8 Underrated Scream Kings

The term scream queen has become popular among horror fans. The women who have graced our screens in horror for decades deserve so much appreciation. The term scream king isn’t talked about as much. Yes, we love all-time horror greats like Robert Englund, Tony Todd, Kane Hodder, Boris Karloff, and more. But what about some guys that should be talked about more? Here are 8 underrated scream kings. 

1. Devon Sawa

Devon Sawa is a very underrated scream king. Back in 1995, he starred as Casper in the live-action movie and you could say that is where his career in spooky-type things started. 

Devon made a splash in the 1999 horror comedy Idle Hands and that was followed by playing the lead in 2000’s Final Destination. Since then he has been in horror/thriller movies such as Devil’s Den, Black Friday, Hunter Hunter, and more. Recently, Devon has played multiple roles in the Chucky television series. He is set to appear next in a horror comedy called Heart Eyes.

2. Justin Long

A lot of people may think of Justin Long as a comedian but this man is a true scream king and has been for years. Not only that, but he may be the top scream king of the past few years. 

In 2001 he starred in Jeepers Creepers and since then he hasn’t stopped. In 2009 he appeared in Drag Me to Hell and After.Life in 2009. He surprised everyone in the body horror-horror film Tusk in 2014. He later appeared in the horror films House of Darkness, Barbarian, and It’s A Wonderful Knife. 

Justin also was in the Creepshow television series as well as the Goosebump television show on Disney Plus. He recently directed a segment in V/H/S/ Beyond. He will star in the upcoming horror film called Spin the Bottle. 

3. Kyle Gallner

This man deserves so much love and respect. The fact that he isn’t a household name is a crime. 

Kyle Gallner has been working in the genre for the past two decades. Some of his early horror films were Red, The Haunting in Connecticut, and Jennifer’s Body. Even though the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street was not well received at all, Gallner’s performance was. 

Kyle would appear in horror films such as Red State, The Cleansing Hour, Ghosts of War, Scream 5, Smile, and The Passenger. This year he starred in one of the best horror/thrillers of the entire year called Strange Darling. Next up he is set to return in Smile 2. 

4. Jaeden Martell

Jaeden made a splash with the huge box office smash IT where he starred as lead Bill Denbrough.

He has since starred in some pretty highly acclaimed horror films. Those include The Lodge, IT Chapter 2, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, and Arcadian. He is set to star in the horror comedy called Y2K coming out this December. 

5. Josh Hartnett

Josh Hartnett for a long time it seems like he was just thought of as a pretty face. The man is for sure a good actor and a scream king. 

His first film was Halloween H2O where he played Laurie Strode’s son. The same year he would star in the vastly underrated The Faculty. He also starred in one of the best vampire movies in decades called 30 Days of Night. He has starred in an episode of Black Mirror as well as the show Penny Dreadful on Showtime. This year he had an excellent performance as the serial killer in the movie Trap. I can’t wait to see what he does next. 

6. Patrick Wilson

A lot of people know Patrick Wilson. It seems like not a lot of people know how much horror he has done.

In 2005, he was in the disturbing thriller Hard Candy but it wasn’t until 2011 when he got to star in one of the most profitable franchises for Blumhouse called Insidious, even lending his voice to feature on the latest installment’s end-credits song, Stay. He would double down with another huge franchise in The Conjuring. He also appeared in the horror films, Bone Tomahawk and Nightmare Cinema. Next up he is set to star in what is said to be the last Conjuring film. 

7. Bill Skarsgard

Bill Skarsgard has been in the horror community for several years now. His work should be appreciated. 

He played Pennywise in IT. It’s a role that was done so very well by Tim Curry. He came in and made the role his very own. After that, he starred in Villians, IT Chapter 2, Barbarian, and the television series Castle Rock. 

Next up, he is going to play Pennywise in the Derry show for Max. He will also star as the titular character in the much anticipated Nosferatu remake. 

8. Tobin Bell

Tobin Bell has become a legend due to the Saw franchise, a series that put James Wan and Bell on the map. Still, Tobin hasn’t reached the status of Robert Englund or Tony Todd. He deserves more acclaim. 

Tobin Bell started his career playing bit parts throughout the 70s and 80s. In the 90s he got more character parts but it wasn’t till Saw came his way that things started picking up. Saw was released in 2004 and has a sequel every year up until 2010. 

Since then, he has appeared in movies such as Boogeyman 2 and 3, The Haunting Hour, Jigsaw, The Call, The Cello, Saw X, and many many more. He is set to appear in Saw XI which is set to release on September 26, 2025. 

Who are some of your favorite Scream Kings?


About Martin Maruri

Martin Maruri is an avid fan of pop culture and movie trivia. In his spare time, Martin loves to watch horror movies, watch baseball and spend time with his lovely girlfriend. P.S...He also loves spending time with his French Bulldog named Tobin.

View all posts by Martin Maruri

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