I think it’s time to retire the term “scream queens,” the epithet for women who star in horror flicks where they’re constantly on the run from monsters, murderers, more. That’s because there is only one true Scream Queen, and her name is Jamie Lee Curtis, star of several Halloween films, Prom Night, The Fog, Terror Train, and more. Curtis proved her royalty yet again at the Halloween Kills premiere party by arriving dressed as her mother, Janet Leigh — specifically, as her doomed character in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.
The premiere, held on October 12, was also a costume party, and a few of Curtis’ fellow stars made the effort. Her Halloween Kills co-star Judy Greer came as Diane Keaton in Annie Hall, and I think Kyle Richards was a Sexy Drum Majorette or something. At least Blumhouse head honcho Jason Blum kept on genre by dressing as Laurie Strode, Curtis’ Halloween character, as seen in the 2018 film, although the costume was flattering to neither of them.
Unsurprisingly, Curtis was the star, not only dressed as Leigh’s character Marion Crane, but accessorized with the bloody shower curtain that served as her funeral shroud. It’s by no means the first time Curtis has celebrated her mother, who’s often referred to as the first scream queen because of her work in Psycho. On Fox’s (not particularly good) 2015-16 TV series Scream Queens, Curtis reenacted the infamous shower attack scene herself.
The actor is clearly game for just about anything horror-related, given that she’s been willing to play the role of Laurie Strode for four Halloween sequels, not counting the upcoming Halloween Kills, which premieres in theatres and on the Peacock streaming service tomorrow. In it, Laurie leads the survivors of Michael Myers’ 1978 attacks together to find the missing killer and put him down once and for all. (Don’t worry, he’ll be safe — a third movie, Halloween Ends, is coming next year.)
Hmm. Maybe the term “scream queens” can stay. What if we just declare Jamie Lee Curtis the Scream Empress?
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