Meet the Scream Queens this Halloween

With Halloween just around the corner the spooky season is upon us once more - and what better way to celebrate than to watch some classic horror films with some of cinema’s most iconic Scream Queens.

For those unfamiliar with the term, Scream Queen is a bit of clever wordplay on the title ‘screen queen’ and refers to an actress who is both influential and well recognised in the horror movie genre.

From classic damsels in distress to heroines taking a stand, Scream Queens can take many shapes and forms – and luckily for us, they can also appear in all sorts of horror films. To help kick off Halloween right and set the spooky mood, SubHub has your horror movie cravings covered with the very best.

Please note these movies are rated 15+ and R as indicated so please be mindful who’s watching.

Watch it: Prime Video

You can’t say 90’s Scream Queens and not immediately think of Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Every girl wanted to be them, and every boy wanted to marry them.

I Know What You Did Last Summer has everything you need for a good slasher movie - it’s got a mysterious killer on the loose, intertwining love stories, classic screams, and a group of four young friends (also including 90’s heartthrobs Freddie Prinze Jr and Ryan Philippe) trying to solve a crime they accidently committed.

After a drunken night of revelry and mischief, four friends accidentally run over a man with their car and hide his body at the bottom of the ocean to avoid murder charges – little do they know, the body they thought was dead is still alive and soon out for revenge.

Watch it: Prime Video

It wouldn’t be a true Scream Queen list without including the incomparable Jamie Lee Curtis.

Over the span her very lengthy career, Curtis has starred in 14 horror films - but many would argue that her most famous role (including those outside the horror genre) would be her cinema debut as Laurie in the Halloween series.

This movie sparked such popularity that it quickly turned into a franchise of 13 instalments and now rightfully considered to a cult classic. Directed by infamous horror film maker John Carpenter - Halloween follows infamous Michael Myers, 15 years after murdering his sister. Myers has escaped from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to look for his next victims.

Watch it: BINGE

Fairly new to the big screen but very much welcomed, Mia Goth is our latest Scream Queen. Since starting her career in 2013, Goth has already starred in seven horror films and is rumoured to be starring in the upcoming Frankenstein. Known for her unique look and scream, Goth stole all our attention in X and garnered rave reviews for her incredible yet blood curdling performance.

In 1979, a young and naïve Maxine (Mia Goth) dreams of escaping her reclusive life to become a movie star in Hollywood. She dreams of being famous when she meets a group of young filmmakers looking to make their next adult film in rural Texas.

The cast and crew arrive at their rental accommodation only to be met by a couple of conservative elderly hosts who eventually catch them in the act. Disgusted by their behaviour, the elderly couple wreak havoc upon the cast and crew that leaves everyone fighting for their life. 

Watch it: BINGE
When you think of classic horror movie moments or even just classic movie moments, an image that many would think about is the screaming shower scene in Psycho.  Considered to be the first Scream Queen, Janet Leigh (who coincidently is also the mother of Jamie Lee Curtis) starred in Psycho as Marion, a secretary who has just embezzled $40,000 from one of her employer’s clients.
To avoid getting caught, Marion goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run a by a young man named Norman Bates who has an extremely odd relationship with his mother. Directed by legendary Alfred Hitchcock, Psycho was released in 1960 and still holds up today as one of cinema’s best films and quite often considered to be a must-watch.

If you were wanting to watch for an old school movie (that some say put horror films on the map) then Psycho is the perfect place to start.

Watch it: BINGE

From Nightmare on Elm Street to The Hills Have Eyes, Wes Craven has become synonymous with horror films - but his most popular claim to fame is arguably Scream and his subsequent sequels. Scream Queen Neve Campbell (The Craft and Wild Things) plays Sidney – a teenage girl who has lost her mother to an unsolved murder and is now being terrorised by a masked killer.
This mysterious figure targets her and her friends using scary movies references as part of a deadly game of cat and mouse. This classic horror film reignited the slasher genre and in doing so gained a mass cultural following and it continues to be successful even with some of the main characters dying. 
Scream is a bucket list film for anyone looking for a murder mystery and horror/ slasher flick all in one.

Watch it: Prime Video

The Exorcist (1973), directed by William Friedkin, not only spooked an entire generation of movie-goers but was also vilified for decades as being too scary and too supernatural. Nonetheless, The Exorcist has stood the test of time and now highly regarded as a landmark in horror cinema and was even the first horror film to be nominated at the Academy Awards.

The film tells the story of a young girl, Regan MacNeil who is unknowingly possessed by a demonic spirit. Desperate to rid this supernatural possession from her home, Regan’s mother enlists two priests to save her daughter through an exorcism. Its intense and shocking scenes, combined with groundbreaking special effects, set new standards for the genre and gave us bone chilling performances from Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn – who too culturally (and rightfully) earned themselves the title of Scream Queen.

Streaming and screaming

These movies are perfect inspiration to get you into the Halloween mood and explore the huge range of classic movies of all genres available via SubHub’s streaming partners.

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^{This is an updated version of an article first published on 23 October 2023}