Contributions to Horror: Celebrating Drew Barrymore

September 22, 2020

Scream - Drew Barrymore — Dimension Films

When discussing the iconic women of horror, the first names to come to mind are actors like Jamie Lee Curtis, Heather Langenkamp or Neve Campbell. Not that they aren’t amazing and incredibly important to the horror genre, but most of their contributions to horror are reliant on a single role used multiple times in a popular horror franchise. As I’ve gotten older and made my way through hundreds (thousands?) of horror films, it’s become more important to me to recognize the faces not only portrayed in main roles the more popular films, but also the faces we see time and time again in the horror films that aren’t as popular. I’d like to highlight one of the most recognizable faces in horror throughout the 80’s and 90’s, and someone every bit as deserving of the “Scream Queen” title as anyone else, Drew Barrymore.

The connection between Drew Barrymore and horror started when she was just five years old, in Ken Russell’s psychedelic body horror-sci-fi flick, Altered States. Although she portrayed the child of the main characters and her role wasn’t involved with the horror aspects of the film, her role in the film (and in E.T. in 1982) was enough to land her in her first lead horror role as Charlie McGee in Stephen King’s Firestarter. Remember, the novel was an NYT best-seller in 1980, so it was wildly popular. Barrymore saw the book in a store as a child and asked her mother to buy it for her, because she felt she resembled the girl on the cover. She read some of the book, and she felt she was perfect for the role, and she was right. A few months later, Barrymore was blasting fools with fireballs and running from Martin Sheen. This would be the first in back-to-back films written by Stephen King, as she appears as multiple different characters in Cat’s Eye in 1984. Right off the bat, she had two major roles in films written by the biggest name in horror fiction writing.

After a few years of TV work and small roles in other non-horror films (mostly crime/drama), Barrymore jumped back into the horror genre with a small cameo in Waxwork II: Lost in Time in 1992, playing the victim of a vampire. Once again, not a huge role, but enough of one to recognize her and welcome her back to horror. In the same year, she joined Kris Kristofferson and O.J. Simpson in a lesser-known crime-horror film called No Place to Hide. The film follows a loose cannon cop (Kristofferson) trying to protect a teenage girl (Barrymore) from being killed by a secret Satanic cult. It’s not a very good film, but horror nonetheless, and a surprising cameo from Kane Hodder!

Fast-forward one year later, when Drew Barrymore faces evil Drew Barrymore (or does she?) in Doppelganger. This is an extremely weird film, but a unique one all the same. With evil twins, murders, blood showers, and goopy creatures, this one fully falls into the supernatural horror genre and is worth the watch if you can get your hands on it.

In 1995, Barrymore made the full transition to “Scream Queen” when she played Casey Becker in Wes Carven’s Scream. She was marketed as one of the major characters in the film before its release, but was killed off in one of the most surprising and intense opening scenes in horror history. This threw fans for a loop, paving the way for Neve Campbell, and kicking off one of the most loved and successful horror franchises ever.

After Scream, Barrymore focused her acting more on rom-coms, but was still extremely active in the horror genre, helping up-and-coming filmmakers executive producing films like Donnie Darko (2001 – which she had a small role in), Happy Camp (2014), and Animal (2014).

Barrymore returned to horror acting yet again in 2017, taking on the lead role in the hilarious horror-comedy Netflix series, Santa Clarita Diet. She played Sheila Hammond, a real estate agent that dies, but becomes a zombie and tries carry on with her normal life, while maneuvering the desire to consume the flesh of the living. Although well received, the series was unfortunately canceled after the third season in 2019.

It’s probably safe to say that Drew Barrymore probably won’t pop up as the lead in any more big-budget horror films (although, I’d love that), but her dedication to the genre can’t be overlooked, and should be celebrated, as she’s returned to it time and time again as both an actress and executive producer. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her return as she continues in her career. What’s your favorite Drew Barrymore horror film?