With Halloween right around the corner, we’re highlighting six Scream Queens of the horror universe who we can’t live without.
Let’s get into it.
Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o) – Us
Lupita Nyong’o’s Adelaide Wilson voice alone is enough to send us to sleep with the lights on. Her turn in Jordan Peele’s Us stands as one of the creepiest outings we’ve seen in recent years.
Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) – Halloween
Jamie Lee Curtis has come full circle as Laurie Strode, having first portrayed the tragic Haddonfield figure in John Carpenter’s 1978 classic Halloween. Curtis reprised the role in Halloween II (1981), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), Halloween: Resurrection (2002), Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021), and most recently Halloween Ends (2022).
Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) – Scream
Neve Campbell helped spark a mid-90s horror renaissance when she took the lead in Wes Craven’s franchise-launching 1996 film Scream. Campbell returned as Sidney Prescott in four sequels, including the 2022 relaunch/sequel also titled Scream.
Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) – Carrie
Sissy Spacek’s career went into overdrive following her performance in the iconic 1976 horror film Carrie, directed by Brian DePalma and based on the novel by Stephen King.
Dani Ardor (Florence Pugh) – Midsommar
A24 films are certainly a vibe, and the 2019 Ari Aster effort Midsommar certainly upholds the eerie standard often emanating from the production house’s genre-defying output. Florence Pugh shines as Dani Ardor, who finds herself as the May Queen in a rural Sweden human sacrificial party. Fun!
Ma (Octavia Spencer) – Ma
Octavia Spencer often appears in films destined for awards season, such as Fruitvale Station, Hidden Figures, and The Help. Spencer embraces evil in the Blumhouse Productions horror film Ma, and she is absolutely terrifying.