The stars of Nosferatu and Smile 2 top our list of new horror ‘Scream Kings’

Bill Skarsgård, Kyle Gallner, Dan Stevens and Daniel Kaluuya top our list of ‘Scream Kings’ who now frequently headline major horror films and seem to be on a mission to bring horror to the masses.

‘Scream Queens’ has been the soul of genre cinema for decades. Jamie Lee Curtis is perhaps the most famous ‘Final Girl’ thanks to her work in the Halloween films, as well as The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train.

Barbara Crampton, Dee Wallace, Heather Langenkamp and Neve Campbell followed in their bloody footsteps. While the new generation of Scream Queens includes Samara Weaving, Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera.

But they have competition, as a group of men who now also headline horror films, play heroes, villains and victims, and even venture behind the camera as they become the new Final Boys of horror.

Kyle Gallner

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Kyle Gallner surprises in Strange Darling.

Kyle Gallner is perhaps the most prolific of these new Scream Kings, starring in some of the most interesting and acclaimed horror films of recent years.

Gallner initially made a name for herself as Cassidy ‘Beaver’ Casablancas on Veronica Mars, and many TV shows followed, but then she started landing roles in some pretty high-profile genre films, including Jennifer’s Body, Red State, and the reboot of Nightmare on Elm Street. .

But in recent years Gallner has taken things to the next level, playing Vince in 2022’s Scream and Joel in a blockbuster duet. Smile and Smile 2. But the best of all is strange darlingwhere Gallner delivers a memorable performance as ‘The Demon’, while cementing his place as true horror royalty.

Daniel Kaluuya

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Daniel Kaluuya sheds a tear in Get Out.

Gangster movies have Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. Now horror features Jordan Peele and Daniel Kaluuya, thanks to the phenomenal success of Get Out ($255 million worldwide gross) and No ($172 million).

But those collaborations were not the London-born actor’s first forays into the world of horror, as on television he played ‘Tealeaf’ in the horror comedy Psychoville, appeared in the second episode of Black Mirror and starred in the terrifying miniseries The Fades .

But Kaluuya’s work with Peele made him a household name, and already on the set of Get Out, the director he told his star“I need you to be in the futures too, man!” So we hope we’re just at the beginning of your celluloid journey.

Justin Long

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Justin Long directing his ‘Fur Babies’ on V/H/S Beyond.

Justin Long has been acting in horror for longer than anyone on this list, but now he’s moving into writing and directing, making him a triple threat.

It started in the Jeepers Creepers movies and progressed to Drag Me to Hell and Tusk in theaters, and Creepshow and goosebumps on television. While Long gave a memorably sleazy performance as a memorably sleazy actor in Barbarian.

Now he’s on the other side of the camera, co-writing and co-directing the V/H/S Beyond segment ‘fur babies‘ with brother Christian. “I love the genre,” Long said. said Entertainment Weekly while filming the short, although when Christian calls him Scream King during that same interview, Justin isn’t so sure, saying, “I don’t know how majestic I am… am I old enough to be a king?” “

Jose Ruben

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Josh Ruben is another triple threat, writing and directing his own horror films, while stealing scenes when he’s on camera.

Of what he’s created, Scare Package puts a fresh spin on campfire tales, while Werewolves Within is a genuinely fun adaptation of the popular video game.

While when he acts, Ruben always delivers, especially in 2022, when he played a savage character in the serial killer thriller A Wounded Fawn, and an even wilder character in the vampire film Blood Relatives. the new Creep tapes The trailer also suggests that he’s about to get Peachfuzzed, so if you love horror but don’t know Josh Ruben’s work, remedy that now.

Bill Skarsgard

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Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in It.

Tim Curry is a tough character to follow, especially his iconic portrayal of Pennywise in Stephen King’s It TV movie. But Bill Skarsgård had that unenviable task when he signed up to play the ‘Dancing Clown’ in two big-budget films.

The Swedish star rose to the occasion by going in a different direction, and while his Pennywise isn’t as funny as Curry’s, it’s arguably just as scary. Since then, Skarsgård hasn’t looked back, appearing in the aforementioned Barbarian and giving superhero horror a try. The Raven Reboot that nobody wanted.

He will next be seen playing Count Orlok in Robert Eggers’ reimagining of Nosferatu. While in 2025, Bill returns to face paint the Pennywise TV prequel, Welcome to Derry.

Daniel Stevens

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Dan Stevens poses in The Guest.

Dan Stevens got his start in television adaptations of gothic novels Frankenstein and Dracula, but found fame in Downton Abbey, which couldn’t be further from the genre.

However, since he left the period drama, his IMDb page has been filled with horror and horror-related movies, including The guestColossal, Apostle and The Rent.

Although this year he appeared in the entertaining double of abigail and Cuco, in addition to the box office success Godzilla x Kong. Stevens also recently joined the cast of the TV series The Terror and just finished working on a possession movie called The Ritual, which means there’s a lot more horror in his future.

For more scary stuff, check out our list of best horror movies of all time as well as the the most violent scary movies. Or advice on Movies for children to delve into terror..