Daveigh Chase, Actress Behind ‘The Ring’s’ Terrifying Samara, Dies at 35

Some truly terrible news this afternoon as TMZ is reporting that Daveigh Chase, best known to horror fans as Samara in the remake of The Ring, has died. She was 35.

The actress’s boyfriend, Roy Hernandez, told TMZ that Chase died Tuesday after battling meningitis and an infection in her blood that led to septic issues. Per THR.

Both Donnie Darko and The Ring are incredibly important films in my life.

Donnie Darko remains one of my favorite movies of all time, and as a huge fan of Richard Kelly, I’ve watched it more times than I can count. Daveigh Chase’s performance as Donnie’s little sister, Samantha, was always one of my favorite parts of the film, and her unwavering commitment to Sparkle Motion never failed to make me laugh. She was absolutely adorable in that movie.

On the other end of the spectrum is The Ring – one of the scariest films ever made, one of the greatest remakes ever produced, and a movie elevated by Daveigh’s phenomenal performance as Samara Morgan. It was the first film to truly explode at the box office after I launched Bloody Disgusting 25 years ago, and everything I’ve done since can be traced back, in some way, to that movie. The fact that I’m sitting here writing this on Dread Central is because The Ring existed. It will always hold a special place in my heart, and because Daveigh was such a central part of it, she’ll always be important to the legacies of both sites. She’ll be missed, but never forgotten.

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THR recaps her career: