The horror industry has a fierce new multi-hyphenate force to reckon with. Italian-Argentinian actress, writer, and producer Georgia Viero is rapidly carving out a space for herself as a premier modern “scream queen,” navigating the dark, disorienting waters of independent genre cinema with terrifying precision. Yet, Viero’s path to the macabre wasn’t standard. Before she was orchestrating blood-soaked narratives, she spent years as a prominent television and radio host in Italy, covering the high-stakes world of Serie A football.
“I wasn’t completely satisfied with my life at the time,” Viero confesses, recalling her pre-pandemic television career. “During the pandemic, I had a revelation. I was missing my actress side, and I began having ideas about horror plots.” This profound creative pivot planted the seeds for what would become a prolific string of international horror projects. Her lifelong fascination with the eerie—rooted in a childhood obsession with R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps and a mind-blowing theater viewing of Wes Craven’s Scream in 1997—finally took center stage.
Viero moved to London, an environment she describes as incredibly prolific for the genre, to join her life and business partner, actor Christian Vit. Together, they leaped headfirst into the independent film market with the thriller Behave, directed by Francesco Gabriele. “We found distribution once the movie had been completed and not beforehand,” Viero says of the gamble. “This is why I say we were brave.” The risk paid off spectacularly; after hitting the global market at the prestigious Marché du Film de Cannes, Behave secured widespread international distribution across multiple platforms and physical home video releases.
Her momentum has only accelerated with her latest venture, the holiday slasher Jingle Hell. A complex international co-production between Lion Films and Vigory Pictures, the film required Viero to balance distinct creative energies across Argentina, Rome, and London. Filmed over a grueling 13-day night shoot in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, the movie owes its striking vintage atmosphere to its main location: the historical 1925 train deposit of Remedios de Escalada.
“We wanted the perfect, unexpected backdrop to bring that vintage atmosphere to life,” Viero explains. “The vintage flavor lives mostly in the pacing. It’s a slow, disorienting unease. Our creature blurs the line between victim and perpetrator far more uncomfortably than a traditional monster.” The festival circuit has deeply embraced this disorienting approach. Jingle Hell has already racked up numerous selections and wins, including a Best Supporting Actress award for Viero herself at the Hollywood Blood Film Festival—a hilarious twist for the self-proclaimed villain-lover who, for once, played the innocent victim.
Central to Viero’s expanding cinematic universe is her explosive partnership with actress and writer Stacy Thunes. Having met in London five years ago, the duo has become a highly effective creative team, collaborating across Behave, Jingle Hell, and multiple upcoming pitch decks. Thunes is currently slated to take the lead in Viero’s highly anticipated upcoming feature, The Echoing.
Viero’s relentless work ethic was on full display this past summer, where she wrapped filming on the UK-produced horror feature The Claimed, directed by Luke Mordue and produced by Jacob Jamieson. Starring alongside Nicole Rose D’Arrecca and Timothy Blore in the stunning landscape of Abruzzo, Italy, Viero plays the mysterious, “awkward” Lucia Bianchi in a story she teases as pure mystery and deep nostalgia.
Proving her versatility extends far beyond pure terror, Viero also stepped entirely out of the genre space this year to portray the historical biblical figure Maria Di Cleofa in AC Studios’ upcoming Giovanni 19:26, directed by Angelo Cannella. Shot in the beautiful northern valleys of Valsesia, the film looks at the life of Jesus through the eyes of the Apostle John. Driven to the project by a deep admiration for lead actress Cristina Nardelli’s past work, Viero conducted rigorous historical research to prepare. “Acting alongside Cristina helped me a lot; we developed a strong chemistry,” Viero notes. “The experience gave me the opportunity to be deeply immersed in the Christian mystery.”
With two horror features (The Echoing and Ad Memoriam) and a vertical drama story currently in pre-production—alongside managing a boutique B&B in Rome—Viero admits the balancing act can be exhausting. Yet, her creative engine shows no signs of slowing down, with a highly secretive, award-winning female-directed Italian short film next on her immediate horizon. For this rising scream queen, terror is just the beginning.
