There’s nothing ahorrormovie does better than a featured cameo, andthere are many actors who give their all to a single scene of a scary movieand are remembered for it forever. Within the horror genre, most characters are expendable. When actors only have one moment to sell their performances, it’s because they’re an early victim who demonstrates how the monster or magic works. However, these films sometimes flip the script and have the long-awaited villain only appear in the final moments of the story to increase the impact of their arrival.
Though one scene might not qualify, someactor’s performances in horror moviesare often highlights of their careers, allowing them to step out of their comfort zones.Horror films are a place for actors and audiences alike to explore their anxieties,fears, and existential questions within a safe environment. Additionally, there’s less pressure on a performer who’s only in one scene of the movie, as they know the entire narrative doesn’t rely on them. They can have fun with the role and experiment, which is what makes them so memorable.
The Little Shop Of Horrors
Cast
The Little Shop Of Horrors is a dark comedy musical film directed by Frank Oz. Released in 1986, the film stars Rick Moranis as Seymour Krelborn, a florist who discovers a mysterious plant that thrives on human blood. As Seymour grapples with the plant’s growing demands, his affection for his coworker Audrey and the sinister nature of the plant create a gripping narrative. Ellen Greene and Steve Martin also star.
The 1986 adaptation ofLittle Shop of Horrorsbrings the stage musical back to the screen after its success, combining elements of the theatrical version and the original 1960 low-budget comedy. Often described as one of thebest musical movie remakesand horror comedies of the 1980s,Little Shop of Horrorsfeatures an all-star cast including Rick Moranis, Steve Martin,and many other contemporary comedians in small bit parts. While Jim Belushi and Christopher Guest both make appearances, one of the most fun cameos is Bill Murray’s.
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His character, Arthur Denton, goes to the dentist, Orin (Martin), for a root canal and is featured in the scene just before Seymour (Moranis) attempts to kill Orin. Darkly comic and over-the-top, Murray fits into the campy and satirical tone ofLittle Shop of Horrorswith ease.After the success of projects likeGhostbusters, Murray had a lot of star power,which he lent to the off-beat musical horror-comedy, helping cement it as a unique cult favorite.
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Sleepy Hollow
Sleepy Hollow is a supernatural horror thriller by director Tim Burton and Starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci. Based on the original tale by Washington Irving, Sleepy Hollow follows constable Ichabod Crane as he is sent to the titular northern New York town to investigate a series of beheadings. However, the scholarly Crane’s foe is a supernatural being that cannot be explained - The Headless Horseman.
Another addition to Tim Burton’s engaging gothic horror films,Sleepy Hollow, was praised for its visuals and cohesive aesthetic choices.A new take onThe Legend of Sleepy Hollowby Washington Irving, the story follows Ichabod Crane, who comes to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the murders in town. It doesn’t take long for Crane to realize there’s something supernatural afoot, which is where Christopher Walken comes in as the horrible Headless Horseman.
Walken plays the Horseman in a flashback, explaining the brutal past of the resurrected demonic man. Made up to look as terrifying as possible,Walken is practically unrecognizable and fully commits himself to being the ruthless killerwho haunts the townspeople’s nightmares. This backstory sequence is vitally important to the plot ofSleepy Hollowand helps establish the atmosphere of the film while providing necessary exposition. It would take an actor like Walken to bring such a specific but iconic character to life.
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Scream
1996’s Scream follows a teenage girl who is targeted by a masked killer a year after her mother’s murder who uses horror movies as a deadly game against her and her friends.
The opening scene ofScreamis one of the most iconic in movie history,and it wouldn’t have been half as effective in capturing the viewer’s attention without Drew Barrymore’s performance. Neve Campbell’s Sidney is the film’s iconic final girl, but Barrymore’s phone call with the killer sets the tone for the entire project. Instantly, the audience understands thatScreamis well aware of the tropes and formulas of the horror genre and is going to be a meta-textual ride of satire and genuine thrills.
By playing Casey, Barrymore got to show a different side of herself and be taken more seriously as an actress, especially since her scene ends so violently.
