Top 10 Scream Queens Of All Time!

Last Updated on August 3, 2021

All hail the queen! That’s right y’all, with Scream The Series picking up some serious steam right now, not to mention the new series Scream Queens headed down the pike in September, we’re thinking there’s no better time to reflect upon, with great veneration, our favorite all time matriarchs of the macabre. As you know, the term Scream Queen refers to an actress who not only boasts a top-flight set of lungs, but one that time and time again takes on the horror genre without a hint of reticence. Victims, final girls, teenagers, full grown women…it doesn’t matter…if you’re a drop-dead looker that’s devoted a large portion of your acting career to escaping horrific villains and yelping to a high-pitch screech as a result, yup, you’re in the running.

Down to see who made the cut? Good! Slap it up top to peep our Top 10 Scream Queens Of All Time!

#1. JAMIE LEE CURTIS

Unanimously speaking, I think the general consensus is that Jamie Lee Curtis – herself the offspring of a bona fide scream queen from a past generation – is the ultimate in horror movie royalty. Yes, her strong yet vulnerable turn in John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN (and subsequent franchise entries) has cemented her status as such over the years, but let’s not forget about other 80s genre classics like PROM NIGHT, TERROR TRAIN, THE FOG and ROAD GAMES. The grand irony of Jamie Lee’s discomfort as a horror icon comes as she’s now set to play a modernized version in Scream Queens this September.

#2. SIGOURNEY WEAVER

“There is no Dana, only Zuullllllll!” Yup, I know Sigourney Weaver’s most enduring and iconic role is that of Ellen Ripley in the ALIEN franchise – part androgynous hero and part in-peril final girl – but let’s not forget how integral her part as damsel in distress Dana Barrett in GHOSTBUSTERS was to the overall flick. She’s crucial. Beyond that, Weaver has never shied away from the genre world, having appeared in stuff like EYEWITNESS, DEATH AND THE MAIDEN, COPYCAT, SNOW WHITE: A TALE OF TERROR, THE VILLAGE, RED LIGHTS, etc.

#3. LINDA BLAIR

Oh dear…projectile pea-soup vomiting Pazuzu…if that doesn’t make you scream, nothing will! Seriously though, we realize that Linda Blair’s most famous role is most certainly little Reagan MacNeil in THE EXORCIST, in which she devastatingly plays both victim and villain. But don’t sleep, Blair has been a champion of the horror genre ever since, having popped up in everything from EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC, HELL NIGHT, SAVAGE ISLAND, SAVAGE STREETS, RED HEAT, GROTESQUE, WITCHERY, BAD BLOOD, THE CHILLING, REPOSSESSED, on and on. A hall of fame scream queen in our book!

#4. DANIELLE HARRIS

Goddamn do I love me some Danielle Harris! Ever since rooting for her in the late 80s in HALLOWEEN 4 and HALLOWEEN 5, it seems fewer chicks have so wholeheartedly embraced the horror genre like our girl Harris. Real shit, of her 80 or so odd credits, there’s only a small handful that don’t fall into one subgenre or another. Not only did she come full circle by appearing in Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN movies, she found new life-in-death when she became the star of the HATCHET series. Hell, she even directed her own horror joint called AMONG FRIENDS, which I suggest you watch if you haven’t already. Love this girl!

#5. LINNEA QUIGLEY

Oh hell yes Linnea Quigley, we hereby apotheosize you as THE definitive 80s Scream Queen! Not even Jamie Lee could hold a candle to your prolificacy from GRADUATION DAY in 1981 to BLOOD NASTY in 1989. By our count, your sexy butt appeared in no less than a dozen horror joints in the interim. And we’re talking tried and true classics like SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, NIGHT OF THE DEMONS, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4: THE DREAM MASTER, and of course, HOLLYWOOD CHAINSAW HOOKERS. Now’s the time to ask…will you marry me Linnea?

#6. JANET LEIGH

Talk about a set of pipes! One of the most infamous horror movie screams also comes courtesy of the forerunner of the modern day slasher genre. Hitchcock’s PSYCHO (yes, I’m aware of PEEPING TOM, but still) rewrote the motherf*cking rule book, even going so boldly far as to kill off his leading lady – Ms. Janet Leigh – at the end of the first act. The shower scene and Leigh’s shrill guttural release is the stuff of cinematic legend, though it shouldn’t cloud the fact that the buxom blond continued in the horror genre for decades, appearing in NIGHT OF THE LEPUS, THE FOG, H20, and more.

#7. BARBARA STEELE

Score one for the mother land! That’s correct y’all, the incomparable English vixen Barbara Steele cut her teeth and screamed her heart out under the gory tutelage of Mario Bava, the godfather of Italian horror cinema. She did so in early 60s horror joints like BLACK SUNDAY, BLACK SABBATH, then worked with Roger Corman in THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM before newfound genre success in the 70s with cool flicks like SHIVERS and PIRANHA. A world class bone structure, Steele has, only surpassed by her impressive vocal chords.

#8. BARBARA CRAMPTON

Um…when you have the distinction of appearing in such all-time 80s horror classics as BODY DOUBLE, RE-ANIMATOR, CHOPPING MALL and FROM BEYOND…you bet your balls you’ve earned yourself a coveted scream queen top-spot. Enter one Barbara Crampton, who to this day continues to churn out compelling genre turns…be it in YOU’RE NEXT, LORDS OF SALEM, WE ARE STILL HERE, whatever. And I can honestly say, having seen the latter, Babs is still totally bone-able at 57 years old. Keep an eye out for her this October when she appears in TALES OF HALLOWEEN.

#9. HEATHER LANGENKAMP

It’s not without gritted teeth that we award a scream queen who made her mark in a single skein of horror flicks, but come on, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET is as close to the holy grail of horror franchises as they come. So here we are. The brazen and cunning Heather Langenkamp, Nancy in the original, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS and Wes Craven’s meta-redo NEW NIGHTMARE, is too damn memorable to omit. Besides, Heather continued to avoid Freddy by appearing in other genre joints like SHOCKER, THE DEMOLITIONIST, THE BUTTERFLY ROOM, and even a stint of American Horror Story.

#10. ASIA ARGENTO

Consider this a celebratory coup for a whole lifetime of imperiled Italian horror bombshells. I’m talking Edwige Fenech, Catriona MacCall, all of them! But in order to keep things tidy, why not cast some unadulterated love toward Asia Argento’s fine ass! After-all, as the offspring of the Italian splatter king Dario Argento, Asia spent her entire life on a movie set, in front of and behind the camera. The stunning sexpot has appeared in DEMONS 2, THE CHURCH, TRAUMA, LAND OF THE DEAD, MOTHER OF TEARS, DRACULA 3D, and of course, stars in my own imaginary sex tape.

Tags: Hollywood

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