9 Horror Movies That Made Actors QUIT Forever
Heather Donahue may be gone, but her knitted cap and flared nostrils will live on forever.
Horror films have been serving up scares at an increasing rate of knots for the past half century, as the genre has transitioned from something frowned upon by polite society to something your bougie university lecturer might recommend. But where would they be without the actors who have fought, screamed and sliced their way through them?
More importantly though, where would the actors be without these films? In some cases, nowhere at all. Because horror movies aren't always just terrifying for the viewers. Sometimes they scare off their actors for good.
That's right, some horror films prove to be too much for an actor to handle, whether it's because their profile took a hit and they can't get decent work, their experience on set has been so harrowing they don't want to go back, or they've just had enough of the process and want to start over doing something fun – like teaching biology or growing weed.
All of the actors in this article put in a stellar performance, but ultimately decided to step away from the limelight thanks to one particular flick. Now, so long as the directors don't quit too, we should be fine. Right?!
10. Honorable Mention: Neve Campbell - Scream 6
But first, an honourable mention!
Scream queen for the millennial generation, Neve Campbell has starred in every entry of the meta-slasher Scream series thus far, from Wes Craven's 1996 original through to this year's homonymous revival at the hands of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.
Set in the fictional town of Woodsboro, CA, the Scream films have seen Campbell star as Sidney Prescott, fighting off a slew of villains in the Ghostface guise, while navigating the usual trials of high school, college and a new generation of murderous Zoomers. Alas, she may have just quit the iconic franchise forever.
A sixth Scream is in the works, but will be going ahead without Campbell's involvement. A pay dispute between the star and Paramount has led to her quitting the franchise for good, feeling that the money they offered doesn't represent her work as the face and figurehead of the franchise. And, given that Campbell is to Scream what Jamie Lee Curtis is to Halloween, she's probably not wrong.
And, by the way Campbell has been talking, it sounds like she's leaving the series for good. This is truly the end of an era and, as the only original character still left is Courtney Cox's Gale Weathers, it is difficult to see where the studio will take things next.