Barrymore was the perfect choice for the character Casey, as she was already a well-known figure in cinema at that point, but most of her roles were during her time as a child actress. However, by playing Casey, Barrymore got to show a different side of herself and be taken more seriously as an actress, especially since her scene ends so violently. It won’t be long beforethe franchise will return withScream 7, but none of the sequels would be possible without the precedent set by the original.
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Doctor Sleep
Doctor Sleep, set decades after The Shining, follows Dan Torrance as he confronts his traumatic past at the Overlook Hotel. He encounters Abra, a teenage girl with powerful extrasensory abilities called the “shine,” who enlists his help in battling sinister forces.
Ewan McGregor leadsDoctor Sleepas Dan Torrance, the young boy fromThe Shiningwho’s grown up and is plagued by memories of what happened with his parents at the Overlook Hotel. With his psychic abilities, Dan starts to investigate the cult that feeds on people with psychic abilities like him, leading him to the powerful young girl, Abra (Kyliegh Curran). Even more powerful than him,Abra senses the cult and has visions of the other people they’ve prayed upon.
Jacob Tremblay’s Bradley is a young victim of the cultwhose death Abra witnesses through her Shining. It’s a small and tragic role, but it’s a nice addition to Tremblay’s filmography to be part of such an iconic franchise.The Shiningis often cited amongStanley Kubrick’s best movies, which helped establish a built-in audience forDoctor Sleepin 2019. ThoughDoctor Sleepis more in tune with the clairvoyance of the story, it’s still a strong follow-up to the classic horror movie.
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In 2000, the firstFinal Destinationmovie premiered, and the franchise has grappled with the inevitability of destiny and whether it’s possible to cheat death. Time and again,Final Destinationproves that within the world of the story, fate will find a way to collect the souls who narrowly escaped their deaths. In the first film,Tony Todd explains this to the characters, laying out the rules of the moviesthat hold true for the rest of the installments.
His character, William Bludworth, is a mortician whom the characters encounter after the first death in the sequence.
His character, William Bludworth, is a mortician whom the characters encounter after the first death in the sequence.His ominous characterization fits with the tone of the storyand is a stand-in for death itself, playing the critical role of delivering exposition while blending into the overarching storyline. His comments to Alex (Devon Sawa) set him on a path of trying to prevent the inevitable deaths, which continuously proves to be futile.
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The Sixth Sense
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense is a psychological thriller about a young boy who can see and communicate with ghosts. Bruce Willis as Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist who tries to help Cole, played by Haley Joel Osment, while grappling with his own personal demons. The movie features a twist ending that has become iconic in pop culture.
M. Night Shyamalan’s classic ghost story,The Sixth Sense, is led by the young Haley Joel Osment as Cole and Bruce Willisin one of his best performances as Malcolm. As Cole confides in Malcolm that he can see the dead, Malcolm attempts to help him navigate the terror of his world and work with him to help spirits move on from Earth. Mr. Collins is the bereaved father of Kyra Collins (Mischa Barton), a young girl ghost who Cole speaks to, realizing she’s been poisoned by her stepmother.
By altering Mr. Collins to this crime and betrayal at Kyra’s funeral, Cole takes an important step in accepting his gift and moving on, learning that he can help people with this ability.Greg Wood’s performance as Mr. Collins is incredibly moving,which can be difficult given that he’s onscreen for such a short amount of time. However, Wood managed to communicate the depth of his loss as well as the impact that Cole has made on his life in this short time.
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Hellbound: Hellraiser II
Hellbound: Hellraiser II, directed by Tony Randel, continues the dark and twisted saga introduced in Clive Barker’s Hellraiser. Kirsty Cotton seeks to rescue her father from the nightmarish dimension ruled by the Cenobites. As she delves deeper into this labyrinth of monstrous horrors, she faces the sadistic Dr. Channard, who harbors his own demonic ambitions. This sequel offers a deeper exploration of the franchise’s macabre universe.
Fans of body horror will enjoy Oliver Smith’s single scene inHellbound: Hellraiser II,the sequel to the originalHellraiser, which came out the year before. Quickly becoming a cult hit in horror circles, the first film was praised for its controversial and boundary-pushing subject matter. While the sequel didn’t reach the same levels of notoriety, it successfully established the story as having franchise potential. Smith’s character, Mr. Browning, is pulled into the world of the Cenobites because of a doctor who’s obsessed with them.
