Horror's Best Leading Ladies

Danielle Harris IS the ultimate "Scream Queen" and she deserves this this title she has worked very hard for. Her entrance onto the cinematic screen began at the age of 11 playing the daughter of Hollywood's first scream queen, Jamie Lee Curtis, in Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers. A year later, she reprised the role of Jamie, named after Curtis, in Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers. After a lengthy break from the genre, she returned to the type of roles that made her famous but this time showing a different side to audiences as a gothic internet slut in Urban Legends. Following this, her impressive list of credits is longer than anyone else's in horror movies. Her best role was Rob Zombie's brilliant choice to cast her in his remake of Halloween in 2007 not as Jamie Lee Curtis' role but that of her promiscuous best friend, Annie. Harris gave her best performance to date as she faced masked killer Michael Myers yet again. That character survived though, which gave them the opportunity for her to completely steal the show in Zombie's sequel, Halloween 2, and she filmed one of the saddest, most brutal death scenes in horror history. However, she did not stop there. Since the Halloween films, she's starred in countless others including: Blood Night: The Legend Of Mary Hatchet; Black Waters Of Echo Pond; Hatchet 2; Stake Land; Chromeskull: Laid To Rest 2; The Victim; and Shiver.

Jamie Lee Curtis was already horror royalty before John Carpenter and Debra Hill cast her in their 1978 cult classic Halloween, since her mother was Janet Leigh, star of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Curtis made a name for herself with Halloween and then returned to reprise the role of Laurie Strode, one of the best characters in the genre EVER, in Halloween 2. She also starred in Carpenter's other famous 80's classic The Fog, alongside her mother, as well as Prom Night and Terror Train, thus earning the status of the first scream queen. Horror fans and I were thrilled when she came back to the role that made her famous as a love letter to her fans in Halloween: H20, and again in Halloween: Resurrection, where we saw the death of Laurie Strode for the first time ever!

P.J. may not have as many horror credits as the first two actresses on this list but she was always one of my favorites and always stood out in my memory. She first starred in Brian DePalma's Carrie as one of Carrie's tormentors, Norma, alongside Nancy Allen and John Travolta, and many will recall her infamous death scene at the prom by the fire hose that actually broke her ear drum in real life. But for me, her best role of her career, which was personally written with her in mind by John Carpenter, was as one of Jamie Lee Curtis' best friends, Lynda, in Halloween. Who could ever forget her "totally" awesome death scene, strangled at the hands of Michael Myers with a phone cord. One of her scenes from Halloween was even featured in 1996's Scream, as the screenwriter was also a major fan. Another fan of hers, Rob Zombie, cast her many years later in a cameo role in one of his films, The Devil's Rejects. "See anything you like?"

The star of the four Scream films definitely deserves this spot on this list. Campbell has made her Scream character, Sidney Prescott, a household word, and she originated the best character in horror history since Curtis' Laurie Strode. PERIOD!!!

Sarah Michelle Gellar stole the show in two back to back horror hits in the late 90's, premiering two months apart: first as Jennifer Love Hewitt's best friend Helen Shivers in I Know What You Did Last Summer, and then as sorority victim Cici Cooper in Scream 2. Later, she was the star in her own horror hit, The Grudge, also returning for its sequel, The Grudge 2.

Katie Cassidy is the scream queen of horror remakes!! When A Stranger Calls, Black Christmas, and A Nightmare On Elm Street were all hits of the 70's/80's and she has starred in all three of their recent reboots. Her best role out of the three though was Nightmare's Kris, which was basically the same character as Tina in the original, and the death scene was very similar, yet Cassidy's performance made hers even better. She completely steals the show in Nightmare even among an impressive cast, and although you know it's coming you hate to see her die!

Nothing in the history of horror films was as shocking as Drew's opening sequence in Scream, rivaling Janet Leigh's performance in Psycho. Her role as Casey Becker will be forever embedded in our memories for years to come, alongside Leigh's, Curtis', Harris's, and Campbell's classic characters.

