10 Horror Movie Performances That Proved EVERYONE Wrong

Redefining horror and powerhouse acting at the same time.

[erikthompson]

Did people not expect Stephen Lang to perform well in "Don't breathe"? The man had decades of experience as a top drawer villain actor, with the likes of "The hard way" and "Avatar" under his belt.

[thecunninlynguist]

How did cage's performance prove anyone wrong, when he was never wrong to begin with? He never ever phones it in. He'll always give it his 110%.

[bluknight]

Okay. I agree with the performances on this list, but how could you leave off Linda Blair as Regan MacNeil in "The Exorcist"? She was a little kid at the time and gave a terrifying performance.

[MrAkilleus]

King never liked Kubrick's take on The Shining and I can see why he'd have doubts about Jack Nicholson. Jack Torrence is supposed to be a regular family man with human flaws. Nicholson kinda comes off as creepy from the start and only gets weirder as the story progresses. It's a great performance but I can see why King was sceptical.

[Turangaia]

Bill Pullman! Those who haven't seen The Serpent and the Rainbow would never guess that Pullman is a great scream queen!

[mancima]

I would add Kurt Russel to this list. In the early eighties he was still best known for his string of juvenile oriented Disney films like ‘The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes’ and other family oriented films. John Carpenter was the first director to see his potential, casting him first in ‘Escape from New York’ and then ‘The Thing’.

[WarrickRanger]

Bill was fantastic in Hemlock Grove, I had no doubt he’d make a creepy Pennywise

[eddiejc]

As good as Jack Nicholson's performance is in "The Shining", I can't overlook the fact that Stanley Kubrick destroyed Shelley Duvall's life from his abuse during the making of this film because he couldn't imagine an actress PRETENDING to be traumatized, so he ACTUALLY traumatized her, which left her with lasting mental damage.

No movie is worth this, and I'm equally sick of this film's apologists who dismiss Kubrick's abuse so they can continue to watch their favorite movie without guilt.

[KidSixXx]

Thomas Jane - The Mist and Toni Colette - Hereditary. Kinda disagree with Jack Nicholson for the usual argument that he was miscast. In the novel, Jack Torrence was supposed to be a normal looking but troubled man whose weaknesses were exploited by the Overlook and he was eventually driven mad. Jack Nicholson looks batshit crazy from frame one of the movie.

[ericduke]

I love Simon Pegg being part of this list. I absolutely love Shawn Of The Dead but hadn't really thought about how brilliant Pegg truly is in that film until now.

[snowpriors]

am i alone in thinking the kids in it part 1 did just as good as bill skarsgard. his mannerisms where possibly my favorite out of any clown i’ve seen on screen, but in the same breath those kids killed it!

[LittleMissGrosser]

Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates is one of my favourite horror performances

[Bedonkabonk]

Anne Rice was vehemently opposed to Tom Cruise being cast as Lestat in Interview With the Vampire. He had to convince her personally that he could pull it off.

[zachhughes]

“Before 2005, everyone though horror could not be funny”??? Ghostbusters and Evil Dead 2 would like a word…

[balkthor]

Stephen Lang was absolutely amazing. I only knew him as the punchline from Tombstone but good lord, he's terrifying here.

[BlackHatCinephile]

Jack Nicholson's character started out sane in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, but the nuthouse drove him crazy.

[Drop-Dead-Fred-Did-It]

Whoever thought Bill Skarsgård couldn’t be scary never seen Hemlock Grove! I was so excited to see him as Pennywise & I wasn’t disappointed in him.

[MISTERBABADK]

Toni Collette in Hereditary. I was not prepared for how incredible she was in that film (specifically the dinner table conversation).

[ZombieFarmboy]

Jane Levy is sorely underused today. I would’ve loved a direct sequel to The Evil Dead with her in it.

[fokushigaru]

Jim Carrey in Number 23, his performance in a horror role blew me away.