4. Daria Nicolodi
Claims to Fame:
Deep Red (1975)
Tenebrae (1982)
Phenomena (1985)
Also known for:
Suspiria (1977) (voice of the witch, and co-writer)
Inferno (1980)
Opera (1987)
At the tender age of 24, Ms. Nicolodi entered into the casting process of
Deep Red where she met the up and coming Italian director, Dario Argento. What would ensue over the following decades would be one of the most inventive, imaginative and innovative partnerships in the history of horror. This began with the aforementioned
Deep Red in which she portrayed a young journalist who stole every scene she was in, I adored her in this role, and it's hard not to realise how Argento fell in love with her, not only was she gorgeous in it, but her acting was so particular, but charming and irresistible too.
She would then invent the concept that would later become
Suspiria which, in my opinion, is the greatest horror film of all time, and as such her abilities as a writer (she claims to have invented the title, script and concept) quickly equalled her abilities as an actress. She would only act in the remaining two instalments of the trilogy,
Inferno and the 2007
The Mother of Tears which never achieved the dazzling heights that the original film would achieve.
However, her professional partnership with Argento would even continue after the couple decided to split up (they also parented the actress
Asia Argento in this time too!) and her character in
Phenomena would even inspire one of the most creepy and feared video games of all time,
Clock Tower. Her scenes in
Tenebrae and
Opera would also go on to become, arguably, the most memorable scenes within each film, and the latter was even referenced in
Saw II.
Her influence seemingly holds no bounds, in fact, she's probably the most influential scream queen that no one knows the name of, as sad as that is
She wouldn't just work with Argento either, she would also work alongside other acclaimed directors within the horror industry, such as Mario Bava.
But overall, I decided to pop her into number 4 because I adore her just as much as I adore Argento, and she will forever be one of the most cherished scream queens within the entirety of Europe!