‘Scream’: Linda Blair’s ‘Blink or You’ll Miss It’ Cameo in the Wes Craven Horror Movie
Linda Blair is an actor and animal rights activist. While many people know Blair best for her role in the controversial horror movie The Exorcist, others might recognize her from a more modern horror flick. Blair pops up in Wes Craven’s 1996 slasher movie Scream in a blink-or-you’ll-miss-it moment.
Linda Blair became a star in ‘The Exorcist’
Blair got her starring role in horror movies playing Regan MacNeill in the 1973 movie The Exorcist. The screenplay is based on William Peter Blatty’s novel of the same name.
Thanks to her starring role in The Exorcist, Blair quickly became a household name. She went on to star in other movies like Born Innocent, Stranger in Our House, Red Heat, and Witchery. In the late 1990s, Blair returned to her horror movie roots and appeared in Craven’s 1990s horror movie Scream.
Wes Craven’s ‘Scream’ features several horror movie Easter eggs
There are dozens of horror movie nods in Craven’s 1996 slasher. From Black Christmas to Halloween and even the supernatural horror flick Suspiria, Scream touches on several horror movies and franchises.
John Carpenter’s Halloween, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, and the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise are the most frequently horror movies Scream mentions. Oddly enough, one of Craven’s mentions is actually a dig at Nightmare on Elm Street.
The late Craven directed the first Nightmare on Elm Street, but he didn’t work on the sequels. So when Casey (Drew Barrymor) says, “the first one was good, but the rest sucked,” that’s Craven making a dig at the franchise. A few other nods to the Freddy Krueger movies are in Scream, including Craven wearing the Nightmare on Elm Street villain’s signature look.
Linda Blair’s cameo as a reporter in ‘Scream’
According to her IMDb profile, Blair’s role in Scream is uncredited. However, she is listed as an “Obnoxious Reporter” for the film in her profile.
As Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) struggles to deal with the anniversary of her mother’s murder, a crazed killer who she presumes to be her boyfriend, Billy (Skeet Ulrich), begins tormenting her. With her hometown in a frenzy, Sidney local news outlets harass her regarding the irony of her situation.
Blair’s uncredited character was one of those reporters. She appears at the 40 minute mark in Scream.
“The people wanna know; they have a right to know!” she shouted as Dewey (David Arquette) pushed her away. And as the fan above pointed out, Blair is wearing crucifix earrings in the scene — just another meta nod to the horror movie for which she’s known.
Linda Blair and Wes Craven worked together before ‘Scream’
Five years after The Exorcist, Blair starred in Craven’s 1978 made-for-TV movie Summer of Fear. The thriller is based on the Lois Duncan novel of the same name.
Summer of Fear also stars Lee Purcell, Jeremy Slate, and Jeff McCracken. The Craven-Blair collaboration tells the story of a teen girl whose life is turned upside down after her cousin with a penchant for witchcraft moves in. As Craven notes in the DVD commentary, Summer of Fear was Blair’s first film after her 1977 charges for conspiracy to commit a felony in the alleged sale and purchase of cocaine.
