(Top left--Karen Black, Top right--Barbara Steele, Below--Adrienne Barbeau)
In my desire to cover all the 60s/70s/80s horror movie ladies, I thought I’d create a post about ones with certain qualities.
Adrienne Barbeau (64 years old) was the sex symbol of the 70s/80s horror flicks. Many guys in my high school years had her poster on their walls because of her, ah, natural assets. I remember her whisky-sounding husky whisper in “The Fog” most of all, but I believe the pivotal role for Adrienne was in “Swamp Thing,” a movie that went on to have a cult following amongst the nerd boys.“The Fog,” “Escape From New York,” “Swamp Thing,” “Creepshow,” “Two Evil Eyes.”
Karen Black (70 years old) She is one of those actresses who is quirky, strangely asymmetric in the face and eyes that are impossible not to stare into. Her characters could be quite sane then suddenly be quite insane. That kind of unsettled character in a heroine position in horror made her quite exciting and unpredictable. I doubt anyone who saw the movie “Trilogy of Terror” will forget her fight with the hunting doll in her apartment. It’s probably one of the most classic horror scenes of all time. “The Day of the Locust,” “Family Plot,” “Airport 75,” “Trilogy of Terror,” “Burnt Offerings,” “The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver.”
Barbara Steele (71 years old) I would categorize her as the most horror movies done by a single woman. Her heyday was in the 60s, but she was in such an enormous list of horror movies, it’s hard to put them all here, so I’ll write many but not all: “Black Sunday,” “Pit and the Pendulum”, “Rampage of Evil,” “Castle of Blood,” “White Voices,” “The Long Hair of Death,” “Terror-Creatures From the Grave,” “Nightmare Castle, “The Ghost,” “The Maniacs,” “The She-Beast,” “The Crimson Cult,” “Caged Heat,” “Shivers,” “Piranha,” “Silent Scream.” No one ever had such a showing in a wide range of horror movies over a few decades, than this woman did. I didn’t list her as the Scream Queen of the 70s because she was really from the 60s era, but she has earned the title of “Greatest Scream Queen of All Time.”