Horroras a genre is demanding when it comes to perfomance. Without great performances, the terrifying and often supernatural circumstances won’t feel believable enough to affect viewers. From scared victims and possessed people to deranged killers and humanoid monsters, horror movies feature some of the best acting in the history of filmmaking. Many of the best horror films ever made have become so iconic and memorable because of the performances delivered by the cast. This is also why some of the most prominent and decorated actors of all time began their careers with horror movies, as their performances showed promise.
Shocking horror movie moments that make viewers audibly gaspcome to life because dedicated acting sends chills down the audience’s spines. While it is rare,horror movies have incredible ensemble castsat times to convincingly portray the terrifying situations that they’re based on. However, despite every effort, including brilliant work behind the scenes, some movies are simply too poorly made or written. Evenamazing special effects can’t save some horror movies, and the same is true of acting, as messy horror movies can sometimes feature great performances. These incredible performances are often the only memorable part of such horror movies.
8Geoffrey Rush
House on Haunted Hill (1999)
Some remakes andsequels of horror movies should never have been made, and among them is the 1999 remake of the 1959House on Haunted Hill. It follows a group of people who have been invited to a psychiatric asylum and offered a million dollars each to survive the night. The film largely received negative reviews because of the poorer effects and writing compared to the original ‘59 movie.
However, the film did receive some appreciation for its performances, and it’s worth watching just to see Geoffrey Rush acting as the primary antagonist. His character was portrayed by the inimitable Vincent Price in the original film, and while Rush recreates some of the energy Price brought to the role, he plays it differently to suit the tone of the remake. With a larger-than-life persona and a charming flamboyance,Rush delivers an all-time great villain performancethat elevates the film.
7Tom Atkins
Halloween III: The Season of the Witch
Halloween III: The Season of the Witchis ahorror movie that gets a lot of flack, but it’s rightfully earned itself a cult fandom. Yes, it’s the only movie in the franchise that doesn’t feature the iconic villain, Michael Myers. However, it’s a bonkers movie with eternally relevant commentary on the nature of advertising and the control that conglomerates have over the masses in a capitalist world.
John Carpenter initially wanted theHalloweenfranchise to be an anthology about various haunted events occurring around the holiday, butHalloween III: The Season of the Witchis the only stand-alone movie except the firstHalloweenfilm because it was panned and given negative reviews upon release.
Tom Atkins delivers a compelling performance as the protagonist ofHalloween III: The Season of the Witch, who discovers a toy corporation’s plot to control people by using witchcraft through their most famous toy on Halloween night. That climactic moment when he breaks the fourth wall to deliver the message to the audience is elevated by his committed performance. In fact, despite the wild plotline of the film,Atkins treats the source material with the utmost sincerity, making his plight and the story’s premise seem believable.
6Warwick Davis
Leprechaun (1993)
Warwick Davis broke out in the late ’80s with a couple of memorable roles, especially the leading role inWillow,aperfect non-animated action movie for kids to watch. Within half a decade, he had been offered the starring role in a horror franchise as the titular leprechaun. Unfortunately, the franchise doesn’t contain a movie that would qualify as good, althoughLeprechaun 3comes close, but that’s not Davis’ fault.
Leprechaunis the quintessential so-bad that it’s-good horror moviebecause there’s simply not enough plot or compelling characters to get invested in the film. The kills aren’t all memorable and the writing leaves a lot to be desired, but there are enough unexpected moments that make the viewing experience entertaining. Moreover, Warwick Davis is utterly sincere in his portrayal of the titular character, adding a thrill factor to the otherwise messy and silly affair.
5Rebecca Gayheart
Urban Legend (1998)
Screamintroduced the world to Ghostface, a horrormovie character who helped reshape genre expectationswith his violent, innovative kills, and by being the subject of the whodunnit aspect of the movies. Unsurprisingly,Screaminspired an entire genre of filmmaking – the mystery slasher with an inventively violent villain. However, few of the ripoffs actually come close to being as good asScream, and among the notable ones isUrban Legend.
Urban Legendis incoherent at times and clearly a ripoff ofScream, but it’s fun to watch because it’s self-aware. The movie is not delusional about being better than it is, and it commits to an extravagant tone with such sincerity that it becomes campy. Moreover, the villain and her methodology will be eternally remembered. Played by Rebecca Gayheart, the character stages recreations of urban legends to kill people she wants to.Gayheart is aware that the film is unserious, and she delivers an over-the-top performance marked by eccentricity in her body language and appearance.
4Octavia Spencer
Ma (2019)
Tate Taylor’sMais mostly a forgettable movie because it fails to engage viewers on an emotional level. The premise is golden for a story where characters are killed off one by one – a lonely woman invites children to a party in her basement after they ask her for help to buy alcohol. The titular character’s mental instability leads to all Hell breaking loose and the unsuspecting children turning into victims.
However, the antagonist doesn’t have the memorable traits that legendary villains do. She is far too much of a template without enough innovative kills, except for the truck, to make a lasting impression. Yet, it’s difficult to forget her once you’ve seen the film.The credit is entirely Octavia Spencer’s for giving her character a sincere portrayal with a lot of heart, preventing her from becoming another goofy slasher villain that no one remembers.
3Richard Brake
31 (2016)
Among themovies likeThe Running Manthat are worth watching while waiting for the Glen Powell-starrer remake to come out, is31. It’s not particularly good and is arguably the worst movie made by Rob Zombie. It follows a group of carnival workers in the 1970s who are kidnapped and forced to fight with killer clowns and little people in order to survive 12 hours, after which they’ll be released.
31is Rob Zombie’s version ofThe Most Dangerous Game.
The premise isn’t bad, but the execution falls flat at times, but I believe the film is criminally underrated. What stands out the most is Richard Brake’s performance as Doom Head, one of the killer clowns. His sincere performance makes his scenes unnerving and uncomfortable to watch, which isn’t true of most of his co-stars in31, who fail to invoke realism in their acting.Brake’s performance can give viewers nightmares for daysafter they’ve seen31.
2Chris Rock
Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)
Many of those who have watchedSawmovies have wondered what it would be like to use his traps for social justice. Some of his victims are more justified than others because of their despicable actions already. So, on paper, it sounds great that a horror movie features corrupt cops being killed with Jigsaw traps to bring law enforcement’s attention to the fact that their misdeeds neither go unseen nor have forgettable consequences.
Moreover, the tone of the film makes one wonder if it would have benefited from being a drama instead of sensationalizing violence in the very real context of police brutality.
Unfortunately, the potential for meaningful storytelling is lost because of the protagonist’s writing. He is as misogynistic as one can get and a recycled dump of tropes about the underappreciated police officer. Moreover, the tone of the film makes one wonder if it would have benefited from being a drama instead of sensationalizing violence in the very real context of police brutality. However, Chris Rock deserves all the credit for committing to his performance as the protagonist despite his disgustingly monotonous sexist dialogue that feels written by AI at times.
1Vera Farmiga
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
James Wan’s haunted house movieThe Conjuringand its sequel, although barely scary, can be fun to watch because of their imaginative use of space and special effects. Even though he did return as a producer, it’s clear from watchingThe Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, that without his flair for staging shocking moments in a closed space, the movies do run out of steam.
If there was ever an argument to be made againstThe Conjuring’s procedural style of storytelling, it’sThe Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, since the film abandons realism for the sake of visual glory, eventreating occultism like the Force in Star Wars. However, the film is worth watching simply to see Vera Farmiga reprise her role as Lorraine Warren. She’s compelling as ever, and makes one hope Lorraine will never be recast for the sequels.
