big term for the horror genre, Janet Leigh was a Scream Queen starring in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho as Marion Crane with one of the most famous scene's in horror where her character is killed in the shower she became an icon, not strictly a horror actress she did become very memorable among horror fans, John Carpenter was a fan so he cast her along side her daughter and fellow Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis in his ghost story The Fog and years later the mother/daughter duo would share the screen again in another horror movie Halloween H20.

7.Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 1, 3, Wes Craven's New Nightmare)

In My Opinion Heather Langenkamp in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies was the 80s version of Jamie Lee Curtis's Laurie Strode in Halloween, both were smart girls who didn't mind fighting back against the killers, where Heather's Nancy Thompson differed from Jamie's Lee's Laurie was that she took the fight to Freddy Krueger which is why she makes this list. don't let the middle class sweet girl look fool you....to bad  she didn't really do to many more horror movies after Nightmare on Elm Street 3 Dream Warriors, she did pop up in another Wes Craven Horror in the 80s (Shocker) but it was a blink and you'll miss her role(she's the victim that gets carried out the house in one scene) Wes Craven did manage to get her to come back one final time to play Nancy Thompson in New Nightmare.

Maybe she'll come back in another Wes Craven film one day. Scream 5? maybe. i don't know it would be nice to see her on the big screen or just in another horror type of movie again.

6. Danielle Harris(Halloween 4,5,Rob Zombie's Halloween I &II,Hatchet II)

One of the top Scream Queen today and arguable the best, she started out at a early age going toe to toe with Michael Myers in Halloween 4 & 5, and took him on two more times in Rob Zombie's remakes. Even though she's now in her 30s, but doesn't look a day over 20 and she seems to look better with age is really taking the Scream Queen title and running with it with recent appearances in Hatchet 2 and Chromeskull Laid 2 Rest 2 and doesn't seem to be slowing down with  more horror projects on the way.

5.Adrienne Barbeau(The Fog,Creepshow,Swamp Thing)


One of my favorite actress of all time, is also a Scream Queen, best known for her roles in then husband John Carpenter films (The Fog, Escape from New York) Adrienne Barbeau brought a sex appeal to horror that maybe only a handful others could match she's not just a pretty...everything from head to toe, but could actually get physical weather it was trying to escape from ghost pirates (The Fog) or being involved with a big Swamp monster(Swamp Thing) she could do no wrong when it came to horror. I doubt there will ever be another Adrienne Barbeau. it would be cool to see her show up in a new horror movie.

4.Marilyn Burn(The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,Eaten Alive)


Best known for being in one of the best horror movies of all time Marilyn Burns as the Lone Survivor who goes through absolute hell to escape from the chainsaw wielding maniac Leatherface and his family. In the dinner scene she showed exactly what a Scream Queen is all about with her range of terror because you really feel for this woman and what she went through and through out that movie. she was also in another Tobe Hooper film Eaten Alive where she encounters another maniac, but this time instead of an chainsaw he has a pet alligator that he likes to feed people to. even though her resume isn't as big as most of the women that are well known she has left her mark on the horror genre. she's rumored to also be making an appearance in the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre as well which should make that movie that much better.

3.Jamie Lee Curtis(Halloween,Halloween II, Prom Night, Terror Train)


The standard to which all Scream Queens are measured up too, Jamie Lee Curtis, the only child of a fellow Scream Queen(daughter of Janet Leigh) she followed in her mother footstep but took it further with her roles in John Carpenter's Halloween and Sequel (HII) some of her other roles ain the horror genre besides the Halloween films(Prom Night, Terror Train) helped give her the Scream Queen Moniker that she rightfully earned.

Now some might wonder why i have her at number 3 and the reason for that is because she did become a big star outside of the horror genre which isn't a bad thing because she is a very talented actress who could do more with roles in Trading Places, A Fish Called Wanda, True Lies, but one thing i admire about her is that she didn't forget where her roots are as she did return to the role that made a star in Halloween H20 and one final time in Halloween Resurrection. I think she has another good horror movie in her, hopefully that happens one day.

2. Shawnee Smith(The Blob, The Stand, Saw 1,2,3)
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From the first time i saw Shawnee Smith in two of my favorite 80s movies one being a teen comedy(Summer School) and the other being the 1988 Remake of the 50s classic(The Blob) where she plays a cheerleader who has to save the town from the blob, she took a few years off from horror movies until she showed up in the TV mini series The Stand. then took another few years away from horror because she was on the Tv show Becker, but she came back strong with a small but memorable role of Amanda Young in the sleeper hit Saw, she reprised her role in the sequels making her a horror icon with the modern generation.

She even hosted the tv reality show Scream Queens showing them what it takes to be a scream queen. i've always felt that she is very underrated and should be in more movies not just horror which she is good at but just more movies in general.

1..Linnea Quigley(Graduation Day,Return of the Living Dead,Silent Night, Deadly Night)


If anybody embodies what a Scream Queen is supposed to be its my number one choice. she has basically everything it takes and what makes a Scream Queen no matter how big or small the role she leaves an impression on the movie. i swear she had to have been in just about every kind of horror movie in the 80s, she is a chameleon with how different she looked from movie to movie. she didn't mind doing what ever needed to be done to make a impact on the movie. her most memorable role for me is the punk rocker sexy Trash  who spends most of the movie naked (she does have a great body) she doesn't mind taking her clothes off which is a good thing.

with a career spanning four decades and no signs of slowing down Linnea Quigley is the Scream Queen in my opinion, she has a mix of all of the women on this list mixed into one and something else that can't be explained but whatever it is has made her the Scream Queen of Queens to me.


What do you think of my list. i'm sorry if i might have left off anybody that you might like or who you felt should've been on this list. comment and let me know your list and who you agree or disagree with.

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