Jamie Lee Curtis and Scream Queen?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Halloween
RobsBottin — 9 years ago(August 06, 2016 07:06 PM)
I like to buck the trend
Curtis is no scream queen. There's nothing much to her, the screams are quite laughable and desperately forced. I have to be fair though and sling my arrows towards her fellow cast members; Nancy Kyes and PJ Soles were also incredibly mediocre.
Hope that upsets a few of you sycophants who constantly pedal the myth that Jamie Lee Curtis is the ultimate scream queen. The reality is she's not a very good actress.
It's all a deep end. -
vulturelivessrs — 9 years ago(August 06, 2016 09:31 PM)
I've always considered the ultimate 'scream queen' to be Marilyn Burns. I'm partial to Barbara Crampton, too.
I have nothing against Curtis, and Halloween is a great movie. But, I think that Curtis is recognized as the ultimate 'scream queen' primarily because she became part of the Hollywood A-list, and is therefore more widely known than the majority of genre actresses from the 70s/80s. Halloween is one of the most well known horror movies of all time, too. So, it's more of a popularity thing than anything else.
In no way does Curtis compete with the screams of Marilyn Burns in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. -
RobsBottin — 9 years ago(August 07, 2016 03:55 AM)
That's true about popularity but I've never been one to follow the masses. I have nothing against Curtis on a personal level I just feel that when one steps back and actually looks at the picture objectively Jamie Lee's performance doesn't marry up with the kudos she's received over the years oh and Barbara Crampton, good shout!
It's all a deep end. -
vulturelivessrs — 9 years ago(August 07, 2016 09:19 AM)
That's what I'm saying. Her status as the ultimate 'scream queen' has less to do with the quality of her performance, and more to do with the fact that both Halloween and Curtis are well known in the mainstream. So, naturally, she receives more recognition than genre actresses who starred in lesser known films and didn't go on to have A-list careers. It doesn't mean that lesser known genre actresses haven't given better performances than Curtis' performance in Halloween; they simply aren't as well known by the average movie watcher.
For the record, I think that Curtis' performance in Halloween is just fine. I have no issue with it. I just don't get all that excited about it. I think that her performance takes a backseat to Carpenter's direction and score, and Cundey's cinematography. -
Tri0xin — 9 years ago(August 07, 2016 10:51 AM)
That's true about popularity but I've never been one to follow the masses.
Maybe you should start.
How dare you put Babs Crampton ahead of Jamie Lee Curtis? Was it because of her riveting performance in Space Truckers? Get the beep out of here. You're on a loser. -
Tri0xin — 9 years ago(August 07, 2016 10:39 AM)
Get out of here. Jamie Lee Curtis is the second greatest scream queen of all time. Halloween, Halloween II, The Fog, Terror Train, Prom Night. Her resume shines.
As good as she is, the greatest scream queen is Linnea Quigley.
Let's have a look at her resume. The Return of the Living Dead, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, Night of the Demons, Silent Night Deadly Night, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Graduation Day, one of the Nightmare on Elm Streets but I can't remember which one, etc. etc.
Jamie Lee and Linnea aren't just "scream queens," they are THE scream queens. If you don't think so, you would be wrong. -
vulturelivessrs — 9 years ago(August 07, 2016 05:44 PM)
Really? You belittle Barbara Crampton and then proceed to prop up Linnea Quigley above them all? It's quality over quantity; which isn't to say that Crampton hasn't been in her fair share of crap. But, the only movie in Quigley's filmography that begins to compare with Re-Animator and From Beyond is The Return of the Living Dead. Nightmare on Elm Street 4? You'd never even know she was in that without reading the credits. She was a glorified extra.
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Tri0xin — 9 years ago(August 07, 2016 07:58 PM)
Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama and Night of the Demons st all over Castle Freak and Space Truckers!