Much like Drew Barrymore, Rose will be forever remembered for her role in Scream as Tatum Riley, the spunky best friend of Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott. Tatum's grisly demise via garage door is an image horror fans will relish for the rest of their lives. She also starred in a little gem of a film that a lot of people forget about called Phantoms, with Ben Affleck and Liev Schrieber that I loved.

Jennifer jumped on the horror bandwagon along with fellow TV co-star Neve Campbell in the late 90's with I Know What You Did Last Summer, one of my faves, but also in the not so fortunate sequel called I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.

Just like Neve Campbell, Cox has appeared in all four of the Scream films, as Scream's other heroine, the feisty reporter, Gale Weathers.

She doesnt' have too many horror films under her belt, but her spooky appearance in I Know What You Did Last Summer as Melissa Egan lands her on my list, not to mention her starring role filling the shoes of iconic Janet Leigh as Marion Crane in the remake of Psycho.

Final Destination, House On Haunted Hill, and Final Destination 2....

How could I not love the actress chosen to fill the shoes of P.J. Soles in the remake of Halloween as Lynda?? Kristina, along with Danielle Harris, completely stole the show for me in Rob Zombie's version.

Jessica Biel made the remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre one of the best reboots ever made. Her performance as Erin garners this top spot on my list.

Fresh on the heels of Jessica Biel, Jordana starred in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. However, it was her role in The Faculty as Delilah that first got her noticed.

Ok, so Final Destination 3 was a total bomb, and so was the remake of Black Christmas, but winning the lead role in another remake of The Thing has to count for something.

Her character Rachel Carruthers in Halloween 4 as the older sister to adopted Jamie (Danielle Harris) was inspired by Jamie Lee Curtis's character Laurie from the original. Rachel survived that film only to return for its sequel, Halloween 5, where her character dies in one of the series' scariest sequences. I remember being in the theatre on the edge of my seat, scared to death, hoping Rachel would live.

Heather really deserves to be higher up on this list, as she created one of horror's most iconic characters, right up there next to Laurie Strode, as Nightmare On Elm Street's Nancy Thompson. She was one of the best heroines of horror films to date and Langenkamp returned for the third one, Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors; and then years later, for a different kind of sequel: Wes Craven's New Nightmare where she played herself.

True horror fans will remember Tracy from New Nightmare alongside Heather Langenkamp as she played the babysitter, Julie, for Heather's son. Her death scene was so memorable since it was supposed to be similar to the way Langenkamp's character Nancy's best friend Tina died in the original Nightmare, where she was dragged up across the ceiling by Freddy Krueger. (Not to mention this was again filmed similar with Katie Cassidy in the Nightmare remake).

Wilson had a supporting role as Sarah Michelle Gellar's sister Elsa in I Know What You Did Last Summer, and also alongside Ali Larter in House On Haunted Hill.

Scout won the role of one of the horror genre's most beloved characters for the remake of Halloween, Laurie Strode. She returned for its sequel, Rob Zombie's Halloween 2, as well. Her other genre credits include April Fools Day, Wicked Little Things, and the upcoming 7500.

It's hard to believe she wasn't in more horror films but Judie Aronson left quite an impression on me and was my favorite victim in the Friday the 13th series as Samantha in Friday The 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter. Her character met her demise after taking a late night dip in Crystal Lake and lounging in a raft until Jason's machete came through the bottom.

Adrienne was the very first "survivor" or heroine in the Friday The 13th films, that is until she met a grisly end in the opening of Friday The 13th Part 2, which was another film that Scream was reminiscent of. Her character of Alice has always been beloved by horror fans and is considered the Laurie Strode of Friday The 13th!

Many critics denied anything good said about Friday The 13th Part 2 but it actually stands as my favorite of the entire series, mostly for the opening sequence with Adrienne King, followed by another great heroine, Ginny, played by Amy Steel. Also, Amy Steel's character Kitt is the heart of another 80's classic, April Fool's Day, one of my favorites.

