“Yellowjackets” has served as a great career boost for actresses like Sophie Thatcher, who is getting raves for her latest horror role in “Companion,” and Jasmin Savoy Brown, who joined the “Scream” franchise in 2022 as Mindy Meeks-Martin. The adult actors, including Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis and Tawny Cypress, come to the hit Showtime series with their own rich filmography.
If you haven’t already seen some of their best, most macabre and mysterious movies like “Heavenly Creatures” and “Sleepy Hollow,” here’s a great place to start for your “Yellowjackets”-adjacent viewing, not to mention a host of A24 frights.
Sophie Thatcher in “Companion” (2025)
Teen Natalie as a killer android? The film from Drew Hancock has gotten rave reviews, including from TheWrap’s critic William Bibbiani, who calls it a “wily, well-oiled scary movie machine.”
Juliette Lewis in “Opus” (2025)
The actress, who played adult Natalie on the series, costars with Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich in this A24 horror movie about the strange cult around a reclusive pop star.
Opens in theaters on March 14.
Sophie Thatcher in “Heretic” (2024)
Thatcher plays one of two missionaries who find themselves in over their heads when they knock on the door of the diabolical Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) in this A24 hit.
Ella Purnell in “Fallout” (2024)
Purnell, who played Jackie in Season 1 of “Yellowjackets,” costars as Lucy MacLean in this post-apocalyptic series based on the video game.
Stream on Prime Video
Ella Purnell in “Sweetpea”
The British actress stars as administrative assistant Rhiannon Lewis who snaps in this black comedy series.
Stream on Starz
Sophie Thatcher in “The Boogeyman” (2023)
Thatcher, who plays hard-partying Teen Natalie, stars as a high schooler trying to protect her little sister from a sinister entity in this adaptation of the short story by Stephen King.
Jasmin Savoy Brown in “Scream VI” (2023)
Brown, who plays Teen Taissa, has a bigger role as Mindy Meeks-Martin in this sequel to 2022’s “Scream.”
Stream on Paramount+
Melanie Lynskey in “The Last of Us” (2023)
Lynskey, who was Emmy-nominated for her role as Adult Shauna, played a soft-spoken but ruthless antagonist in HBO’s acclaimed adaptation of the video game. When some people criticized the actress as not being intimidating enough, her legions of fans rushed to her defense, pointing out that you don’t always need to raise your voice to be terrifying. Also, those people needed to go back and watch “Heavenly Creatures,” stat!
Stream on Max
Melanie Lynskey in “Candy” (2022)
Her role as axe-murder victim Betty Gore in this based-on-a-true-story limited series was the polar opposite of tough-as-nails Shauna. Betty was a fairly meek wife and mother who was brutally hacked to death by Candy Montgomery (Jessica Biel) after Betty confronted her about sleeping with her husband.
Stream on Hulu
Ricci, who so memorably played Wednesday Addams in the ’90s Addams Family movies, appeared as Marilyn Thornhill, a teacher at Nevermore Academy who has Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) in her class. What could have just been a nostalgic cameo turned into another great role for the actress, while Ortega also killed it as the new Wednesday.
Stream on Netflix
Ella Purnell in “Army of the Dead” (2021)
Poor Jackie didn’t pull her weight on “Yellowjackets,” but as the daughter of Dave Bautista’s badass zombie fighter in this Zack Snyder action horror flick, Purnell’s character more than holds her own.
Stream on Netflix
Jasmin Savoy Brown in “Sound of Violence” (2021)
In a role that’s even more disturbing than the hatchet-wielding, cannibalistic Tai on “Yellowjackets,” Brown plays a formerly deaf woman who associates sounds of pain with pleasure. Her obsession with keeping her hearing escalates into murder in this dark slasher.
Stream on Paramount+
Lauren Ambrose in “Servant” (2019 – 2023)
In this eerie M. Night Shyamalan series, Ambrose (who joined “Yellowjackets” in Season 2 as Adult Van), plays a woman who suffers a psychotic break after the accidental death of her infant son. Things only get darker when she and her husband hire a nanny with supernatural abilities.
Stream on Apple TV+
Sophie Nélisse in “Close” (2019)
More of an action thriller than a horror film, it stars Nélisse (Teen Shauna) as a spoiled heiress who is forced to go on the run with her bodyguard (Noomi Rapace) when assassins come calling.