Though it’s tough to watch, Smith isn’t afraid to fully embrace the role and make the audience squirm.
Convinced by the doctor, Channard (Kenneth Cranham), to cut his own skin off,Browning is in a brief but telling scene that proves how far Channard is willing to go to summon the Cenobites.TheHellraiserfranchise is all about body horror and grotesque imagery, so Browning is far from the only character who is impacted by the desire and obsession of people seeking the Cenobites. Though it’s tough to watch, Smith isn’t afraid to fully embrace the role and make the audience squirm.
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The Northman
The Northman is a historical epic released in 2022 that follows Viking Prince Amleth on his quest for vengeance. After witnessing his father’s murder and his mother’s abduction by his uncle, Amleth dedicates his life to rescuing his mother and avenging these betrayals.
Robert Egger’s dark historical action-horror movie,The Northman, is anchored by the performance by Alexander Skarsgård as Amleth, the titular Northman. Following his epic quest for vengeance and the fulfillment of his destiny, the movie sees Amleth travel far and wide to eventually return to his homeland to murder his uncle, who usurped the throne from Amleth’s father, killing him in cold blood. When he reaches adulthood,Amleth meets an ancient Seeress, played by Bjork, reminding him of his destiny.
Though it might seem strange to cast an iconic musician in the witches' role,Bjork has always been known for her boundary-pushing projects and theatrical performances,making her the perfect choice for the eerie Seeress. Drawing upon Norse mythology,The Northmantouches upon seers and witches who can predict the characters' destinies, which is how Bjork’s role is characterized. It’s a terrifying moment when Amleth is confronted by the Seeress, but she is the catalyst for him getting back on the road to his eternal fate.
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Constantine
Constantine follows John Constantine, a chain-smoking occult detective who has journeyed to Hell and back. Released in 2005, the film pairs him with a policewoman to investigate her twin sister’s mysterious suicide, taking them into a hidden world of demons and angels in modern Los Angeles.
In one of Keanu Reeves' exciting forays into the fantasy genre,Constantine, the actor plays John Constantine, a character based on the DC comic seriesHellblazer. In the narrative,Constantine has the power to see angels and demons, making him the perfect tortured exorcist.Constantine is particularly haunted by the fact that his soul is condemned to hell and the fact that Lucifer will one day come to collect him. The threat of Lucifer’s arrival hangs over the entire film until Peter Stormare makes his grand entrance at the end of the movie.
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Clad in a pure white suit and dripping with fury and power, Stormare’s Lucifer cuts a striking figurein the scene, as Constantine has called him there, in a desperate attempt to save the world from the work of a corrupt angel and demon. SinceConstantine 2is confirmed, it’s likely that audiences will see the return of Stormare as Lucifer since he made it clear that he’s far from done with Constantine. The chemistry between Reeves and Stormare as eternal enemies also helps elevate the scene as a climactic conclusion.
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Smile
A psychological horror film written and directed by newcomer Parker Finn, Smile is the story of a woman who, after witnessing a traumatic incident involving a patient, terrifying incidents keep occurring in her life. Sosie Bacon stars as Dr. Rose Cotter, the woman afflicted by these new realistic nightmares. The horrifying occurrences happen so frequently that Rose realizes she’ll have to confront past trauma to escape this new reality and survive the supernatural forces trying to kill her.
WhenSmilewas released in 2022, it was the most exciting psychologicalhorrorfilm in recent years and garnered plenty of praise from critics and audiences alike.Caitlin Stasey returns from director Parker Finn’s original short film,Laura Hasn’t Slept,and kicks off the events of the film with her interaction with Rose (Sosie Bacon), the movie’s protagonist. As the story progresses, it soon becomes clear that because Rose witnessed Laura’s death, she has been cursed with the same terrifying affliction as Laura.
Stasey’s appearance is a fun Easter egg from the short, though she is gone for the remainder of the film. However, it’s impossible to forget her. It’s Rose’s interaction with Laura that plagues her for the rest of the story.When rewatchingSmile, it’s incredible to see how much foreshadowing is laid out by Stasey’s performanceand how her character essentially explains how the curse works. It’s a clever scene and pivotal for the rest of the narrative to work, but Stasey executes it perfectly.
