Jenna Ortega has become one of the bona fide horror icons of the 2020s thanks to her starring role on Wednesday, but her 2022 horror movie hit is worth checking out too. Despite seemingly popping up out of nowhere in the last five years, Jenna Ortega actually got her start all the way back in 2012.
After a handful of background parts, Ortega began landing starring roles in Disney Channel projects and her career hasn’t slowed since. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Ortega never struggled to break away from her teen idol image, and she graduated to mature roles with ease. Though she’s capable in other genres, Ortega has found success mostly thanks to horror.
Dubbed a Gen-Z scream queen, Ortega’s horror acumen is impressive for someone who is still in her early 20s. She’s made a handful of horror projects thus far, and they have all been quite successful. Her casting on Wednesday was brilliant, but it came the same year she appeared in four horror flicks, including one sleeper hit.
X Is More Mature Than Wednesday, But You’ll Still Love It
While Wednesday has captured hearts with its Tim Burton-style quirkiness and dark humor, Jenna Ortega’s appearance in X is an entirely different beast. The Ti West horror film suddenly appeared on the scene in 2022, and it intentionally referenced the sort of sleazy grindhouse movies of the ’70s that certainly don’t get made today.
It has slasher elements for some genuine chills, but it is also an effective atmospheric thriller that clearly has a lot going on underneath the surface. The cast was led by Mia Goth, who pulled double-duty as porno star Maxine Minx, and the creepy old woman who lives in the farmhouse, Pearl.
X was followed by a prequel called Pearl and a sequel called MaXXXine, both of which star Goth in the тιтle role.
For her part, Ortega plays a timid film crew member named Lorraine who fulfills the slasher movie trope of the innocent young woman who is seduced by sin. It’s a surprisingly meaty role, and the perfect way for Ortega herself to transition from her teen parts to something more mature. It’s also significantly darker than Wednesday, and not for families.
Jenna Ortega Is A Proper Modern Scream Queen
2022 was a busy year for Jenna Ortega, and X was one of four horror flicks she released. However, it takes more than simply appearing in horror movies to earn the nickname of a scream queen, and starpower is key. Ortega is on par with the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis and Heather Langenkamp in that she elevates her movies.
Lackluster movies like Studio 666 are made better because Jenna Ortega appears, and it wouldn’t be the same with another actor. More literally, Ortega lives up to the scream queen mantle because she has one of the most convincingly terrifying shrieks in recent memory. X is the perfect illustration of her talents, but it isn’t the only one.
