Are Scream Queens Still Being Made Today?

Tools    





cricket has just set the bar very, very high, folks.


Hell, Sheri might be a perfect Scream Queen. Yes, she is a 'perfect' Scream Queen.



I think women in modern horror films are given more active roles these days, they aren't just screaming in terror like in 50's monster movies. Mia Goth is obviously a rising star in horror but I don't think I would describe her as a "scream queen"-style of horror actress.



I think women in modern horror films are given more active roles these days, they aren't just screaming in terror like in 50's monster movies. Mia Goth is obviously a rising star in horror but I don't think I would describe her as a "scream queen"-style of horror actress.
Yeah, I'm afraid you're probably right. Which makes me value the Scream Queens we do get/have that much more.


How would you describe Sheri Moon Zombie and Asia Argento?



Fay Wray is the archetype. Being in that amazing spectacle, King Kong, only a couple years after sound arrived, Fay set the benchmark that's only rarely been bettered. I wonder if she ever got her voice back after all of that screaming.




I think if Jenna and Mia continue doing horror for the rest of this decade, then I would consider them Scream Queens.


As for Anya... that ain't ever happening. Tell that BS to someone else. For crying out loud, I just saw that she was in a damn rom-com period piece called Emma.
Just for the sake of fairness, MIa Goth was in that same damn rom-com period piece called Emma.
__________________
"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley."



I think women in modern horror films are given more active roles these days, they aren't just screaming in terror like in 50's monster movies
Not true. I just this year watched Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) with multiple modern-classic Scream Queen roles. It's probably more likely that specific actresses entering the industry today are more attracted to the "active" roles. These roles are also given more publicity by wealthy production and distribution entities, and given more publicity in media by certain interests - all probably for sociopolitical reasons in the current trendy cultural zeitgeist. Then it becomes a feedback loop whereby starlets become further attracted to the perceived popular roles.

Having watched plenty of ~50s horror (US), there wasn't any singular general role for women or genre generally. The Scream Queen as far as I know has always been a sub-genre like any other. It's hard to tell what the closest thing to a "standard" or predominant role there had been back then without dedicating significant time and money to investigate oneself (as cultural-historical academics can, today, no longer be trusted). With the tens of thousands of films coming out each year and declining cost to barrier to entry to production (and rise in worldwide production and subscription streaming), I just can't imagine there's any more -or less- of a clear hive-mind "trend" today than existed before.