2019 was an exceptional year for cinema, especially in the horror space, especiallyin the “horror performances good enough to get nominated for Oscars” space. Two years previously,Get Out’s excellent slate of Oscar nominations (and screenplay win!) had me excited that we’d see similar horror love in the 2019 nominations. And whilethat year’s Best Picture winnerwas, among many other genres, kind of a “horror film”, none of the incredible horror performances we saw got any of the Oscar love they deserved.
Should I have been surprised, or even hopeful to begin with? Probably not. With the exception of some outliers, likeThe Silence of the Lambs,the horror genre has largely been passed over by those prestigious voters of the Academy. The genre, with its abject depictions of violence, mayhem, and generally “lowbrow” forms of cinematic communication, just must not be considered cultured enough for such sparkly awards — despite the fact that horror has always, and will always, be directly in dialogue with social mores, public interest, and incredible craftspeople in a way many of these prestige dramas could only dream of.
In honor of this blessed genre, and the wonderful craftspeople who deliver sterling work in it, here are 25 of the best horror performances that should’ve been nominated for an Oscar — and you better believe we gotta know which ones we missed. For more on all things horror, here’sour review of a bonkers Stephen King blu-ray set(not including, weirdly, the one thatKathy Bateswon an Oscar for!).
Isabelle Adjani, ‘Possession’
InAndrzej Żuławski’s cult horror psychodrama classicPossession,Isabelle Adjanitakes us on a tour-de-force of emotional limits — in two different roles. When internationalSam Neillreturns home to his wife, Adjani, he’s surprised to find she wants a divorce. That is only thetipof the iceberg of miseries headed toward, and because of, both performers, with Adjani acting increasingly erratic, threatening, terrified, obsessed, callously uncaring, and yes, possessed. Her performance shades blend and multiply in increasingly fluid, ceaselessly unpredictable ways. While the film does get into literal demons (and Adjani does some very curious things with said demons), the ones that leave the biggest psychological scars on the viewer are the uncannily “human” demons Adjani communicates in this once-in-a-lifetime performance. The film, released in a chopped up version in the U.S., was not a critical nor commercial success, though later viewings find, obviously, what a startling turn Adjani takes.
Christian Bale, ‘American Psycho’
How do you play a man who, by his own opening admission, has no actual identity? By making the superficial skinsuit as chaotically attractive as possible, allowing the rotting interior cracks to poke through as needed.Christian Baletakes Patrick Bateman, the iconic antihero at the center ofAmerican Psycho, and it turns it into a ruthless, and ruthlessly entertaining, sharpened satire on an entire generation’s egotistical lack of values or conscience. Bale is relentlessly funny in this picture, able to crack us up with the broad physical performance of that iconicHuey Lewisscene before turning it on a dime with his status-jealousy-motivated murder. It’s a constant push and pull between shiny surfaces and pitch black core. I’m not sure what’s scarier — Bale’s performance when he admits his crimes, or Bale’s realization that no one around him cares.
Emily Blunt, ‘A Quiet Place’
Feeling both classically attuned in its hearkening to silent cinema and viscerally contemporary in its command of emotional desperation,Emily Blunt’s work inA Quiet Placeis simply powerful. As the matriarch of a family (including real-life husbandJohn Krasinski) who must survive a horrific slate of post-apocalyptic monsters who are attracted to sound, while somehow keeping a semblance of a life worth living, Blunt is asked to do a ton. From strong-but-cracking physical resolve, to emotional terror, to protecting those she cares for while reacting to her own traumas, Blunt pulls all of these modes off with front-flips. She is the star of the picture, the audience’s obvious central figure to follow, the beating heart, soul, and brawns ofA Quiet Place.
Toni Collette, ‘Hereditary’
Sometimes when I’m watching a particularly juicy film performance, I’ll clock in my brain what scene they might choose for their eventual Oscar nomination. WithHereditary,Toni Collettesimply has too many to choose from — andstillno nomination to speak of! Even beforeAri Aster’s screenplay lurches into its inevitable, cynical genre conclusions, Collette is given tons of psychologically damaging traumas to react to, whether by screaming in rage and terror, gritting through teeth at the primal frustrations of her family’s sins, or pushing the idea of “naturalistic performances in close-ups” past the limit, revealing their inherent limitations. Hell, evenwhenCollette has to give herself over to the screenplay’s genre machinations, she does themterrifyingly. What a maelstrom!
Essie Davis, ‘The Babadook’
The Babadookis the last horror film I saw in theaters that messed with my ability to sleep; a true rave review. I attribute its power less to its obviously ingenious production and creature design, and more to the raw punch ofEssie Davis' performance. As a poor mother dealing with an increasingly traumatized child who may have uncovered a storybook monster, Davis tears up the fingernails of what motherhood on film typically looks like, revealing the bloody mush of frustrations and anger that lies beneath. Watching her attempt to tread water despite her surrounding horrors is beyond empathetic; watching her, possessed, submerge into the deep end and scream hurtful words of rage at her son is a piece of flawless horror acting that scarred my brain for some time to come.
