Actor, writer, and producer Jill Schoelen was at the height of her career when she left Hollywood in the ’90s to pursue the ultimate role: motherhood. Now armed with a new lease on life and boundless creativity, the multihyphenate talent has huge plans for her return to horror and beyond.

The in-demand actress kept busy throughout the ’80s and early ’90s in television, film, and the stage, including Sean Penn’s writing and directorial debut of his stage production of The Kindness of Women. Horror fans know Schoelen for her work in fan favorite films like The Stepfather, Cutting Class, Curse II: The Bite, Phantom of the Opera with recent Hollywood Walk of Fame star recipient Robert Englund, Popcorn, and When a Stranger Calls Back.

In truth, Schoelen reveals to Bloody Disgusting in exclusive chat, the actress was initially cautious about the genre, leaning “more into the horrific than the horror.” That slowly shifted when she was cast in Wes Craven‘s 1985 made-for-television movie Chiller, then fully once she starred in The Stepfather.

“I’m pretty sure what happened was The Stepfather, which was originally not really part of the horror genre. I don’t think it was meant to be part of the horror genre at all. You know, that movie died on a vine when it was released until Pauline Kael and all these other amazing critics started giving it these outrageous reviews. Then they re-released it, and they pulled it pretty quickly, even though it was completely sold out everywhere where they re-released it. It was still a small release until home video. But I think the critical reviews got it into a lot of filmmakers’ minds. So it was, like, scary movies. I just think it just kind of went that direction. I don’t really know, because if you look at my resume, most of it was not scary,” Schoelen reflects.

Jill Schoelen in ‘The Stepfather’

It’s her roles in The Stepfather and When a Stranger Calls Back that mean the most to Schoelen. “When a Stranger Calls Back was really, really different, because my kind of horror was When a Stranger Calls. That’s terrifying to me.” It wasn’t just that their style of horror spoke more to what scares her, but also that she put in the most work to earn those parts. “Because I always found in every movie I did, the ones that I feel like I did by far the best in, I had to work for it. I had to prove myself,” Schoelen explains.

They weren’t just the roles Schoelen fought hardest for, but they also matched her fighting spirit. She recalls, “I scream in Phantom of the Opera. And I didn’t want to scream there, because I felt very adamant about not wanting to be that girl. I mean, it made sense; it’s pretty horrific. But I’m not a damsel in distress. Once when my purse was stolen, I ran after the person and fought them for it, physically fought them.“

Yet, she very nearly missed her chance to even fight for a part in the sequel to her favorite horror movie.

Jill Schoelen in ‘When a Stranger Calls Back’

“Fred Walton told me he didn’t even want me for When a Stranger Calls Back, before he saw me read. He saw my name on that list and said, ‘Take her off. It’s a waste of my time to see her.’ Then, he later told me at the end of the film, ‘You walked in, then you read, and done. You won the part.” Schoelen’s turn as the smart but vulnerable Julia Jenz, subjected to a bone-chilling night of babysitting, elevates this sequel, easily winning over even stubborn skeptics.

By this stage of her career, Schoelen wasn’t just deftly changing the minds of directors on horror sequels with her talent. She was in frequent contention for A-list parts and carving out an illustrious career on the stage, too. Two years later, she met the man she’d marry, who would dramatically shift her career trajectory.

“When I met my husband, he was a film composer doing quite well. We were personally at a place in our lives doing well. We felt traditional about having children. I really wanted to have children. So, that happened quickly, and that’s why that was one of the last movies I did.” Supporting her husband’s prolific career meant less time for acting, until the day Schoelen discovered she was pregnant.

That was when Schoelen retired from the entertainment business. “I left when I got pregnant with Dante, my oldest son. I called my agent that day. That very day, I found out I was pregnant and said, ‘I’m done.’” Her retirement from Hollywood didn’t diminish her creativity, though, especially when it comes to writing and music.

That creativity went into overdrive after Schoelen suffered a personal loss and a particularly vicious and lengthy fight with long COVID, one that wreaked serious havoc on her health. It reignited her zest for life and artistic pursuits with a new fury, and she’s officially come out of retirement with an already impressive slate of projects in development geared toward the devoted fans who refuse to let go of her work in horror.

