Editorials
Scene-Stealers: 10 Horror Performances That Stole the Show!
Cinema is filled with memorable performances, iconic characters, and actors let loose to chew-scenery like there’s no tomorrow. Just recently, Anna Hathaway went full-throttle on the camp to make the Grand High Witch her own in The Witches, and Vince Vaughn’s performance as a teen girl trapped in a man’s body offers comedic gold in Freaky.
Horror’s history is filled with mesmerizing characters and supporting roles that upstage the leads at every turn. Here are ten of them.
Father McGruder (Stuart Devensie) – Dead Alive (Braindead)
Lionel Cosgrove’s road to overcoming his overbearing mother and find love is paved with zombies, guts, and a slew of endearing characters. None are as memorable as Father McGruder, a martial arts savvy priest who doesn’t take kindly to hoodlums invading his churchyard. That fighting spirit is immediately winsome, along with McGruder’s battle cry, “I kick ass for the Lord!” McGruder’s divine intervention ends as quickly as it begins, with the priest becoming yet another zombie for Lionel to keep in his cellar. That’s okay; Father McGruder stills kicks ass in our hearts.
Tina (Angela Trimbur) – The Final Girls
There’s not a weak link among the entire cast in this infectious horror-comedy, but Trimbur’s take on the promiscuous slasher character goes the extra mile in terms of comedy. Never is that more apparent than in Tina’s Adderall infused striptease to Warrant’s “Cherry Pie,” as bait to lure the killer. Nothing screams sexy like an energetic and sped up striptease with an added life jacket and potholder layers to contain an unbridled spirit. The plan didn’t quite go off as planned, but it was worth it just for Tina’s scene-stealing moment.
Delbert McClintock (John Goodman) – Arachnophobia
When things were getting too dire and the spider invasion was building to a fever pitch, enter the plucky exterminator to bring reinforcements and levity. Goodman’s filmography is full of scene-stealing characters, but Delbert McClintock ranks high among them. His knowledge and take-charge attitude make him a valuable asset, but it’s Delbert’s quirky personality that makes him a standout. Delbert has multiple moments to shine, including saving the film’s protagonist from burning along with the monstrous spider that started it all.
Gus Gilbert (Clancy Brown) – Pet Sematary Two
Whether you love or hate this sequel, one thing is sure; Clancy Brown owns this movie. Brown plays Gus, the ruthless and vindictive town sheriff that takes pleasure in making those around him suffer. When Gus dies by undead dog mauling, he’s buried in the Indian burial ground. That’s terrible news for the film’s protagonists but fantastic news for viewers. What’s better than an evil character played by Brown? An undead evil character played by Brown. Once returned from the grave, Brown goes full-throttle on the scene-chewing, delivering an iconic, deranged performance. You’ll never look at mashed potatoes the same way again.
Lucifer (Peter Stormare) – Constantine
Stormare is the type of character actor who renders any role instantly unforgettable; pick any part of his, and it’d likely apply. Still, it’s tough to beat his take on Lucifer Morningstar in Constantine. Lucifer only shows up in the climax and isn’t even the central antagonist, but he easily steals the movie with his intimidating, venomous rendition of Hell’s ruler. There’s a malevolent glee to Stormare’s line delivery and a level of unhinged befitting of the character. It’s magnetic.
Richie Tozier (Bill Hader) – It Chapter Two
The follow-up to 2017’s It boasts a stacked cast for the Loser’s Club’s adult version. Even though it was an ensemble, this sequel had a clear standout- Hader’s charming portrayal of the grown-up Richie “Trashmouth” Tozier. Hader’s lengthy history in comedy meant an easy transition into the role of the group’s comedic relief, but it was his emotional depth that set him apart. His feelings for and bond with Eddie (James Ransone) stole the entire film.
The Nun/Valak (Bonnie Aarons) – The Conjuring 2
After Annabelle and Bathsheba, it was hard to imagine anything else could induce that same fear level. Enter The Nun, who quickly emerged as the strongest and most terrifying demon of all in the Conjuring universe. Not even Javier Botet’s turn as the Crooked Man could usurp the Nun. While James Wan’s ability to craft scares like no other deserves some credit, much of the Nun’s success as a breakout character belongs to Bonnie Aarons, an actress with an uncanny ability to frighten (look to Mulholland Drive for further proof). Thanks to Aarons, it’s easy to see why The Nun would appear again in Annabelle: Creation and spinoff feature The Nun.
Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein) – Poltergeist franchise
The small, unassuming appearance of Tangina late in Poltergeist belies the medium’s formidable power. When all seems lost for the Freeling family and with their poltergeist activity spinning out of control, Tangina offers a soothing balm in the form of quiet authority and guidance. Rubinstein is so memorable in the role that Tangina became the only character to appear in all three films and the TV series, Poltergeist: The Legacy.
Private Hudson (Bill Paxton) – Aliens
If there’s such a thing as an absolute, reigning champ of scene-stealers, it’s Bill Paxton. No matter how small the part, Paxton transforms it into an influential role. In this case, Paxton turned the minor, supporting character of Private Marine Hudson into an iconic character and fan favorite. Before encountering the aliens on LV-426, Hudson’s bravado made him a standout among his team. After, his shattered confidence and stark panic made him notably relatable. Of course, Hudson also offers the most quotable character of the movie, with lines like, “Game over, man! Game over!” Writer/director James Cameron wrote the part with Paxton in mind, and we can’t imagine anyone else could’ve come close to touching what Paxton brought to the character.
Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) – The Silence of the Lambs
The Silence of the Lambs runs just two hours and eighteen minutes long. Hannibal Lecter appears on screen for only sixteen of them. Hopkins made every minute count, and his mesmerizing and chilling portrayal of the incarcerated cannibal that aids Clarice Starling on her quest to catch a killer earned him an Academy Award win for Best Actor. Hopkins stole the film, and considering Ted Levine’s take on Buffalo Bill (the film’s real antagonist) is just as memorable, that’s a significant feat.
From child-eating witches to village-burning dragons, fairy tales have always had a foot in the horror genre. That’s why it makes sense that, for every The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia, there are also darker and more adult-oriented stories about magical worlds inhabited by ravenous monsters and cruel villains.
Funnily enough, these sinister tales were precisely the ones that I gravitated towards back when I was a kid, and I was reminded of this while watching Netflix’s recently released I Am Frankelda, Mexico’s first ever feature-length stop-motion animation and one hell of an entertaining parable about the intersection between fiction and reality.
In honor of this special kind of horror-adjacent fairy tale, today I’d like to share this list recommending six Dark Fantasy films that horror fans might enjoy.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be defining Dark Fantasy as fantastical stories that don’t shy away from the more macabre elements that fuel classic fairy tales. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own grim favorites if you think we missed a particularly thrilling one.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
6. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
I’m fascinated by bizarre attempts at blockbuster filmmaking – especially when the resulting movies are somehow still fun despite their corporate-mandated origins. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is precisely one of these strangely compelling studio projects, as this surprisingly successful action-thriller boasts a lot of heart (and tongue-in-cheek humor) for a CGI-heavy creature feature.
Directed by Dead Snow’s Tommy Wirkola, Witch Hunters re-frames the classic fairy tale as an origin story for a duo of badass monster-slayers. Of course, it’s the flick’s anachronistic aesthetic and overall visual flair that make it stand out from other action-horror endeavors from around the same time.
5. The Wolf House (2018)
Made in the tradition of faux cursed films in the same vein as Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made, the eerie backstory to 2018’s Chilean animated flick The Wolf House (La Casa Lobo in the original Spanish) already makes it a nightmarish experience before the flick even really begins.
After all, the movie is presented to us as a faux propaganda film produced by the leader of a death cult (heavily inspired by the real life Colonia Dignidad), with this hybrid animated feature using complex movie magic to simulate a single uninterrupted shot as it tells the story of a lazy young girl who runs away from an isolated colony and encounters a creepy old house in the woods.
4. The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Out of all the Monty Python alumni, Terry Gilliam has had the most interesting career outside of the original comedy group. From fascinating canceled projects (such as his scrapped adaptation of Watchmen) to dystopian parodies that feel more relevant by the minute (1985’s Brazil), even his “lesser” films are still intriguing in their own way.
2005’s The Brothers Grimm is one such project, with this peculiar movie attempting to combine the comedian-turned-filmmaker’s unique visual style with a more blockbuster-oriented plot reimagining the titular brothers as con-artists rather than mere writers. The end result isn’t exactly a masterpiece, but it’s still a legitimately fun ride with plenty of memorable monsters and wonderful performances by both the late, great Heath Ledger and Matt Damon.
3. Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic (2010)
2010’s Dante’s Inferno game may have a reputation as something of an unapologetic God of War clone, but I’d argue that the now-obscure game was aesthetically unique enough to deserve a bigger fanbase. However, while the title remains trapped on the seventh console generation, its highly underrated anime adaptation is a lot easier to get a hold of!
Animated by 6 different studios in order to make the 9 circles of hell feel unique from each other, this may not be a completely faithful adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s poem, but it’s still one heck of a great (not to mention gory) time that I’d highly recommend to fans of Netflix’s take on Castlevania.
2. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)
My personal favorite entry in the Underworld franchise, Rise of the Lycans, is a highly ambitious prequel that actually works better if you haven’t had the story spoiled to you by the previous Underworld films.
While the rest of the series features plenty of urban fantasy elements as the movies combine machine guns and modern environments with gothic storytelling, Patrick Tatopoulos’ prequel fully embraces its fantastical origins and tells a classic tale about a doomed romance between a werewolf and a vampire amid a medieval uprising.
And the best part is that we get a lot more Michael Sheen as the fan-favorite Lucian.
1. Solomon Kane (2011)
One of my personal favorite movies on this list, MJ Basset’s criminally underseen adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s other iconic warrior is thoroughly steeped in horror ambience and features plenty of memorable monsters. However, it’s also a classic origin story for a swashbuckling hero that wouldn’t feel out of place in a tabletop RPG.
While I’ve already written about how the film deftly combines both horror and fantasy elements without breaking the bank, I’ll never pass up an opportunity to recommend the bizarre movie where James Purefoy expertly plays a puritan John Wick.
It’s just too bad that we never got the other films in this intended trilogy.
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