Jamie Lee Curtis confesses she’s not actually a horror fan despite ‘Halloween’ legacy
The Oscar winner says she’s more in love with the craft of filmmaking than the scares of horror movies
Jamie Lee Curtis, Hollywood’s reigning scream queen, revealed at SXSW that despite her iconic status in horror, she isn’t actually a fan of the genre.
The 67-year-old Oscar winner made her cinematic debut as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s 1978 classic Halloween, a role that cemented her reputation as the ultimate “final girl.”
Curtis has reprised Laurie in a total of seven films, with her latest appearance in Halloween Ends 2022 allegedly marking the character’s final outing.
Speaking at a panel during the SXSW Film & TV Festival in Austin on March 14, Curtis shared her surprising perspective.
“I’m going to be honest with you because I don’t really love it,” she told moderator H. Alan Scott of Newsweek. “It’s fine. I’m fine. No, I’m not joking. I just am not into it.”
Curtis clarified that her lack of passion for horror doesn’t mean she doesn’t appreciate the genre.
“Doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it. It’s not my genre. It’s just not my thing,” she said. She added that her interest lies more in the craft of filmmaking than the scares themselves.
“I’m in love with the independent filmmaking aspect of the genre,” Curtis explained. She cited the fast-paced production schedules of both Sender—her new thriller premiering at SXSW—and the original Halloween, both shot in 17 days.
Curtis’s SXSW appearance was to promote Sender, which she produced and stars in alongside Britt Lower and Rhea Seehorn.
The thriller follows Julia, a recently sober woman who starts receiving mysterious packages that seem eerily tied to her past, leading her down a suspenseful rabbit hole.
Beyond filmmaking, Curtis highlighted her support for diversity and inclusion in the industry, praising the growing recognition of women, people of color, and nonbinary talent in horror and beyond.
Despite her personal preferences, Curtis’s legacy in horror remains untouchable, proving that being the ultimate scream queen doesn’t require loving every scream.