Jill Schoelen and Tom McLaren in ‘Ralph’s Perfekt Christmas.’ Photo Credit: Next Chapter Entertainment

Much of Schoelen’s renewed zest for acting, in particular, can be owed to the upcoming feature Ralph’s Perfekt Christmas, a darkly comedic genre-bender from directors Matthew Bellamy and Mary & Tom McLaren targeting next holiday season for release. “I play the female lead, which was great. I mean, to come back after all of these years, and at my age. I’m playing a man’s wife, Ralph, played by Tom McLaren, and he’s trying to get his wife back. Everything spirals to a point where it really has a quite wonderful horror twist to it, as it moves on down along the line,” Schoelen says.

The holiday genre pic didn’t just reinvigorate Schoelen’s passion for acting on screen; it inspired a new holiday album, Christmas is Forever, releasing next week on November 12.

Tom McLaren and Jill Schoelen in ‘Ralph’s Perfekt Christmas.’ Photo Credit: Next Chapter Entertainment

“What happened was, I did that film, which I was so happy about doing, and then, in post-production, I was meeting the producers every now and then for lunch, a quick hello. At one point, they said, ‘We’re working on the music and looking into Christmas songs.’ I just flippantly went, ‘Oh, I recorded some Christmas songs!’

“Because my ex-husband and I, with our kids, both my kids are so musical, instead of doing a traditional Christmas card, we would record Christmas songs, and then we would put out a Christmas CD to family and friends. I had recorded some of those songs; my ex-husband and I had a beautiful recording studio, and we had lots of work there. We just recorded our album with top musicians, and my husband at the time was very popular. Our recordings were quite nice, not quite homespun. So, I had some of them. I just sent one of the songs to the producers months later, because I was so shy. Well, next thing I know, they take me out for lunch or dinner and say, ‘We loved that song, and we put it in the film.’ I’ve always loved Christmas. I’ve always loved Halloween. I have a huge storage unit, like many people do, and it’s just filled with nothing but Halloween decorations.”

“I did bring a horror element into these first five songs. Which I’ll be very, very, very excited to talk about right around the corner,” Schoelen teases.

Tom McLaren and Jill Schoelen in ‘Ralph’s Perfekt Christmas.’ Photo credit: Next Chapter Entertainment

That’s not all that’s on the way from Jill Schoelen, either.

“I did another horror movie,” she teases of the currently titled A Dying Art. “I did a horror movie with Logan Miller. I love him. I did not know anything about him, and I’m a fan now! I’m a fan of Logan Miller now that I not only worked with him, but then I finally saw him in Escape Room. Horror fans are gonna love this one, too. It’s at a Pacific Northwest university. I play one of the professors in it. The film students are studying film, and then these murders start happening, and they’re in the vein of these classic horror films. They’re stunning. Who’s the killer? It’s got great people in it and was so much fun to make.”

Horror fans have been at the forefront of Schoelen’s mind with nearly every step of her return so far, and that extends to her newly launched website JillSchoelen.com, where fans can find limited merch you won’t find anywhere else. “Because I know all the fans of horror love the physical! Also, thank you, fans. So, last minute, I thought, because my producer is totally not from this world. Even though he’s a film composer, too, he’s digital. While we want to push that as well, I thought, for the fans of horror, I have to have the physical. So I did do a vinyl. Very, very limited edition vinyl. There are only 100 of them. I only printed 100.”

While you can preorder the album now, fans will want to bookmark the site for future collectibles. Schoelen also teases a special, limited signed collectible for ’90s slasher Popcorn timed around the film’s anniversary. “Because, especially with Popcorn, there is almost nothing out there available for fans,” she says.

Schoelen is only getting warmed up and eager to dive even further into horror. She cites Mike Flanagan as a filmmaker she’d love to work with, but notes particular interest in notching a horror film first for her. “I do feel a lot of people don’t know me. I feel like there’s a group of people that know me, but there’s a ton of the horror audience out there that has no idea who I am, because I never did that franchise film. Even though Stepfather had a few movies, I’ve never been associated with a franchise film.”

Follow Jill Schoelen on X and Instagram; she notes her Facebook account was previously hacked and is still in a recovery process.

And stay tuned for another surprise the actress has up her sleeves.