Whilst Linnea and Jamie Lee were busy being THE queens of scream, Babs was off sucking dks just to get a role in Chopping Mall. So get out of here with your nonsense. -
IGetSoEmojinal — 9 years ago(August 18, 2016 12:36 AM)
I don't really agree that it is quality over quantity. It's more a mix of the two. If you look at Curtis she has her one iconic role in Halloween and then a bunch of mediocre films otherwise. Pretty much par for the course for these actresses to become known for one very popular film and then get more horror films based on that. Crampton was mostly known as a soap opera actress for decades though she's very busy in horror films now. Quigley is more of a B movie horror queen and has a lot of cult classics on her resume. Curtis did the horror at first to cash in on her mother's fame in Psycho but then transitioned out of it and threw some of her horror following a bone in the late 90s after Scream hit it big. I don't think Curtis really likes the genre all that much while Crampton and Quigley do.
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vulturelivessrs — 9 years ago(August 18, 2016 06:32 AM)
I thought about using the whole, "Curtis doesn't really love the horror genre while the other actresses do," argument. But, I realized that such an argument would be nothing more than an assumption on my part. I don't know how any of them really feel about the genre, or what their motives were for taking on the roles that they did. If Crampton and/or Quigley had been able to find success in big budget Hollywood movies, do you think that they would've brushed it off and continued to act in B-movies for a fraction of the pay? Perhaps they were in so many low budget horror movies/B-movies because it was the only way that they could find consistent work in acting. Even though I suspect that Curtis doesn't really love the genre, I'm in no position to make definitive statements about the personal feelings of any of the actresses mentioned above.
I understand what you're saying about it being a mix of quality and quantity, but I do think that quality is the more important of the two. Quigley, for example, has a lot of acting credits to her name. But, she was only in one bona fide classic (The Return of the Living Dead, in which she isn't even the lead female), and the rest of her acting credits are made up of varying degrees of trash. I don't think that she's a particularly good actress, either. I would rather give praise to an actress who was in more good movies and gave better performances, even if the filmography is comparatively small. -
dave626 — 9 years ago(August 18, 2016 08:32 AM)
Curtis has stated often that Halloween gave her a career. She has also stated that after 5 consecutive horror films, she couldn't do another one or be typecast and I can see her point, as Crampton, Quigley and even to an extent Chambers were.
So she doesn't hate it, in fact it was her idea alone to do H20. So she obviously must not hate it that much. That and the fact she's doing Scream Queens the TV series. It's not like she needs the money and was for all intents "retired".
She wouldn't be doing all that, the conventions, etc. if she hated the genre. Actions and words speak loudest here. Her mother was known for Psycho. Her father a movie star in his own right. I think she wanted to set herself apart and be her own person, which I find no fault in that.
"He came home." - Dr. Sam Loomis from the original HalloweeN -
IGetSoEmojinal — 9 years ago(August 18, 2016 12:04 PM)
Curtis has stated often that Halloween gave her a career. She has also stated that after 5 consecutive horror films, she couldn't do another one or be typecast and I can see her point, as Crampton, Quigley and even to an extent Chambers were.
She doesn't hate the fact Halloween gave her a career. She just hates horror films.
So she doesn't hate it, in fact it was her idea alone to do H20. So she obviously must not hate it that much. That and the fact she's doing Scream Queens the TV series. It's not like she needs the money and was for all intents "retired".
She did H20 because she's not an idiot. For starters, Scream was a huge hit and there was a whole scene in it where they discuss her and her horror films. Second, she'd been in nothing but flops (Fierce Creatures, Homegrown, House Arrest) for years leading up to H20 so it was an easy way to give her another box office hit after True Lies. Her brief return to horror was a wise business decision, nothing more, nothing less. After H20 was a success, she did another horror film (Virus) and constantly bad mouthed it in the press after it flopped. Then a few years later she did the other Halloween sequel and, again, bad mouthed it. She was contractually obligated and claimed she only did it to finally kill off the character for good. As for the TV series, it's a steady paycheck and again happened after another series of flops. It's also probably more rewarding than constantly doing yogurt commercials.
She wouldn't be doing all that, the conventions, etc. if she hated the genre.