Stream on Netflix
Melanie Lynskey in Season 1 of “Castle Rock” (2018)
This Hulu series takes characters from several Stephen King books and puts them all in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. Lynskey is an unstable realtor who has a psychic connection to troubled main character Henry Deaver (André Holland) that’s reawakened when he returns to town after several years’ absence.
Stream on Hulu
Elijah Wood and Melanie Lynskey in “I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore” (2017)
In this pre-“Yellowjackets” team-up, Wood (Walter Tattersall) and Lynskey become an unlikely couple after she tracks down the people who stole her laptop. (So very Shauna of her.) A series of events put them in increasingly dangerous situations, but don’t count out these two, er, citizen detectives. The film is the directorial debut of “Blue Ruin” star Macon Blair.
Stream on Netflix.
Liv Hewson on “Santa Clarita Diet” (2017-2019)
Hewson (Teen Van) costarred as the daughter of Drew Barrymore’s accidental zombie/cannibal in this canceled-too-soon Netflix horror-comedy series.
Stream on Netflix.
Tawny Cypress in “Supergirl” (2016)
“Yellowjackets” is not the first time Cypress has played a senator — or someone who had an evil double! Her “Supergirl” character, Senator Marcia Crane, got kidnapped by a White Martian, who turns into her evil clone!
Stream on Netflix.
Courtney Eaton in “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015)
The Australian actress, who plays Teen Lottie, costarred as Fragile, the youngest of Immortan Joe’s wives in George Miller’s killer action flick. She isn’t sure she wanted to be rescued by (Charlize Theron), but is instrumental in bringing the villain down.
Warren Kole in “Mother’s Day” (2010)
As Shauna’s mild-mannered but secretly blackmailing husband, Jeff, Kole is constantly shocked at what she’s capable of. But in this vicious home invasion thriller, he plays the loose cannon, trigger-happy, bank-robbing son of a crime familiy led by Rebecca De Mornay’s murderous matriarch. Heads up that this is from the director of several “Saw” movies and has a high body count and some very disturbing scenes of torture.
Stream on Prime Video, Tubi, Pluto TV, or Plex.
Tawny Cypress in “Heroes” (2006 – 2007)
Cypress described her character Simone Deveaux as “the Lois Lane” of the show, since she, unlike everyone else, didn’t have any special abilities. She was in a love triangle with artist Isaac (Santiago Cabrera), who could paint the future, and Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia), who could briefly mimic other heroes’ powers.
Stream on Peacock.
Elijah Wood in “Sin City” (2005)
If you thought Walter Tattersall was kind of creepy, then brace yourself for Wood’s far more evil “Sin City” character, a mute, cannibalistic serial killer.
Stream on Max or Prime Video.
Christina Ricci in “Sleepy Hollow” (1999)
In Tim Burton’s delightfully gothic adaptation of the classic tale, Ricci plays Katrina Van Tassel, who uses her skills as a witch to try to protect Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) from harm.
Stream on Max.
Melanie Lynskey in “Heavenly Creatures” (1994)
Lynskey is intense as hell in her first movie as homicidal New Zealand teenager Pauline. She plots to kill her own mother when she tries to separate her from the equally impassioned Juliet (Kate Winslet), with whom she’s created an elaborate fantasy world. Dark, trippy … and based on a real-life murder.
Juliette Lewis in “Natural Born Killers” (1994)
As one half of spree killers Mallory and Mickey (Woody Harrelson), Lewis is at her most unhinged. And seeing her as twentysomething blonde proves how perfectly cast Sophie Thatcher was as the younger version of Natalie.
Stream on Max.
Juliette Lewis in “Kalifornia” (1993)
In this road-tripping warm-up for “Natural Born Killers,” Lewis plays the naive girlfriend of Brad Pitt’s serial killer character. She ultimately refuses to be as cruel as he is. David Duchovny and Michelle Forbes co-star.
Stream on Tubi, Redbox or Pluto.
Christina Ricci in “The Addams Family” (1991) and “Addams Family Values” (1993)
Ricci’s burn-it-all-down Wednesday Addams remains absolutely iconic. This scene where she torches a Thanksgiving play at (the horror!) summer camp, is one of the few times we actually see her smile.
Stream on Paramount+ or Pluto.