Who could ever forget Pamela's character in Halloween 2, nurse Karen, who endures one of the goriest death scenes in horror history as Michael Myers drowns and scalds her to death in the hospital's hot tub!

In Carrie, she was the villain, Chris Hargensen, who dumps the bucket of pig blood on Carrie and then later pays for it as she and John Travolta's car wrecks and explodes; but it was her scenes in another Brian DePalma flick, Dressed To Kill, that actually had me on the edge of my seat.

The Fog is one of my all time favorite flicks from the 80's and her starring turn as Stevie Wayne, the radio dj, led an all star cast. Other roles included Creepshow, Swamp Thing, and Escape From New York. She filmed a cameo for Rob Zombie's Halloween remake but it ended up on the cutting room floor.

Formerly known as Nancy Loomis, she co-starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and P.J. Soles as their other best friend, babysitter and Sheriff's daughter Annie Brackett. Curtis, Soles, and Loomis all three made such an impact in the horror genre that they will always remain staples in the scary movie business. Loomis also starred in two other John Carpenter classics: Assault On Precinct 13 and The Fog (again with Curtis and her mother Janet Leigh), and also appeared in the Halloween film that wasn't a Halloween film-Halloween 3: Season Of The Witch as a completely different character and didn't even look like herself.

This one needs no explanation as any film buff knows who Janet Leigh is. Her starring and shocking turn in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (Audiences were surprised when the top billed actress was killed off in the first act of the movie) as Marion Crane, one of horror's most memorable roles. Psycho is usually referred to as the original slasher flick, and inspired the other original slasher flick, Halloween, which starred her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis. In the early 80's, Leigh starred alongside her daughter in another John Carpenter classic, The Fog, (which also included Nancy Loomis and Adrienne Barbeau), and then jumped at the chance to share the screen with Curtis one last time in the late 90's in the cameo role of Laurie Strode's secretary, Norma Watson, in Halloween: H20, shortly before her death. Incidentally, the role of Norma was originally offered to P.J. Soles but when she hesitated Leigh took the part. And they even tipped their hats off to Psycho by having Leigh's character drive away in the car from Psycho in her final movie scene. Way cool!!!

Weaver definitely deserves recognition for her iconic character, Lt. Ellen Ripley, in the Alien franchise. The first film, 1979's classic, Ridley Scott's Alien, launched Weaver's career as Ripley was the sole survivor of a spaceship crew that was taken over by the alien. She returned in 1986 for director James Cameron in one of the best sequels ever made, Aliens, with usual Cameron co-stars Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, and Jeanette Goldstein as they played Marines going to investigate these supposed aliens that killed her former crew. Aliens is still one of my all time favorite movies. The next two films in that franchise with Weaver still on board were not as good as the first two but she still gave it her all in Alien 3, followed last by Alien: Resurrection. Later on, although Ghostbusters is not a horror movie by any means, it has a hint of one, with Weaver along for the ride as Dana Barrett; and finally one of the best thrillers of the 90's, Weaver and Holly Hunter starred in Copycat, about a serial killer imitating famous murderers from the past.

Although it as a total 80's cheesefest, it was a creepy classic that spawned countless sequels, Children Of The Corn, starring Hamilton and Peter Horton. And her iconic character of Sarah Connor from the not really horror Terminator films rivals Sigourney Weaver's Ripley for the best action scream queen!

Kidder starred in another 70's classic that is often referred to as the original slasher flick, Black Christmas, that was recently remade. She also starred in a film I never saw called Sisters. And then there was The Amityville Horror, one that still frightens me to my very bones to this day, where she played James Brolin's wife Kathy Lutz. Based on a true story, Amityville spawned many sequels, imitators, and even a remake of Kidder's first Amityville. Then in 2009, Margot popped up in a two scene cameo role as Laurie Strode's shrink in Rob Zombie's Halloween 2. (Zombie is known for placing familiar film and TV veterans in supporting parts in his films, something I highly admire).