Except for the fact that she herself has stated she doesn't like horror. She claimed to do the convention for charity, which is nice of her and all, but that doesn't mean she enjoys the genre. Judging by her other projects (films and books) she's most interested in doing family entertainment. -
IGetSoEmojinal — 9 years ago(August 18, 2016 11:17 AM)
"When you're young, you try and get your footing in show business. And for me, I landed on a mountain-top at 20 and what supported me was a genre that I don't particularly like. I am not a horror film fan." - Jamie Lee Curtis
So, no, she isn't a horror fan at all though she is grateful that Halloween (and the fans) helped her get started. Crampton and Quigley however ARE horror fans. Crampton says she watches more horror than any other genre in her off time and Quigley has been a huge fan since she was a kid. Not saying they weren't victims of typecasting because they were but they're both fine with doing mostly horror films. I'm not even going to compare these three on talent since that's all subjective.
Quigley, for example, has a lot of acting credits to her name. But, she was only in one bona fide classic
A lot of people would say the same thing about Crampton with Re-Animator. I love From Beyond but I doubt most would consider it a bona fide classic, plus Quigley was also in Silent Night, Deadly Night and Night of the Demons, which are just as well known. Both were popular enough to spawn numerous sequels and eventually be remade. And then LQ has a number of other movies that have cult followings like Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers which Maxim chose as the fourth best B movie of all time.
I would rather give praise to an actress who was in more good movies and gave better performances, even if the filmography is comparatively small.
Again, the "good" and "better" are subjective. I'd personally rather re-watch Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama or Chopping Mall than I would Prom Night or Terror Train. But since we are talking about Scream Queens here, Quigley WAS the Queen of her time and of the entire video revolution whether one likes it or not. She made an entire career out of horror and her dedication to the genre for decades counts for something and more than earns her the Scream Queen title. She was even the very first female to be inducted into the Fangoria Hall of Fame. For the record, Curtis was inducted in 1997 and Crampton was just this year and both deserve it. But so does Quigley. -
vulturelivessrs — 9 years ago(August 18, 2016 11:32 AM)
Sure. I'm not trying to revoke Quigley's status as a 'scream queen.' But, like you said, there's a subjective element to the discussion, here. I personally don't care for Quigley or most of her films. I prefer other horror actresses for the reasons that I stated previously.
For whatever it's worth, it seems like we have a similar take on Curtis. -
IGetSoEmojinal — 9 years ago(August 18, 2016 12:36 PM)
I like both Crampton and Quigley but I can see how one or the other may or may not appeal to certain viewers. I view Quigley as more comedy-horror (sort of like a female Bruce Campbell) and Crampton as being a more serious actress. Either way, I'm happy to see BC's been making a comeback in recent years and is finally getting some respect.
As far as Curtis is concerned, I think she's kind of a mismatch for the genre, just fell into it because of her mother and never really liked being there. Halloween is one of the greatest horror films ever but it's not because of the acting. When you look at something like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the movie requires convincing performances in the lead roles or it wouldn't have worked at all. Marilyn Burns is a big reason for the film's success. -
dave626 — 9 years ago(August 18, 2016 04:38 PM)
Crampton and Quigley showed way too much skin to be taken seriously by me. Softcore porn in a lot of their films. Same with Chambers. Curtis was a legit actress who didn't show off the goods til Trading Places. I'm not a prude by any stretch, but once you open that showing skin door you get taken less seriously in Hollywood. Which is why so many wait to establish themselves before they do it. Plus quality of films. Those 2 would be likely more seen in Rhonda Shear's USA Up All Night than a local TV station. That's where I first saw them.
Curtis had little help beyond her pedigree to get where she is. Halloween, Fog, both weren't gimmes. Even though Carpenter did like to use is former stars. Watching TCM again tonight. I will admit Burns was the best of that bunch, but given it's own pedigree that didn't take much. Still a classic, though.
"He came home." - Dr. Sam Loomis from the original HalloweeN