14) Sidney Prescott – Scream
Unlike so many characters littering the horror genre, Sidney Prescott is smart – and that is the reason we’ve put her onto our list. Okay, she could really choose her boyfriends, best friends and allies better (one of them always turns out to be a killer) but hey, this is a slasher franchise, there has to be some kind of shock reveal.
She doesn’t quite fall under the ‘scream queen’ label, but Sidney is close to being one of the more invigorating and self-aware protagonists the genre has to offer. While David Arquette’s Dewey labors around like an idiot and has us all scratching our heads as to how he’s actually made a career out of being a police officer, Sidney uses her brain and awareness – not to mention a television to the face – to get herself out of precariously sticky situations with the killer.
It’s a credit to Neve Campbell’s turn that the character, quite simply, doesn’t annoy the crap out of me. She portrays Sidney as intelligent and reliable, a heroine truly capable of outwitting the killer and ensuring a happy(ish) ending. The fact that she survived the original and three dwindling sequels is a testament to this – well, that and the fact these films made a ton of money.
– Dale Barham