A scream queen is an actress who is prominent and influential in horror films, either through a notable appearance or recurring roles. A scream king is the male equivalent. Notable female examples include Barbara Steele, Sandra Peabody, Linda Blair, Felissa Rose, Olivia Hussey, Marilyn Burns, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Neve Campbell, Daria Nicolodi, Dee Wallace, Sarah Paulson, Vera Farmiga, Jamie Lee Curtis, Taissa Farmiga, Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Samara Weaving, Heather Langenkamp, Shawnee Smith, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Melissa Barrera, Naomi Scott and Linnea Quigley.
Heather Elizabeth Langenkamp is an American actress, director, writer, producer, and disc jockey. Langenkamp played Nancy Thompson in Wes Craven's slasher film A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), which earned her recognition as a scream queen and in popular culture. She reprised the role in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) and played a fictionalized version of herself in the meta film Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). In 1995, she was inducted into the Fangoria Chainsaw Hall of Fame.
Caitlin Jean Stasey is an Australian actress. She is known for her role as Rachel Kinski in Neighbours. Previously she played Francesca Thomas in The Sleepover Club, although her breakthrough film role came in Tomorrow, When the War Began, a 2010 film adaptation of the teen novel of the same name in which she played lead protagonist Ellie Linton. She also played Lady Kenna in the CW series Reign from 2013 to 2015 and had a recurring role in the ABC2 series Please Like Me from 2013 to 2016. In 2017, Stasey starred as Ada on the Fox television drama APB, which was cancelled after one season in May 2017. In 2020, she starred in the short film Laura Hasn't Slept and had a brief role as the same character in the feature film version Smile (2022).
The Raven is a 1935 American horror film directed by Louis Friedlander and starring Boris Karloff and Béla Lugosi. Billed as having been "suggested by" Edgar Allan Poe's 1845 poem of the same title, excerpts of which are quoted at a few points in the film, it was adapted from an original screenplay by David Boehm. Lugosi stars as a neurosurgeon obsessed with Poe who has a torture chamber in his basement, and Karloff plays an escaped murderer on the run from the police who Lugosi manipulates into doing his dirty work.
Don't Go To Sleep is a 1982 American made-for-television horror film that was produced and directed by Richard Lang. The movie features Dennis Weaver, Valerie Harper, Ruth Gordon, and Robert Webber, and youngsters Kristin Cumming, Robin Ignico, and Oliver Robins.
Taissa Farmiga is an American actress. Her numerous appearances in horror films have established her as a scream queen, alongside her older sister Vera Farmiga.
All Cheerleaders Die is a 2013 American horror comedy film written and directed by Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson. It is a remake of their 2001 film of the same name that was also written and directed by McKee and Sivertson, and stars Caitlin Stasey as a cheerleader who must fight against the supernatural. The film had its world premiere on September 5, 2013, at the Toronto International Film Festival and had a limited theatrical release in June 2014.
Gigi Saul Guerrero is a Mexican filmmaker and actress. She is known for creating and directing the 2017 horror web series La Quinceañera, and for her work on the 2019 series The Purge and Into the Dark.
Temple is a 2017 horror film directed by Michael Barrett and written by Simon Barrett. Logan Huffman, Natalia Warner, and Brandon Tyler Sklenar star as Americans who visit Japan to research local temples. Once there, they become obsessed with investigating a temple said to be haunted. It is an international co-production between the United States and Japan.
Abruptio is a 2023 American adult puppet horror film written, edited, and directed by Evan Marlowe. Produced by Kerry Marlowe, the film stars James Marsters, Hana Mae Lee, Christopher McDonald, Jordan Peele, Robert Englund, and Sid Haig in his final film before his death on September 21, 2019.
The Man in the Shadows is a 2015 Canadian supernatural horror film, the first feature film directed by Joshua Fraiman and written by co-star and co-producer Adam Tomlinson, based on a personal experience, as well as on reports by "millions of people around the world" of so-called shadow people, a phenomenon associated with sleep paralysis. The plot centres around a prescription drug-addicted newlywed photographer who appears to be stalked by a dark man in a brimmed hat who follows her from her nightmares into reality. Rachel is aided by William who has been investigating the "Hat Man" phenomenon.
Dustin Ferguson is an American underground filmmaker from Lincoln, Nebraska. He has directed numerous music videos and more than 100 horror films since 2007, including The Amityville Legacy. He writes, directs and edits his own films and is known for his prolific output, releasing several feature films each year as well as for making mockbusters and sequels.
Friend of the World is a 2020 American independent black-and-white film written and directed by Brian Patrick Butler in his feature film debut, starring Nick Young and Alexandra Slade. The surreal experimental film takes place post-apocalypse and tells the story of a young filmmaker (Slade) and a military general (Young) trapped in a bunker with a mysterious threat.
The Horrible Imaginings Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival originally based in San Diego until 2018, when it moved to Santa Ana. It was established in 2009 by Miguel Rodriguez.
Smile is a 2022 American psychological supernatural horror film written and directed by Parker Finn, in his feature directorial debut. A follow-up to Parker's short film Laura Hasn't Slept (2020), it stars Sosie Bacon as a therapist who witnesses the bizarre suicide of a patient, then experiences increasingly disturbing and daunting experiences that lead her to believe she is experiencing something supernatural. It also features Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Kal Penn, and Rob Morgan, as well as Caitlin Stasey reprising her role from Laura Hasn't Slept.
Offseason is a 2021 supernatural horror film written and directed by Mickey Keating. It stars Jocelin Donahue, Joe Swanberg, Richard Brake, and Melora Walters. The film premiered at South by South West in March 2021 before a theatrical release by RLJE Films on March 11, 2022.
The Smile franchise consists of American psychological supernatural horror installments, including a short, a theatrical feature film, and its feature-length sequel. Based on characters and an original story by Parker Finn, the filmmaker explores elements of paranoia, psychological trauma, and fear in elements of storytelling. The plot of the franchise follows a number of characters who are tormented by a wicked entity that follows them, unceasingly determined to be the cause of their death. This force, termed by Finn as "the Monstrosity", presents itself with the identifying characteristic of a malevolent smile while it takes the form of the people that the characters encounter. While the characters frantically try to save themselves from the leering presence of death, they experience visions of a frightening nature.
Parker J. Finn is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He wrote and directed the horror films Smile (2022), which was based on his short film Laura Hasn't Slept (2020), and its sequel Smile 2 (2024).
Smile 2 is a 2024 American psychological supernatural horror film written and directed by Parker Finn. A sequel to Smile (2022), the film stars Naomi Scott as a pop star who begins to experience a series of increasingly disturbing events just as she is about to embark on tour. It also features Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Peter Jacobson, Ray Nicholson, Dylan Gelula, and Raúl Castillo, as well as Kyle Gallner reprising his role from the first film.
