Kathryn Newton: The Horror Comedy Queen 

Kathryn Newton is an overlooked icon in recent horror films. The 28 year old actress has said herself that she is a huge fan of the horror genre, with one of her favourite films being Jennifer’s Body. From Freaky to Lisa Frankenstein, Kathryn Newton has established herself as a prominent thriller actress with a gift for blending vicious violence and clever comedy.

Long before Freaky, Newton played Alex in Paranormal Activity 4 by Christopher Landon. Paranormal Activity fans were not thrilled by this fourth film in the series, but this was Newton’s first step into becoming a scream queen at just 15 years old. Newton has also said in interviews that many of her on screen moments were completely improvised (as most of the Paranormal Activity films are.) Many argue that Newton’s character is one of the best protagonists in the franchise. What they saw was her potential at such a young age.

While considering casting for his next project after Happy Death Day, director Christopher Landon said that after working with Newton on Paranormal Activity 4, he knew that Newton was his dream choice to play Millie in Freaky. Freaky, which was released in 2020 (at the height of the pandemic), had a hilarious body swap horror mash up where Vince Vaughn's serial killer, The Butcher, swapped bodies with Kathryn Newton’s Millie. Kathryn Newton plays a convincing serial killer while Vince Vaughn faces the problem of being a small, blonde woman in the body of a well known male serial killer. The movie blends horror and comedy perfectly with Newton delivering with perfect comedic timing as well as murdering with ease. She is capable of telling a story with only her face and when the audience is looking through the eyes of a silent serial killer, this is essential.

Abigail features a fantastic cast in a creative twist on the vampire film. In this film, a group of kidnappers are outwitted by a small, female ballerina vampire. Once again, Newton knows how to blend horror and comedy effectively which a film like this needs to make the silliness of a dancing ballerina into an actual threat. She also showcases her dance skills in the film as a puppet to the evil juvenile vampire. Newton's love for the genre was showcased in her ability to collaborate with directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and assist in the creation and design of her character, Sammy. (I still feel bad for Sammy after landing in that pool of bodies.)

Zelda Williams' directorial debut, Lisa Frankenstein, divided audiences. Some loved it, some hated it. The concept of a loner, goth obsessed teenager resurrecting her favourite dead guy in a cemetery and them subsequently falling in love is a little corny, but Newton's performance makes it work. Some went into this film just wanting to see Cole Sprouse playing a reanimated Victorian corpse, but were pleasantly surprised by the raunchy and silly horror comedy. Personally, I thought that it was a fun, unique twist on the classic Frankenstein story. Newton really leaned into the gothic aesthetic and goofy violence (remember when the penis was chopped off? That was pretty wild.) of this 80's inspired film which made it even more enjoyable.

Kathryn Newton is in the upcoming scary films The Devil’s Mouth by Jeff Wadlow, Dreamquil by Alex Prager and the highly anticipated Ready Or Not: Here I Come, the sequel to Ready Or Not directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. I think that many overlook her significance in recent horror films. I look forward to seeing how this young actress flourishes in this genre. She is one to keep an eye on in the future.