All hail Jenna Ortega! The next generation of scream queen royalty

I’m trying to get my head round the year that Jenna Ortega is having, and it’s the kind of success I find difficult to fathom. Jenna has had a year of box office hit after box office hit, critical acclaim and streaming service roles that any actor would dream of. It’s been the year where any uninitiated previously truly fell head over heels in love with Jenna Ortega – the next generation of scream queen making Jamie Lee Curtis proud, a true It Girl of horror. Here’s an ode to how she got there, and what she’s got to come to secure her icon legacy.

She had horror in her bones from the beginning

Jenna Ortega came to fame as a Disney star, but she was laying her horror foundations early on too. Remember Insidious Chapter Two? Jenna Ortega was in it – with the one true queen of horror Lin Shay. Icon behaviour. Imagine how Jenna Ortega would have felt if you could go back in time and tell her she was going to become the lead in the biggest and best slasher franchise in the world nearly 10 years later?

The Netflix breakthrough era

Jenna went on to have two big breakthrough moments, both firmly rooted in the horror world. First up, Jenna played a main role in the second season of the massive hit Netflix show You – playing the meddling and mature icon Ellie Alves who made Joe Goldberg sweat more than just a little bit. So much so that he had to pay her hush money, which is a power move from Jen if we’re being honest.

The scream queen era reigned on when she jumped on to the sequel of The Babysitter, a Netflix original horror that got mixed reviews but we all know that when it comes to horror you can’t win them all!

Solidified 2022 horror scream queen

Urgh, what a year for cinema, and what a year for Jenna Ortega establishing herself as thee scream queen to cast for any horror directors worth their salt.

First up, Scream. Aka, Scream 5. Scream is my favourite film of all time, and Scream 5 is the best Scream film since the first sequel. It’s an absolute blast and the perfect and most seamless move for the franchise to go in in the new decade. The original cast of course absolutely tear it up, but it’s Jenna Ortega who joins as Tara and instantly feels like part of the Woodsboro furniture.

But if you want to talk critical acclaim, let’s talk about Jenna Ortega in Ti West’s X. A24’s porno slasher was an absolute riot, a thrilling breath of horror fresh air this year and the cast all absolutely devoured their parts. Mia Goth got her flowers as Max and Pearl, but Jenna Ortega had final girl energy as Lorraine even if she didn’t actually make it out alive. What a film, a true highlight of the year.

Wednesday!

I mean, getting to play a role as iconic as Wednesday Addams is surely a dream come true for any gen-z who spent their childhood watching The Addams Family and The Addams Family Values. Whilst Wednesday has got a mixed response, Jenna Ortega has had universal acclaim for her sharp and funny dead pan performance. And that’s what really matters!

SCREAM SIX

I’m shaking. Although I’m gutted that Neve Campbell will not be returning for the first time ever in the history of the Scream franchise, the news that Jenna will be coming back is softening the blow. We don’t know much about Scream 6 yet, apart from the fact it’s set in New York but I am absolutely dying for it.

Wednesday is streaming on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, quizzes, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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