It’s a good time to be a horror fan, as a number of beloved franchises have returned to theaters. Case in point: the new Scream movie, which featured a mixture of new and returning characters. One of the newcomers is played by Yellowjackets star Jasmin Savoy Brown, who recently spoke about the “affirming” experience of playing two authentic queer, Black women.
The new Scream movie is very much a love letter to Wes Craven’s franchise, featuring a ton of connections to the 1996 original. Jasmin Savoy Brown plays Mindy Meeks-Martin, who is the niece of Jamie Kennedy’s Randy. As you can see above, I had the privilege of speaking with the Yellowjackets star about her role, where I asked her about what it’s been like playing so many queer Black women– especially since the Showtime show and new horror movie were released in quick succession. She opened up about this process, telling me:
The experience playing both Mindy and Taissa has been very affirming in different ways. It’s really nice to get to bring multiple pieces of my identity, some of the most important pieces of my identity, to my work. I always learn something new about myself. And yeah, I’m just delighted with the timing.
And there you have it. Both Yellowjackets and Scream feature authentic representation– especially for the characters portrayed by Jasmin Savoy Brown. And it seems it was a real joy for the 27 year-old actress to bring both Taissa and Mindy to life on screen. Especially since it offers the chance to look inward.
Jasmin Savoy Brown is definitely on a roll lately, getting praise for her performances in both Yellowjackets and Scream. Indeed, a number of reviews for the new slasher (including my own) call her out as a standout performance. And on top of being a Woodsboro horror fan, Mindy also made history as the first major LGBT+ character in the franchise.
As previously mentioned, there’s been a ton of chatter about Jasmin Savoy Brown’s performance in Showtime’s Yellowjackets. In it she plays Taissa, an elite high school soccer player who is stranded in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash. Her performance is complex and multifaceted, with Taissa recently coming out to her fellow survivors in the penultimate episode of Season 1.
It’s clear that playing these two queer Black women was a great experience for Jasmin Savoy Brown, who also identifies as queer. She recently started a podcast with Yellowjackets co-star Liv Hewson called The Gay Agenda, where they do a deep dive on what being LGBT means to them.
Luckily for Scream fans, they can see Jasmin Savoy Brown’s performance as Mindy Meeks-Martin now, as the new slasher is officially in theaters. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
