Top 6 New Scream Queens
Matt Molgaard
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The seasons change. The life in the leaves dries up and vibrant green becomes dingy rust. It’s all a part of nature, and while horror, the film genre isn’t necessarily natural, it too changes. The found footage craze is beginning to wind down. The names and faces that once dominated genre news are beginning to change.
That’s the name of the game. But change, while sometimes frightening, is typically a refreshing thing to experience.
In 2016 we’re spending less time talking about women like Jamie Lee Curtis, or Heather Langenkamp. These days we’re discussing new names bestowed upon fresh faces. There aren’t a wealth of young women vying for the Scream Queen crown these days, but there are a few who are developing a serious following, in large part a direct result of the resilience they’ve displayed in compelling genre features.
Topping our list is the gorgeous and spunky Jane Levy. While Jane’s invested less time in the genre than most of the entrants on this list, what work she has put in over the last few years is nothing short of jaw-dropping.
Her greatest accomplishment is no doubt traveling an emotional gamut in one of the finest remakes ever crafted, Fede Alvarez’s high-speed and super creepy Evil Dead. In the opening moments of the film we see that Jane’s character, Mia is battling drug addiction, and she’s deep in the throes of physical and mental anguish. As the film progresses, the supernatural becomes a much more prominent aspect of the story, and we see Mia’s demeanor and behavior change radically. One minute she’s all but helpless, the next she’s determined to murder those closest to her. And, amazingly, she pulls a complete 180 by the time we’re into the final act, and all we want to see is her survive a one-on-one battle with evil personified. Evil Dead is a legitimate masterwork of horror.
Levy and Alvarez returned this year with another astonishingly brilliant horror film. I won’t speak too heavily on the details of Don’t Breathe as it’s still a recent enough release to be lingering in theaters. The pic hasn’t made its way home to Blu-ray and DVD, and that means a great deal of fans haven’t had the chance to see it. However, what Levy brings to the film is completely unique to what we witnessed in Evil Dead, and that’s a testament to the talent of Levy and the electricity between Jane and Fede. One more extraordinary genre film between these two and we’ll be comparing Levy and Alvarez to Carpenter and Curtis, or Craven and Langenkamp/Campbell. That’s an astronomical accomplishment, and it will no doubt find a place in the cinematic history books.
Did we mention Jane will be appearing in the resurrected “Twin Peaks?” There may be no stopping this shining starlet.
Bella Heathcote’s name doesn’t have the same ring to it that Levy’s does, but that’s no indicator of a lack of effort. This young woman is putting in serious work, and some of her finest performances have come in recently released horror films.
Heathcote actually bears a lot of physical similarities to Levy, which means she’s nothing short of drop dead gorgeous, but Bella isn’t riding the strength of her physical beauty, she’s set out to prove her Hollywood worth with hard work and convincing performances. And she’s already got a number of performances under her belt to be extremely proud of.
While Heathcote may not be topping the bill of each feature she’s been cast in, she’s gaining a lot of attention because she’s been slaying supporting roles. Her work in the recently released Neon Demon is impressive, her confident swagger in Pride, Prejudice and Zombies is stellar, even if she is technically backup to Lily James. You may also recognize Heathcote from her work in Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows and if you fancy lower budget horror fare, you’ll immediately recognize Heathcote as the life of Derick Martini’s flawed but inspired Curse of Downers Grove.
Heathcote is climbing the ladder, and looking impressive in doing so. She’s still got some work to put in, but she’s already established herself as one of the true Scream Queens in the making. Our eyes are firmly affixed.
We can’t assemble a list of this nature without including the young but surging Anya Taylor-Joy. Anya turned countless heads earlier this year with her complex and confident work in the highly touted folkloric film, The Witch. Pegged as an early candidate for year’s best film, The Witch was a powerful picture that allowed Anya to flex chops that, in theory, shouldn’t be anywhere close to as refined as this young ladies are. She’s a genuine talent, and she’s not shying away from powerful films.
