Scream king
A scream king is an actor who is prominent and influential in horror films through either a notable appearance or recurring roles. Scream queen is the equivalent for women. Notable scream king examples include Vincent Price, Bruce Campbell, Robert Englund and Bill Moseley.
Definition
The term "scream king" has been used to refer to male leading actors who have made their name through taking on leading roles in horror movies as a "final guy" character. Rachel Roth defines the rise of the "scream kings" as a result of moving away from formulas where men are typically cast as monsters for a female character to fight off and female actresses being cast less as victims and sometimes as the monster or villain themselves. Roth cites Bruce Campbell as an early example of a scream king for his role in the Evil Dead franchise. Campbell has also been referred to as "the definitive scream king."Another notable early example of a scream king would be Robert Englund, who played Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.
Ryan Heffernan from Dread Central states "A scream king is an actor that doesn’t merely work in genre cinema on occasion or by chance but a fella that does so deliberately and proudly embraces his horror credentials." Scream kings may branch out and work in other areas but gentlemen of this ilk always find their way back to the horror space when the right project comes along.
Tony Todd's crowning achievement as one of the all-time great scream kings though comes from his role in the Candyman films, playing the eponymous villain haunting the infamous Cabrini-Green housing projects in Chicago.
History
Beginnings (1920s-1960s)
earned the title of scream king for his appearances in Castle of the Living Dead, Don't Look Now, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.1970s
has been given the title for starring in every Phantasm film, Bloody Bloody Bible Camp, Wishmaster, Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation, and The Mangler Reborn. Tom Atkins earnt the title for Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo, Night of the Creeps, Halloween III, Trick, Maniac Cop, The Fog, My Bloody Valentine 3D, Drive Angry, and Creepshow.1980s
earned the title for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and as Otis Driftwood in Rob Zombie’s Firefly trilogy, Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out, Tom Savini’s Night of the Living Dead remake, and Army of Darkness ''among others. Jeffrey Combs has also earned the title for starring in Re-Animator, Dark House, Would You Rather, The Frighteners and so many more! Kane Hodder has been called a scream king for several of the Friday the 13th films, Wishmaster, the Hatchet franchise, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, Chillerama, and so many more! Kurt Russell has earned the title for appearing in Escape from New York, Escape from L.A., The Thing, Death Proof, Bone Tomahawk, and The Hateful Eight. Sam Neill has also been called a scream king for Omen III: The Final Conflict, Possession, Dead Calm, In The Mouth Of Madness, and Event Horizon.The actor Mark Patton, star of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge'', has been touted at various conventions as mainstream horror's first "male scream queen" and as somebody with a satirical public image having homoerotic elements. He's also notable for being one of the first openly LGBT performers within that particular movie genre.