A scream queen is an actress who often works in horror films and TV shows, playing either victims or leads. They can also play romantic roles and villains. Some notable scream queens include Jamie Lee Curtis and Sarah Michelle Gellar. The job can be diverse, with some actresses becoming stuck in the genre and struggling for work. Compensation rates vary.
A scream queen is an actress who works a lot in the horror genre. Scream queens are often closely associated with this genre of film and television, sometimes despite a desire to break out and work in other facets of the industry. Some examples of notable scream queens include: Far Wray, Scout Taylor-Compton, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Depending on the film and the actress, a scream queen can either be a victim or a female lead. Many start out as victims, taking parts as characters who are killed off mid-story, and slowly work their way up to roles as protagonists. Whatever type of role she plays, a scream queen is classically young and beautiful, even if her beauty can be more girl-next-door than supermodel, with an emphasis on the idea that a scream queen could be a real woman.
As the slang term for these actresses suggests, scream queens do a fair amount of screaming in movies, but they also play romantic roles, and some are required to develop a range of acting skills, portraying an assortment of characters from smart leads and strong with withered lilies. Playing a scream queen can have a huge influence on the overall tone of the production, as it’s easy for horror to cross the line with the wrong actress or setting.
Women have been used in horror movies since horror movies were made. Picking up female victims playing the role of damsel in distress was a key part of movies in the silent era, when basic visual images were needed to propel the story. In addition to playing victims and leads, of course, the actresses have also played villains, with some female villains particularly notable for the amount of terror they’ve been able to evoke in audiences, with or without sound.
The job as a scream queen can be very diverse. Some women find themselves working exclusively in the B-movie genre, while others manage to turn it into major films. Once a woman has appeared in horror a few times, she might as well find herself stuck in that genre and classified as a scream queen for the rest of her career, which can be very frustrating. Rates of compensation vary: some scream queens are among the highest paid actresses in Hollywood, while others struggle to settle for work on low-budget films that can’t provide very substantial salaries.
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