Linda Blair probably tried and never succeeded to move beyond her unforgettable role as Regan McNeil, the possessed teen in The Exorcist, and The Exorcist 2: The Heretic. Several flops later, she gave in to the horror genre with Hell Night, but that bombed as well. Oh well, at least she was invited to make a cameo appearance in the first Scream film as a reporter~~"Tell us Sidney, people have a right to know!" she belted out!

From writer Stephen King.....director Brian DePalma....the prom from hell.....need I say more?? Spacek fought hard and won the role of Carrie for the movie by the same name. And it paid off, Spacek earned an Oscar nomination, a first for a horror film. The movie still holds up to this day, and not only did it launch her career, but it also opened up doors for her co-stars/tormentors Amy Irving, William Katt, Nancy Allen, John Travolta, and P.J. Soles. There has already been one remake and talk of another, but how could they ever top the original cast shouting "Plug it up! Plug it up!"

Speaking of Carrie, Emilie was one of the stars of the forgettable TV remake, filling in the shoes of Nancy Allen as Chris Hargensen, Carrie's main nemesis, the girl who dumps the pig blood on her. Emilie also starred in another remake, The Hills Have Eyes. One more reboot and she would tie with Katie Cassidy as the remake scream queen!!!

And while we are on that subject, Rachel Blanchard starred in the much more forgettable sequel to Carrie, titled The Rage: Carrie 2, as one of the mean girls who torment the half sister of Spacek's Carrie White. Amy Irving even returned as her same character Sue Snell, now a guidance counselor, and Rachel played a character modeled after P.J. Soles' Norma from the first Carrie. I thought for sure she would then be cast to replace P.J. once again when Rob Zombie remade Halloween in the role of Lynda but he chose Kristina Klebe. So Rachel went on to star in Snakes On A Plane instead!!!

The Hills Have Eyes 2 (yes they made a sequel!) followed by the remake of Prom Night earns Stroup a spot on this list I guess.

I expected a heck of a lot more out of the little sister from While You Were Sleeping, but Freddy Vs. Jason was about the best we got from her in the horror world.

Another "Faculty" alumni, (Starred alongside Jordana Brewster and Josh Hartnett in The Faculty), she later appeared in John Carpenter's return to sci-fi/horror called Ghosts Of Mars; and The Grudge with Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Michelle has definitely went on to higher success but she got her start in the late 90's latest Halloween sequel, Halloween: H20 as Josh Hartnett's girlfriend, Molly, and she definitely held her own against 'ole Michael Myers and alongside Jamie Lee Curtis.

Jodi wasn't as lucky as Michelle, her character Sarah had "DEAD" stamped on her forehead the moment we first laid eyes on her in Halloween: H20. However, at least she made it on the movie poster! (The 90's horror films, as well as others, began a trend of placing its most notable players in a fashionable pose together for the poster of the film and the dvd cover. SEE: The Scream trilogy; I Know What You Did Last Summer; The Faculty; Halloween: Resurrection)

Too bad her character wasn't the survivor in The Ruins, instead of the annoying other girl who did live. And there was a little straight to dvd flick called Venom she was also featured in.

The best thing about the campy cult 80's classic Happy Birthday To Me also starring the Little House On The Prairie girl was this soap actress. Her performance and character made the whole movie and that's about all.

The best thing about the original Prom Night, even better than Jamie Lee Curtis' less than stellar performance, was this actress' portrayal of the mean friend of their group, who's long chase scene thru the high school trying to get back to the dance and away from the killer was one of the best chase scenes to come out of an 80's horror flick. She later co-starred in a little known movie called The . And not many Halloween fans recognize her, but she has a small scene in Halloween 2 as Darcy, the girl that Pamela Susan Shoop's Karen has to give a ride home before reporting to work which makes her late and gets her in hot water with Mrs. Alves!!! (No pun intended as Karen is scalded in hot water in her death scene!)

Halloween 4's resident slut, Kelly Meeker, the Sheriff's daughter!

Who could forget nurse Jill, who's clogs that dropped to the floor when Michael picked her up with his scalpel signaled her demise.

And finally, the Richards sisters....both appeared in a film called The Car....and both appeared in a John Carpenter classic: Kyle played young Lindsay Wallace in Halloween...

