The horror world just lost an icon. Olivia Hussey has passed away at age 73. Known to most for her portrayal of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (1968), at the peak of her career, Hussey starred in one of the most pivotal movies in horror history, Black Christmas (1974). Before Laurie Strode and Sally Hardesty, there was Jess Bradford. Jess became the standard for the modern final girl in horror slasher films.
Young horror fans take note: many modern horror tropes begin with Black Christmas (1974). Black Christmas ranks at 118 on The Scariest Things to 500 Horror Films of All Time, and you could make an argument that it should be much higher than that. There may be other precedent uses of these tropes, but this film surely popularized them:
- The innocent final girl. (Later revisions to the trope would be “virginal.”)
- The creepy phone caller.
- The call is coming from inside the house.
- The killer isn’t gone.
- The sorority house stalking grounds.
- Sometimes forgotten, it is also one of the first films that dealt with abortion after the Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973. Jess recently discovered she was pregnant, and she didn’t want the child.
This was pretty bold material for 1974. And the movie was scary as hell. Central to all of this was the performance by Olivia Hussey.
The Argentina-born actress was, by this point, famous for her role as Juliet. She had the innocent beauty and acting chops necessary for Shakespeare’s tragic heroine. Hussey passed on some notable projects, such as True Grit, so getting her to take a role in a violent horror film was remarkable. She was a star ascendant, and she would go on to play Mary in Jesus of Nazareth (1977) and Rosalie in Death on the Nile (1978). The same sweetness, braveness, and spunk that proved essential for her role as Juliet was also valuable for her role as Jess Bradford. She was vulnerable and tough, both commodities that will prove central to many future final girls.
Hussey didn’t leave horror movies behind, though. She portrayed Norma Bates in Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990) and Audra Denbrough, Bill’s wife, in the 1990 It TV miniseries. She also appeared in a couple of deep-cut horror movies, Ice Cream Man (1995) (recommended) and The Gardner (1998) (Not recommended). Recently, in 2022, both she and her Romeo co-star Leonard Whiting sued Paramount Pictures for being forced to perform a nude scene while they were both still minors. Per the Associated Press, this case was dismissed in 2023, noting that the statute of limitations had expired and that the brief semi-nudity did not constitute child pornography.
In 2008, Hussey was diagnosed with breast cancer, for which she had a double mastectomy. Nine years later, her cancer would return, requiring chemotherapy and radiation treatment. This week, she succumbed to her illness, and we here at The Scariest Things remember her fondly.
Rest in peace, Jess. A final girl, forever.
