Paris (AFP)

We can be the most legendary of horror actresses and tremble like a leaf: Jamie Lee Curtis, icon for 40 years of horror cinema, revealed his secrets before the release of "Halloween Kills", the last installment of the franchise that made her famous.

Revealed by the first of the twelve films in the "Halloween" series, "Halloween: the night of the masks", a great classic of horror produced four decades ago by the master of the genre John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis is back on track for this new opus, in theaters Wednesday.

Cropped gray hair, a discreet smile and a sporty figure, the 62-year-old actress has something to look for: she is the daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, who dies onscreen in one of the most chilling scenes of the film. history of cinema, under the shower of "Psychosis", by Alfred Hitchcock.

Jamie Lee Curtis, on the other hand, is forever associated with the character of Laurie Strode, a baby-sitter from the small town of Haddonfield, who will be the only one to survive an uncontrollable white-masked killer, Michael Myers.

A role that is like second nature, explained the "scream queen" at the Venice Mosta, which awarded her a Golden Lion of honor and where her film was presented in September: "I believe that this what has made my success in this genre for all these years is that I am easily and naturally appalled ”.

"I'm easily scared. I hate these movies, hate them, I can't stand being scared," she said.

But "if you are looking for pictures of me as a child, I always look terrified. In all the pictures it looks like I was yelled at."

American actress Jamie Lee Curtis at the "Halloween Kills" movie premiere costume party on October 12, 2021 in Hollywood VALERIE MACON AFP

“I think it's a natural talent. This dread that you see on screen is very real, genuine,” “there is no psychological preparation,” she continued.

- "We take hits" -

A fear reinforced during the shooting by the fact that despite the buckets of hemoglobin spilled, in "Halloween", the director has little use of digital effects: "They are real people, in real places, doing ultra-scary stuff ".

If she was able to stand out in a few other roles, including "A Fish Named Wanda" (1988), or "Knives Out", the 2019 movie hit of the year, Jamie Lee Curtis admits to having also done "shit" in his career.

American actress Jamie Lee Curtis arrives at the Excelsior Hotel for the Venice Film Festival, September 8, 2021 Filippo MONTEFORTE AFP / Archives

But Laurie Strode, whom she played six times on the screen, remains her most iconic role, which has aged with her.

After all this time, "whether you call me Laurie or Jamie, it's the same thing. And the most exciting thing about having the same role for 43 years, (...) is that you have evolved ".

"It's the beauty of humanity, we change. We all take hits, but we move forward. We can all refer to Laurie, my character. Everyone faces their demons."

The series was relaunched in 2018, with a tiny budget ($ 10 million) and great success (over $ 250 million at the box office) by David Gordon Green.

"Halloween Kills" is the second part of what must now be a trilogy.

American director Gordon Green and actress Jamie Lee Curtis at the Venice Film Festival for the film "Halloween Kills", September 8, 2021 Marco BERTORELLO AFP / Archives

We find there the mad killer, always so uncontrollable, while the scenario wants to refer to populism and mass movements, with its inhabitants who no longer trust the police and start to want to do justice themselves.

"We see communities all over the world getting angry with the machine, with the system," said the actress, assuring that the film was in a way "premonitory".

A third installment, "Halloween Ends", is about to be shot.

© 2021 AFP