...and her older sister Kim played the unlucky little girl who gets shot thru her popsicle in Assault On Precinct 13!!!

Ok so I had to add these next three from one of my favorite Friday The 13th films: Part III in 3D...Dana played Chris Higgins, the final girl, and she was my favorite final girl of the whole film series.

I actually thought Vera, played by Catherine Parks, was going to be the final girl in this film, due to all the time they spent on her character but turned out she was the first of this set of teens to go, and the first Friday character to be killed by Jason wearing the iconic hockey mask!

I loved how this Friday film had all brunette haired girls for the teen characters, no blondes in this one at all. Tracie played the first pregnant character in a Friday The 13th movie which I have to say Steve Miner had balls including that into the script, as she is killed by a machete being plunged up through the hammock into her back and out of her chest!

The Halloween films first had Jamie Lee Curtis followed by Danielle Harris each starring in two back to back installments of the most popular horror movie series back in the late 70s through the 80s. For the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise, there was Heather Langenkamp as Nancy, and later on, Lisa Wilcox as Alice. And for the Hellraiser saga, was that same caliber actress that devoted fans longed for her to appear in every sequel, just as fans wished for the same of the previous mentioned actresses, Ashley Laurence shined in her standout performances as Kirsty, who battled the evil Pinhead and his crew in more a few installments of the Hellraiser franchise.

As one of 'those' who often is berated in online groups/fan pages for loving a sequel of a classic hit horror film more than its predecessor, this remains true of this great movie franchise. I think a lot of the reason for cases like this has to do with which film a young person might have seen first, therefore cementing in their mind that particular installment for scaring the bejesus out of him! However, let's get something straight though, I love the original Jaws and hold it up there with one of the film industry's greatest, but I also love Jaws 2! I think a lot of the appeal is there's a lot more action and a much bigger cast, particularly the large crop of teens in peril, kind of like a slasher movie in the water! And the standout teen in peril of Jaws 2 was Ann Dusenberry as Tina Wilcox. And fun fact trivia tidbit: Ann was considered for the role of Laurie Strode by John Carpenter and Debra Hill for Halloween which of course went to Jamie Lee Curtis, but Ann was almost the famous Laurie Strode! However, she was cast in Jaws 2 which both films came out in 1978. Also, the previous year, Ann co-starred in a made for TV horror movie called The Possessed which featured quite a few other familiar faces like Halloween's PJ Soles, Diana Scarwid of Mommie Dearest and Psycho III, Dinah Manoff of Grease and Child's Play, and an actor just about to become a household name, Harrison Ford!

One of the most memorable parts about Halloween II was the four nurses at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital...Ana Alicia (Falcon Crest) portrayed young innocent Nurse Janet...

Scream 4...Trick Or Treat...Darkness...TV's True Blood...need I say more?

The remake of The Stepfather...All The Boys Love Mandy Lane...Drive Angry...John Carpenter's The Ward...

Before she landed the pivotal role of FBI Agent Jennifer "J.J." Jareau on TV's Criminal Minds, A.J. starred in the first sequel to Final Destination opposite Ali Larter.

Wes Craven's The People Under The Stairs and John Carpenter's Escape From L.A....was later considered for the lead role of Sidney Prescott in another little movie from Wes Craven...most famous role though had to be as party girl Rayanne on the short-lived but brilliant TV series My So-Called Life with Claire Danes and Jared Leto.

I think of the horror genre in its heyday of the 70s/80s and I think of great actors like Barbara Crampton of some classic films like Re-Animator and Chopping Mall, who's made a comeback in recent years with roles in movies like You're Next!

Return Of The Living Dead...one of my favorite films to come out of the 80s starring Beverly Randolph as the great heroine Tina!

Friday The 13th Part III's Vera Sanchez

One of horror's "Deborah's", originally that is, until she changed her name before joining soaps from Deborah Morehart as she was credited in The Initiation, a great old slasher flick starring Daphne Zuniga, to Hunter Tylo.