FRC Feature – Top Female Leads in Horror Films
Plenty of strong women have been featured in horror films. From Nicole Kidman in The Others to Naomi Watts in The Ring, these females deliver bone-chilling performances.
To celebrate the release of the British horror films The Awakening (out on DVD & Blu-ray 26th March), we take a look at lead actress Rebecca Hall and other top female leads in horror films.
Rebecca Hall
Rebecca Hall is a rising star best known as Vicky from Woody Allen’s Vicky Christina Barcelona, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. The English actress went on to be featured in the Academy Award nominated films Frost/Nixon and The Town. She now plays a 1920’s school teacher in The Awakening, a spooky and psychological thriller.
Nicole Kidman
Acclaimed Australian actress Nicole Kidman is no stranger to dark and chilling films. In the horror film The Others, she played a mother who becomes convinced her house is haunted. The role earned her a Golden Globe nomination. She has also starred in the highly regarded films The Hours and Moulin Rouge.
Naomi Watts
English-born actress Naomi Watts launched into the spotlight with her role as an investigative reporter in the hit thriller The Ring. She also was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in 21 Grams. She produced and was featured in the independent film Ellie Parker, which earned critical acclaim at The Sundance Film Festival. Excellent in her portrayal loss and suffering, she is often regarded as one of the best actors of her generation.
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar is best known as Buffy in the popular television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She also starred as a nurse in the supernatural thriller The Grudge, which was an international hit. She is also known for her roles in Cruel Intentions and I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Belén Rueda
The Spanish actress and former model earned widespread acclaim for her role in The Orphanage. She played a mother who opens an orphanage for handicapped children in the spooky thriller. The film, heralded by critics and audiences alike, won multiple awards. She also starred in the Oscar nominated film The Sea Inside, alongside Javier Bardem.
Check out this haunting trailer for THE AWAKENING
The Awakening is released on DVD & Blu-ray 26th March 2012
About The Author – Scott Lawlor
Chief Editor of FRC. A self confessed geek with an unhealthy thirst for all things Home Cinema. Whether it is the latest Action film or Subwoofer.
Who is your favourite female lead in Horror? Comment below…
Scott Lawlor
Great list, Scott. I like you avoided using some well known horror actress like Jamie Lee Curtis, Asia Argento, Ingrid Pitt, Barbara Steele, etc. How about Shauna Macdonald from ‘The Descent’ films? Thanks.
Thanks Michael! You are too kind. As many around here know I am not good at horror, so I avoid all the big slasher types
If you are not good at horror, you have no business making any kind of list about it.
Hmmm that Awakening trailer looks pretty promising! Loved the Others and The Orphanage. Great films, great female leads! Love Heather in The Blair Witch Project too!
I hope you get to see it soon my friend. As it is very spooky.
I thought Rebecca Hall was excellent in The Awakening.
She certainly was Dan!
Great article and that is a stunning picture of Kidman! I loved Hall in Awakening, she is such a great actress.
Thanks Sati, I am glad you enjoyed it.
Hi, Scott and company!
Intriguing topic, dissertation and photos:
Oh, I do so pine for the days of no named, though familiar actresses gallantly portraying their roles as ‘Scream Queens’. In myriad horror, B and Sci~Fi ‘Bug Eyed Monster’ films. Such as ‘The House on Haunted Hill’, ‘Race with the Devil’ and the original ‘The Fly’.
So much more satisfying than this new generation of actresses trying out their Warrant Officer Ripley/Drop dead gorgeous, either stoic or dastardly chops in films with a short half life.
Securing my Soap Box.
Preparing to be flamed.
Carry on.
I do so enjoy when you show up with a soap box under your arm Jack. It completely makes my day. You are always right of course!!
Happy friday my friend.
definitely agree with smg and watts, but i’d take out some of these for sigourney weaver or ali larter
Thanks Candice, good call. I was going for a bit of a theme though
Have yet to see The Awakening but I definitely want to thanks to Hall’s involvement. Totally agree with Watts, not only in The Ring but also Mulholland Dr. which is pretty damn creepy in its own right.
Thanks Castor, I hope you see it soon, and enjoy it like I did.
I wanted to say a requirement to be a good female lead in horror films is “a good scream”, but realised that’s more suitable for slasher flicks.
If you take out Naomi Watts’ Ring sequels, I can only remember Kidman being in more than one horror movie. She was in “The Invasion [2007]” which unfortunately wasn’t any good. Other than that, if you consider “Batman Forever” horror, I guess that’s three for her. Those nipple-bat-suits still gives me nightmares!
Yeah, I was trying to stay away form SLASHER types….
Thanks for the comment Asrap.
I love Naomi Watts. She’s so beautiful, and a great actress to boot, one of my favorites working today. Nothing against her horror films- I loved her horror films- but I was so happy when she started getting more acclaimed roles. She earned it.
I like Rebecca Hall! Might even try Awakening even though I typically can’t stand horror. Both Nicole and Naomi are featured here, curious when they’ll do a film together as they’re BFFs.
Great topic, Scott.
I have a couple of favorites growing up – both from A Nightmare on Elm Street – Heather Langenkamp and Patricia Arquette (Dream Warriors – loved the concept).
Nice list, Scott. I will have to give The Awakening a rental. Somehow that one slipped by me entirely.
I do wanna check out The Awakening. As for the list, it’s a nice list. Like someone else mentioned, it’s also nice cause it avoids the cliche answers. I really did expect to see someone like Jamie Lee Curtis here, refreshing that the list didn’t go that route. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the Halloween franchise, just nice to see lists that deviate from the beaten path at times.
My only qualm with this list would be with Sarah Michelle Gellar. I didn’t like that movie, and frankly, I found her to be annoying in it (as she usually is in most things). I’d rather include, say….Halle Berry from Gothika on a list like this than Gellar, even though that movie was pretty crappy (though Berry really did do a good job in it).
Couple good ones that I can think of to stick to the pattern you used here:
Radha Mitchell in Silent Hill
Deborah Kerr in The Innocents
Also, Natalie Portman in Black Swan comes to mind for me too. Not really a horror, but does have horror themes in it and very psychological in nature like most of the ones listed here.