Since this is
Women in Horror Month, I am doing extra inductions into
Horror Crushes! Today, I am going with one of the best mainstream/ studio scream queens around, one that has amassed a quite large amount of genre work in a relatively short amount of time: the breathtakingly beautiful
Mary Elizabeth Winstead!
Winstead was born on November 28, 1984 in Rocky Mount, South Carolina and is the youngest of five children. A bit of trivia for you, her grandfather is actually a cousin to Hollywood legend, Ava Gardner! In 1997, she began acting onstage and on TV. Her first horror role came in 2001-02 with
Wolf Lake. Not only have I never seen this show, but I completely forgot about it! Are any of you fans of this? Let me know in the comments section below.
Her next horror role was also a TV one that I never saw, a 2004 MTV movie called
Monster Island. Apparently, Carmen Electra is also in it. But, is this actually worth a look? If so, chime in and let me know!
2005 saw her in
The Ring Two, a genuinely awful and boring waste of time. I don't remember her or much of the movie, itself. Other than that the fact that it sucked hard, and how I almost fell asleep watching it in the movies.
In 2006, she appeared in the fun and gory
Final Destination 3. While, not as solid as the two that came before it, this is still a really good entry in
one of my favorite horror franchises. Winstead is the female lead, Wendy Christensen. This time around she and her friends don't get on a roller-coaster after her premonition of death on it.
Aside from the sequel having a great, morbid sense of humor and being drenched in splatter, it it is benefited by Winstead's acting. She makes for a genuinely likable final girl and is, of course, stunningly beautiful!
That movie's filmmakers James Wong and Glen Morgan, of
The X-Files fame, liked her so much, that they bought her back to work on the ass kicking and underrated remake
Black Christmas (2006).
I've reviewed and discussed my love for this awesome, fun, gory, and kinda sleazy flick before. It's easily my most watched movie of hers.
She plays spoiled bitch Heather in it and is great! I love that the other girls can't really stand her snotty ass. It's not the typical good or final girl that she usually plays, and, in hindsight, it is an awesome role just for those reasons. It even got her a Scream Queen nomination in 2007 at the long since dead Spike's
Scream Awards.
Speaking of 2007, she appeared in Quentin Tarantino's half of
Grindhouse, in his road exploitation flick meets psycho killer movie,
Death Proof. I, however, am not a fan of this one, despite Tarantino being one of my favorite directors. It is my least favorite flick of his.
Actually, the acting is great in it, as is the gore and gore FX. But, for the most part it is really just a bore. That being said, Winstead looks great and is dressed in a cheerleader outfit, so there is that, too.
In 2011, she had the lead female role in the prequel/ reboot/ remake/ whatever the fuck,
The Thing. I am a HUGE fan of the John Carpenter movie (it has over the years become my favorite of his), and never had any desire to see this movie. So, I have yet to do so. But, it is obvious she is beautiful in it, and based on reviews and knowledge of her acting, am sure she is great in it, too. Any of my readers think that I should finally watch this?
2012, saw her in the fun but kind of forgotten
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The mix of historical drama, action, and horror made for a blast to watch in the movies. Honestly, I never bought it and haven't revisited since. But, writing this makes me want to do just that. She played Mary Todd Lincoln in it.
She returned to genre TV with 2015's
The Return. As I mentioned back when
I inducted Agnes Bruckner, that I have never seen this show. But, it is cool to know that these two Horror Crushes were both in it!
Her best horror film, and honestly my favorite thing that I have seen her do so far, came a year later in 2016:
10 Cloverfield Lane. This entry in the
Cloverfield franchise is almost as great as the first flick,
Cloverfield. In it, she wakes up in a bunker, where she and a dude, are being kept/ taken care of by an older dude (a very creepy John Goodman).
Winstead gives an excellent performance (as do co-stars Goodman and John Gallagher, Jr.) in it. She is very likable, and makes you care and fear for her. Speaking of fear, the movie is one of the most nail-biting horror movies of the last couple of years. It is a killer and intense horror/ sci-fi/ thriller all the fucking a way through!
Finally, this year (2020), sees her play one of my favorite DC heroes, the Huntress in super fun, and super long titled,
Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. While, not a horror movie in any shape or form, there is a nice amount of juicy R-rated violence (including face peeling, wall splattering squibs, an exploding body and more!), to interest splatter fans. It deserves to do A LOT better at the box office (it blows away the mediocre
Suicide Squad out of the fucking park). I love most of the cast, with Winstead being a total badass and looking delicious as the crossbow carrying vigilante. Enough, so that it made realize that this post is long fucking overdue!
Yes, indeed this is an overdue induction, for a truly beautiful and a amazing actress. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is without a shadow of a doubt one of the best mainstream/ studio scream queens ever. She has a done a lot of genre work and seems to be happy to keep appearing in them. There is no fucking doubt about it, she deserves to be a Horror Crush!
Tell me in the comments section below which is your favorite horror movie and role that the lovely Ms. Winstead has done.
Actually, the acting is great in it, as is the gore and gore FX. But, for the most part it is really just a bore. That being said, Winstead looks great and is dressed in a cheerleader outfit, so there is that, too.
In 2011, she had the lead female role in the prequel/ reboot/ remake/ whatever the fuck, The Thing. I am a HUGE fan of the John Carpenter movie (it has over the years become my favorite of his), and never had any desire to see this movie. So, I have yet to do so. But, it is obvious she is beautiful in it, and based on reviews and knowledge of her acting, am sure she is great in it, too. Any of my readers think that I should finally watch this?
Finally, this year (2020), sees her play one of my favorite DC heroes, the Huntress in super fun, and super long titled, Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. While, not a horror movie in any shape or form, there is a nice amount of juicy R-rated violence (including face peeling, wall splattering squibs, an exploding body and more!), to interest splatter fans. It deserves to do A LOT better at the box office (it blows away the mediocre Suicide Squad out of the fucking park). I love most of the cast, with Winstead being a total badass and looking delicious as the crossbow carrying vigilante. Enough, so that it made realize that this post is long fucking overdue!
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