Clearly not a fluff actress, Anya Taylor-Joy followed The Witch up with an appearance in the recently released Morgan, which focuses on the plight of an artificially created humanoid. Anya embraces the role of the titular character, and she holds nothing back, delivering a performance so far distanced from her work in The Witch that it’s already apparent we’re dealing with a chameleon-like performer. That’s a powerful statement to make about a 20-year old actress with fewer than 15 professional credits to her name.
Anya will return to the genre in M. Night Shyamalan’s latest, Split. I’ve yet to catch a look at this film, as it’s currently making festival rounds, but I’ve read plenty of positive word on Anya’s performance. The early consensus seems to point to the talented James McAvoy as the show-stealer, but if Anya holds her own against a performer as polished as McAvoy, she’ll take another step in solidifying herself as one of the top young female talents in the business.
Not bad for 20.
Lorenza Izzo may not be as technically polished as most of the other performers on this list, and some will argue she’s made the strides she’s thus far made as a direct result of her personal relationship with horror boss, Eli Roth. There may be some merit to that, but it’s hard to sell her work in Knock Knock, The Green Inferno and Aftershock short. She’s a spitfire performer with high energy, and she successfully turns her characters into memorable personalities.
She recently surfaced in the unorthodox but enjoyable Holidays, turning in solid work, and she also made recent appearances in the flawed but dark and bleak The Stranger and she proved more than capable in the Netflix Original series, “Hemlock Grove.”
Izzo’s future professional decisions could define her career. If she opts to continue investing a great deal of work in the horror genre, she’ll force respect from the audiences. However, if she looks into some other, varied works, she may very well tighten up her overall skill set, which could be a great thing, especially if she continues to dabble in the realm of the macabre.
Maika Monroe got her start in this business appearing in Conrad Janis’ low budget flicks Bad Blood, and Bad Blood… the Hunger. While these films failed to draw major attention, they did help to lead Monroe to her current position in this field, which is a pretty comfy position.
Monroe has turned in a strong performance in Adam Wingard’s chiller/thriller The Guest, and that opened the door for her – thus far – career defining performance in the wildly original pic It Follows. Widely recognized as one of the best 2015 releases, It Follows gained a wealth of attention, and with that attention we’ve seen more doors open for Maika.
This year Monroe made a fine imprint on the genre, surfacing in two science fiction/horror pieces, both of which were given large scale releases, only furthering the young ladies presence in the business. The films in question were The 5th Wave and the long overdue Independence Day: Resurgence. While both films failed to excel at the box office, Monroe’s work cannot be overlooked.
She’s got the look, she’s gaining the experience, and she’s picking projects that, at least on paper, look extremely promising. One more major appearance in a high profile horror piece and the masses will be discussing Monroe as a shoe-in for modern day Scream Queen.
We’re going to close our list out with an extremely interesting pick. Abigail Breslin doesn’t bring the perfect model look to film, but she’s a cute young lady no doubt. That immediately feels reminiscent of Jamie Lee Curtis, who was a looker in her earliest days as an actress, though her beauty could be classified as unconventional. Breslin has that same look. She’s also working hard in the genre to leave a mark we’re going to remember in a few decades.
Breslin got her start in Shyamalan’s amazing alien film, Signs. But she didn’t stray from the genre for long. She would soon surface in the riveting undead tale, Zombieland, which has gone on to become a modern day classic. She also takes on a tremendous role in the thriller The Call, a film that demands a great deal, emotionally, from Breslin.
But the genre work doesn’t end there. Not by a long shot. Haunter was a dreadfully overlooked pic that turned out to be pretty damn good, and the same could be said for Maggie, most of the darkest yet most engaging zombie films released in years. Breslin lit the screen afire alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, who proved he’s a far stronger actor than he’s led us to believe for years.
Although Final Girl was ambitious, there were a few too many plot holes to declare the film a true success. That said, it has some amazing moments, and the star shines bright on Breslin.
Currently starring in – of course – the small screen’s “Scream Queens” and gearing up for an appearance in the soon to arrive Fear Inc., Breslin shows no signs of slowing down, and her attack is clearly still focused on the horror genre, right where she belongs!
