Neve Campbell Is Still the Reigning Queen of ‘Scream’ – ELLE.com

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If you came of age in the late 90s, theres a good chance Neve Campbells signature chestnut bob and concerned, piercing gaze defined your formative cinematic experiences. Perhaps you saw her play a shy burn victim-turned-witch in the cult classic The Craft. Or maybe you watched, in total awe, as she kissed Denise Richards while portraying a manipulative outcast in Wild Things. And if both of those performances somehow passed you by, theres no way in hell you didnt see her star as Sidney Prescott, the ultimate final girl in Wes Cravens iconic slasher, Scream, and its sequel, Scream 2. Interestingly, all four of those movies came out within a two-year stretch, between 1996 and 1998, solidifying Campbell as one of the decades biggestand most talked-aboutstars.

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When Canadian-born Campbell was cast as Sidney Prescott, a strong and steady high schooler merely just trying to survive the wrath of a murderous Ghostface killer, she was only 22 years old, and though it was her first starring role, she never could have known that shed go on to live with the character for over 25 years, reprising her in four sequels. Scream, the fifth film and first iteration since Cravens death in 2015, premieres Jan. 14. She also had no idea that she was about to be catapulted to a level of fame so high that, within the span of a year, she would break box office records, host Saturday Night Live, and appear on the cover of Rolling Stone.

That height of fame was not something a 22-year-old really knows how to handle, she says during a Zoom conversation, conducted in late 2021 from the comfort of her childrens room, where bunk beds sit behind her. (Campbell is mother to sons Caspian, 9, and Raynor, 3, with partner JJ Feild.) I was lucky that I was working so much that I didnt get lost. I see a lot of celebrities when theyre at that height fall down the rabbit hole, whether its addictions or breakdowns. Instead of partying, Campbell says during that time she worked 15 or 16 hours a day for ten months a year filming Party of Five, the acclaimed Fox TV series that launched her career, and spent her time off appearing in movies.

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Getty Images

This will tell you how tired I was, she starts. I was in a car with my manager and my publicist and my manager said, Tell her, tell her, to my publicist. And he goes, Im really excited to tell you: I got you Rolling Stone. And I went, What? Im so tired. I dont want to do another photo shoot. I had no idea what a big deal it was to be on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Spoiler alert: She did the shootobviouslyand while the cover line read Neve Campbell: Red-Hot Party Girl, the accompanying profile and Campbells recollection of her youth are basically the opposite. To clarify, before landing Party of Five, Campbell was born and raised in Guelph, Canada, before training as a ballerina at the National Ballet School of Canada in Toronto. I was just dancing, dancing, dancingI was very disciplined and it was kind of insular, she says. She didnt pay much attention to pop culture and was definitely not a horror film buff. (The Changeling freaked her out too much.)

But landing Scream changed everything. Campbell was enamored by the hilarious meta script written by Kevin Williamson (who then went on to create the beloved teen drama Dawsons Creek), and the originality of the scaresa trademark Craven move. In hindsight, its no surprise that the 1996 film was a megahit, becoming the highest-grossing slasher film in the world until 2018. All that success, though, meant that Campbell kept getting offers to star in even more scary movies. I was never going to do another horror movie because I already made the best one, she says. Why would I downgrade?

Its a fair question. So she ditched Hollywood for a while as a way to recalibrate. Scream 3 was released in 2000 and three years later, Campbell moved to England for seven years, where she dove into the theater community. I learned a great deal about myself and craft, she says. I immersed myself in a different way that is really hard to do in the States. When she started looking for on-screen roles again, this time, the offers were different and came in the form of prestige TV: She made a memorable guest appearance on Mad Men and landed a recurring role on House of Cards. I was suddenly out of that young ingenue thing and I was seen more as a grown woman. The rules are more interesting with these roles.

Brownie HarrisParamount

Its always surprising to me to have people come up and say, Sidney Prescott changed my life.

Ride-or-die Scream fans will likely agree with Campbells assessment. Watching Sidney grow from a timid high schooler with so many boy problems into a knife (and gun)-wielding badass who mentors a younger generation of Woodsboro teens trying not to die has been a fascinating and emotional journey. Instead of just fighting for her life when Ghostface returns, shes sharing life-or-death wisdom, institutional knowledge, and escape routes that might actually work. (Check out Scream 4, which premiered in 2011 and was the first film in the franchise to show Sidney as part of the older generation, to see her experienced wits at work.) Though Campbell cant share much about the new Screams plot, she does reveal that Sidney is now a mother, which brings out a whole other level of survivalism. As a mom, the idea of anything threatening your children will be dire for her.

But Campbell did need a little convincing to come back and reprise her role, especially without Craven in charge. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the directors behind another cheeky slasher film Ready or Not, helm the film and ultimately won her over with a letter about how much Scream impacted their work and how they hoped to treat her character and the story.

Still, it took lengthy negotiations for Campbell to officially sign on. Only in the past few years have I felt confident to ask [for more money] because I used to be told, Oh you cant ask, she says. I wonder if Id been a male working on the fifth film of this franchise, if it wouldve been the same conversation in my negotiation. We got there in the end, but I feel like it would have been different if I was a man. I honestly do.

Paramount

Paramount

Reprising the role of Sidney once again means stepping back into the shoes of a woman who has had an enormous impact on viewers. Its always surprising to me to have people come up and say, Sidney Prescott changed my life. She made me feel more confident. She made me less of a victim. She made me take action, says Campbell. You dont expect that when you make a film like this, especially in this genre.

Sidney might not have that impact on people were it not for Campbells portrayal, rife with vulnerability, intelligence, and a palatable dose of humor. The character may not always make the right moves, but she is fearless and desperate to survive no matter whateven if it means killing a few baddies along the way. That soft confidence is why, when you settle in to watch a Scream film, knowing that half of the characters will be sliced and diced by the end credits, you hope that maybe, just maybe, Sidney Prescott will make it out alive.

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Neve Campbell Is Still the Reigning Queen of 'Scream' - ELLE.com