Five awesome new school scream queens (and five old school)
By Carla Davis
![HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 11: Jamie Lee Curtis attends Universal Pictures World Premiere of "Halloween Ends" on October 11, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 11: Jamie Lee Curtis attends Universal Pictures World Premiere of "Halloween Ends" on October 11, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/881b3fbb95efbc46508b8e6df20659526d887c9f6948be0108cf59d7ddea3234.jpg)
Speaking of Scream VI (and The Babysitter: Killer Queen), Jenna Ortega appeared in each of those films, only two reasons why she has a place among the other Scream Queens. Like Weaving, she is super-talented and incredibly likeable, which I think is the key to getting viewers completely invested in a horror film. If you genuinely care about the characters, you DON’T want them to die, which makes a film that much more intense.
Her horror career began with her performance as Annie in Insidious: Chapter 2. Then came the Netflix thriller series You and The Babysitter: Killer Queen. 2022 was a banner year for Ortega, because she not only appeared in Scream, but also Studio 666, X and American Carnage.
Of course, she played Tara in both of the most recent Scream films, and I don’t know about you, but she was my favorite character. It would be remiss of me to leave out her ultra-cool, deadpan performance as the title character in Netflix’s very popular Wednesday series.
I am pretty sure I have made the case for appointing Ortega one of our Scream Queens.