“Scream Queen” is a little misleading, because it implies there's only one at a time. The reality is, each generation anoints three to four. Fay Wray, Jamie Lee Curtis, Neve Campbell, Jenna Ortega – all household names; their willingness to help reflect the brutal realities (or surrealities) of their respective moments makes them deserving of adoration and idolization.
Jenna Ortega is from a generation that is an outlier. In the 2010s and now in the 2020s, like the Internet and information as a whole, pop culture is so fractured it's impossible to have a solid, unwavering idea of who or what is It in the current moment: Jenna Ortega, sure, because of her many successes, but also, unequivocally, Mia Goth (the name alone), Samara Weaving, Emma Roberts, and Anya Taylor-Joy have genuine claims to the bloody crown.
Someone's name that doesn't come up nearly enough is Maika Monroe. She stars inThe Guest, It Follows, Greta, Villains, Watcher, and Longlegs… and that's not even all of them. Her eyes are emotionally porous, and every director she works with knows it. They and their lenses treat her expressive face like some new planet worth exploring, not only because it's worth it but also because it's hypnotic – they can't not. This isn't about attraction, it's about conveying (often, anyway) the audience's feelings. If the main character is clueless, it typically makes sense to keep the audience clueless. They learn as the main character learns. The surprises hurt – and that helps achieve the film's goals.
Maika Monroe has proven she's capable of portraying a variety of distinctly human people, often at odds with the baggage they know they carry, one way or another. The internal conflict she brings to the table marries well with the horror/thriller genres. It adds a depth where too often there is none, in favour of shallow creep-ups.
Despite the track record, Monroe isn't a generational household name the way the other aforementioned queens seem to be. It's likely even Your Mom is familiar with Emma Roberts, for example. But “Maika Monroe?” Weren't they a president?
I'm not proud of this, but I keep up on Fauxmoi and and Deuxmoi – all the Mois – and I cannot remember a single time I read a tabloid story about Maika Monroe. Therefore, it's possible her refusal to play the Hollywood TMZ kind of game has led to more of a slow-burn career. But that is more suitable in the long term. If we knew every part of her life, the metaphorical but opaque baggage she seems to bring to every role might (incorrectly) reveal itself, leaving audiences to see only Maika Monroe as Maika Monroe in every role, whether she's a teacher or an FBI agent or a teenager.
Emma Roberts is talented but when I see her I see Emma Roberts. George Clooney, same thing.
It may make her more appealing as a prospect for directors the less drama there is surrounding her. Rocks no boats. Makes no waves. Work on great projects instead of vapid popular ones, hope one is a sleeper hit anyway (In Cold Light, out this year, could be one more for her), and make some good money. Win, win, win.
Maika Monroe's the least well known, and, arguably, she deserves the idolization more than any of her contemporaries.
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