Editorials
The Top 16 Oscar-Worthy Horror Performances
It’s a sad, sad fact, but we all know it. The Academy has no love for genre films. When it comes to the Oscars, you’re far more likely to win an acting award for playing a blind dude with no feet, or a lesbian Holocaust survivor, then you are for even the finest dramatic performance in a horror movie. Sure, there have been a few notable exceptions over the years–Fredrich March in Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs–but for the most part, the greatest actors in the history of fright flicks have gone largely unrewarded by Oscar. And so, we take a look this time at 16 of the greatest dramatic performances ever seen in horror. The ones who deserved an Oscar (or at least a nomination), but didn’t get one…
Dont forget to also check out:
A ‘Thirst’ For Redemption: 12 Movies They Won’t Show You At Bible Camp!
The Top 20 Horror Science-Fiction Films of All Time
The Top 13 Slashers in Horror Movie History
The Top 13 Kills in Horror Movie History!
The Top 10 Obscure Horror Gems For Halloween
The Top 10 Made-for-TV Horror Movies of All-Time
The Top 10 Horror Comic Adaptation
The Top 10 Worst Horror Director Collapses!
The Top 10 ‘True-Story’ Horror Movies of All-time!
The Top 10 Hottest Vampire Babes of All-Time
The Top 10 Most Unusual Zombie Occupations
The 10 Lamest Days of Horror the World Has Ever Known
The 10 Stupidest Motives In Slasher Movie History!
The Top 10 Most Batsh*t Crazy Horror Movie Doctors
The Top 10 Worst Things That Could’ve Been in Brundle’s Machine… Besides a Fly
The Top 10 Best Horror Remakes of All-Time
Top 10 “Doh” Moments in Horror History
15 Reasons FOR Remaking A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
The Top 10 Reasons Why Bela Lugosi Still Rules
Top 10 Non-Zombies in a Zombie Film
A classic B-movie leading man, McCarthy was a cut above the usual fare when he starred in the original Invasion. No one who’s seen this movie will likely ever forget the sense of genuine urgency and panic he brought to the role. His final scenes in particular are unforgettable.
In what world does Mork nab an Oscar for Good Will Hunting, and gets not so much as a peep for this completely daring, out-of-character performance? Yeah, we all know he was great in Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, etc., but come on! He took a chance playing this psychopathic part, and man did it pay off.
As an extremely hatable religious zealot, this fine actress should’ve been a shoe-in for a Supporting nod. And we wager she would’ve been given a nom for this part, had it not been in a Stephen King movie… The Academy needs to get over this bias–a great actor is a great actor, period.
Another mainstream actress who has gotten much recognition for her straight dramatic parts, but just because this flick had to do with ghosts, it gets shuffled under the rug. Kidman is really great here as a protective mother who doesn’t realize that she and her children are already dead…
This is the kind of role an actor drools for, and Goldblum certainly did a lot of drooling–acid, to be precise. In Cronenberg’s classic horror remake, he plays a man who is literally falling apart–and does so with the utmost pathos and believability.
Sure to be the most controversial choice on the list. There are many who feel that Oldman was an overbearing ham in the role of the Count. Nevertheless, despite the detractors, Oldman in the opinion of many others gave a stunning, nuanced performance that brought new life to one of the genre’s oldest parts.
Although this was only one of the segments in the Twilight Zone movie, it’s also the one that everyone still talks about to this day. Lithgow, a fine actor in both dramatic and comedic roles, is perfect here as the harried, desperate passenger who suffers a nightmare at 20,000 feet. The kind of role Supporting Actor was created for.
A man who achieved great recognition outside the genre, Peck was one of the finest actors of the 1950s-1970s. No wonder he brought so much power and credibility to the role of Damien Thorn’s adoptive father. This belongs right up there with the likes of Gentleman’s Agreement, To Kill a Mockingbird, Moby Dick and Cape Fear as one of Peck’s finest performances.
Yes, he was that good. If you haven’t checked this movie out yet, you need to–pronto. I’ll be waiting come February to see if the Academy does the right thing and nominates Rockwell for his eye-opening work in this deeply enjoyable piece of horror/science fiction.
Quite possibly the finest lead female performance in the history of horror films. Sigourney came out of nowhere and rocketed to superstardom thanks to her genre-challenging action/horror turn as Ripley, the desperate survivor of the Nostromo who must do battle with an unstoppable killing machine.
One of the greatest character actors of his era, Frye literally stole the show as Renfield in Universal’s Dracula. His early scenes with Bela Lugosi are the best parts of the movie. He is mesmerizing whenever he’s on screen, and takes to his part with a gusto that is rarely matched.
“Farewell and adieu to ye fair Spanish ladies…” Jaws got a Best Picture nomination, but none of the actors were similarly recognized. And although Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss are excellent as well, let’s be honest–this is Shaw’s movie. With Quint, Shaw gives us one of film’s most charismatic icons.
Without saying a single word, Karloff pulls off one of the most emotional charged and intense performances you’ll ever see. This should be required viewing for acting students everywhere. And what a difference from the stone-like, lumbering behemoth the Monster would become in later installments!
A director dreams of getting out of child actors what Tomas Alfredson got out of these two for his coming-of-age instant vampire classic. These two are absolute magic on-screen, delivering nuanced performances most actors four times their age can’t pull off.
Alfred Hitchcock had a reputation for inspiring great work from his actors. He certainly did that with Perkins, whose ultra-nervous, calculating, yet sympathetic Norman Bates is one of film’s more unforgettable characters. Perkins is a revelation here, yet inexplicably, only Janet Leigh was nominated in the acting categories.
And finally, the most Oscar-worthy horror performance of all….
Nominated 12 times for his acting, and winning three times, Jack is one of the most celebrated thespians of the past 40 years. And yet, what is perhaps his most identifiable and indelible performance of all went completely ignored. Robert DeNiro nabbed the award this year for Raging Bull, and I can’t argue with that one–but not even a nomination for Nicholson? Unforgivable.
For more news and opinions on the world of horror, including an exclusive interview with ROTLD’s Jewel Shepard, a review of the original House on Haunted Hill, and the Top 10 Horror Movie Posters of All Time, check out Brian’s daily blog, The Vault of Horror, at thevaultofhorror.net.
And for a unique look at the feminine side of fear, including a sound ridiculing of Twilight fans, and “How to Survive a Zombie Attack” from daycare kids’ point of view, check Brittney-Jade’s blog, Day of the Woman, at dayofwoman.com.
Editorials
‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel
The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.
The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.
Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.
With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).
It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.
The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.
The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.
Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.
Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.
Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.
The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.
You must be logged in to post a comment.