Mia Farrow, ‘Rosemary’s Baby’
“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not after you.“Mia Farrowinhabits thisJoseph Hellerquote perfectly and wholly inRosemary’s Baby, the story of a pregnant woman and the people she suspects wants the child (who, um, may or may not be the spawn of Satan) for their own nefarious purposes. Farrow suffers, and suffers a lot throughout the classic ’60s horror film. She is routinely gaslit, ignored, thought of as a vessel for other’s intentions without having intentions of her own, and eventually betrayed by the people she’s closest. Farrow orients us throughout this traumatic journey with broadly open eyes and even more open emotional rawness. She strikes nerve after nerve in this film, without any sense of self-protection or ego. A shockingly unvarnished, continuously virtuoistic performance.
Betty Gabriel, ‘Get Out’
Betty Gabrieldoes not inhabit a ton of screen time inJordan Peele’s seminalGet Out, but she makes every second more than count, telling the tragic story of Georgina, who currently works asAllison Williams' family’s housekeeper, from beginning to end. Gabriel wears her “Georgina suit” stiffly at first, plastering on a smile we’re expected to believe is genuine, despite the lurking glitches at the corners of her physicality. This gulf, this fissure comes to a head in a simply devastating moment, lensed in an distorted close-up, where Gabriel uses the word “No” over and over again in response to a direct accusation fromDaniel Kaluuya(Oscar nominee for his role), despite the pouring tears down her cheek, seemingly uncontrolled, telling a completely different story. It is a heartbreakingly iconic moment of the picture, and gives her final moments onscreen a particularly gut-punching moment of regret, as opposed to pure catharsis. Gabrielneededa Best Supporting Actress nomination for this role, no matter how many times she insists “No.”
John Goodman, ‘10 Cloverfield Lane’
Fierce, terrifying, surprisingly nuanced, and even vulnerable. WhenJohn Goodmanis on screen in10 Cloverfield Lane, you cannot and will not tear your eyes away. As a man insistent that the world has been invaded by vicious aliens, holdingMary Elizabeth WinsteadandJohn Gallagher Jr.captive in an underground bunker, thinking he’s they’re savior despite his increasingly erratic, controlling, emotionally disturbed behavior, Goodman never overplays a single note. He knows that true fear doesn’t come from a man trying to performatively exhibit fear (though when he does activate the character’s more traditionally “monstrous” tendencies,look out); true fear comes from a man so insistent in his radically wrong beliefs, that he’ll sociopathically eradicate anyone in his path who dares fight back against the truth. The final moments of the film, which will never not shock, only add to the depth and empathy of this beautifully terrifying performance, an all-timer for Goodman.
Duane Jones, ‘Night of the Living Dead’
In 1968,George A. Romerochanged the horror world forever with his genre-definingNight of the Living Dead. And he centered his zombie masterpiece aroundDuane Jones, a stage actor with little film credits to his name. This risk paid off and thensome; Jones' work as our chief protagonist Ben, who stays calm and fiercely level-headed as the social fabrics of society fall apart around him in real time. The symbol of Jones' casting on a societal level is worth noting; whileRomero himself insistsJones was chosen simply because of his acting talent, it’s not hard to read decisive social commentary in viewing a Black hero who’s head-and-shoulders smarter than his white compatriots, is in fact allowed to talk back to and hit to his white compatriots, and is still viciously punished by a white government for his troubles — all in the tumultuous year of 1968. Beyond the representative ramifications of Jones' performance, it remains a self-contained purposeful piece of screen acting, rapt with naturalism and clear-headed drive, even as Jones must reckon with the cynical ending barreling its way toward him.
Ashley Judd, ‘Bug’
Could someone check onTracy Letts? Beyond playingLady Bird’s lovely Solitaire-playing father, Letts is an accomplished playwright whose works, likeBug, adapted for the screen byWilliam Friedkin, are all kinds of fucked up. AndAshley Juddflings herself directly into the center of the horrific psychodramas ofBug, yielding a fascinating, fearless, and provocative performance. Playing something like “what ifRosemary’s Babywas yes-anded by Farrow uptop and then rushed through its plot at 900 miles per hour,“Bugstars Judd as a troubled, tortured, abused woman who finds a form of salvation in the form ofMichael Shannon. Shannon suffers from paranoia-infused bouts of delusion, believing the most specifically that government-sent bugs are infesting him and his hotel room. And when he brings Judd into his bug-infested room,look out. Judd goes whole hog into the delusion, fighting, clawing, and yearning for any kind of love from this mad man, willing to do just about anything to fight these (invisible to the audience) bugs. The depths of desperation Judd reaches within herself are unsettling in a way that manages to blast through the comforts of “screen acting”; you will fear for Judd, the human, as much as her character.
