One of the wrong takes that’s often associated withhorroris that it’s not a serious movie genre. Bad special effects, bad scripts, but most of all, bad acting. All mistaken takes for a film genre that’s broad enough to include layers and layers of interesting approaches to imaginative worlds in which fear is the rule. We don’t have to tell you how maligned horror is, especially during the award season, whenthe genre is considered a blasphemyto cinema.
Every year, the genre seems to renew itself. We have new trends, business models, and, best of all, new filmmakers. Of course, it doesn’t mean haters can’t respawn themselves and bring on the heat when it comes to observing why the genre has value. From a commercial perspective, it’s hard to compete with the agency of horror. But from a quality-over-quantity perspective, we can’t get over the fact that yes, horror renews itself every year, but it also gets profoundly better.
To prove this point, we bring to the table a list that has probably been simmering in your mind if you’re a horror buff: Horror performances. Acting has always been a prominent aspect of the discussion of worthy horror, and like many other elements of the equation, it has massively improved over the years. We took a trip down the horror shelves of 2023 and came up with a list of the 15 best performances in horror. Surely, they’reno Oscar winners, but they’re evidence of the dramatic range horror may offer in all its forms.
15Lizzy Caplan - Cobweb
Read our Review
Samuel Bodin’sCobwebtells the story of Peter, a boy who lives in a very secluded and overprotective home. His parents behave very weirdly, but also quite violently (making the audience believe this may be a film about parental abuse). When Peter starts hearing something behind the walls of his home, he gets extremely curious, to the point of his teacher realizing there may be something going on in the boy’s home. The truth is much more sinister than you imagine, but it’s not exactly what Peter’s parents may make you think. This is not your average horror movie.
Lizzy Caplan’s Best Performance to Date
Lizzy Caplanplays Carol, Peter’s mom, who’s definitely always being chased by the shadow of Mark, her husband and Peter’s father. Caplan’s performance isn’t very subtle at all and features many tropes of “hysterical women in horror.” But the important thing is that, if you wait until the film reveals itself, you will gasp when realizing Carol’s behavior was almost justified. Her co-participation with Antony Starr (who plays Mark) in the film is bliss, consisting of the perfect balance between two characters that are hiding something, but the reveal could be much more severe than what they’re willing to do to protect their secret.Cobwebis anextremely underrated horror filmfrom 2023.
Stream on Hulu
14Pedro Pascal – The Last of Us
The Last Of Us
The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic drama series set two decades after a global catastrophe. It follows Joel, a seasoned survivor, who is tasked with escorting Ellie, a teenage girl, across a desolated United States, transforming into a harrowing journey of survival and companionship.
The Last of Usis HBO’s 2023 adaptation of the video game of the same name. It tells the story of humanity going through a worldwide pandemic caused by fungus. Just a sort of intelligent kind of fungus. It has the capacity to infect human hosts and turn them into zombies. But this is not the average zombie TV show. Instead, the first season focuses on Joel and Ellie, two survivors escaping the continuous threat, as Joel is tasked with bringing Ellie into a safe haven because she’s immune and may hold the key to standing up against the enemy.
Adding Substance to a Video Game Character
The series finally proved the point thatvideo game adaptations can be good. And most of it had to do with the dramatic delivery ofPedro Pascalplaying Joel and the balance with his on-screen partner Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey). It’s a very compelling story whenever it’s about them and their drive to survive. Joel’s trauma is overbearing, and through his memories, Ellie discovers the place that Earth was 20 years ago. Pascal doesn’t sacrifice the character to display his skills, and restrains himself to portray a quiet and gruff man whose mind is filled with demons he can’t control. It’s incredibly faithful to the character of the video game, something we hope gets repeated as a premise in the show’s upcoming second season.
Stream on Max
13Vivien Lyra Blair – The Boogeyman
The Boogeyman
Rob Savage’sThe Boogeymanwas 2023’s adaptation of the Stephen King story, which spent a couple of years in development hell. After Fox was acquired by Disney, the project was greenlit again with a few changes that resulted in one of the best films of the year. InThe Boogeyman, a widowed therapist is trying to overcome grief when one day a patient called Lester Billings arrives and demands to get some help. We won’t spoil for you, but we’ll say he brings something along with him to torment therapist Will Harper and his two daughters, Sadie and Sawyer.
Child Acting in Horror Requires Technique, and Blair Nails it
In thisperfect PG-13 horror film,Vivien Lyra Blairplays Sawyer Harper, a girl stricken by grief and the invasion of something impossible. Her execution of the role doesn’t follow the usual tropes of children in horror, and instead it goes for a dramatic shift that contrasts really well with Sadie’s more explosive behavior. With such a riveting backstory that’s heavily supported by the character of Sawyer, a good actor was needed, and Savage found in Blair a down-to-earth performer who could represent the emotional load without playing a loud child who’s there to be the “child who gets scared.” In 2023, you also saw Blair giving life to Leia Organa in the TV seriesObi-Wan Kenobi.
12Sophie Wilde – Talk to Me
The modern marvel of Australian horror,Talk to Me, tells the story of 17-year-old Mia as she navigates through the grief of her mother’s death. Accompanied by friends, she decides to attend a party where teenagers recklessly play with something they shouldn’t play: they use an embalmed hand to contact spirits. Only they also get possessed, and when some rules of the game are broken, things go too far for Mia and her loved ones.This is one of the year’s scariest films.
One of the Year’s Scream Queens
And “final girls.” Sort of.Sophie Wildegives life to Mia, the film’s central character, who gets addicted to the rush she feels when using the hand, and endangers everyone because she’s just being a teenager who plays with stuff she shouldn’t. She progresses from being kind of a selfish and overreacting girl to an emotionally burdened and powerless victim who holds the movie entirely on her shoulders. And yes, she also holds the answer to fighting the threat of the film.Talk to Meis Wilde’s feature film debut.
Rent on Apple TV
Related:Was 2023 the Best Year for Both Legacy and Original Horror?
11Bruce Greenwood - The Fall of the House of Usher
The Fall of the House of Usher
Mike Flanagan’s depiction of the world of Edgar Allan Poe,The Fall of the House of Usher, is a riveting adaptation of a fusion of Poe’s characters, storylines, and concepts. If you’re a Poe fan, you don’t want to miss this one. The story revolves around Roderick Usher, a company leader and mogul whose riches haven’t come without a little sacrifice. One by one, the Usher children begin dying, and Roderick suspects it may have something to do with a pact he made with his sister decades ago.
A Veteran Actor at His Best
Bruce Greenwoodplays Roderick Usher in thevery gory Netflix showthat proves Flanagan’s role in modern horror. Considering he was a last-minute addition because of Frank Langella’s replacement (due to allegations of his behavior on set), Greenwood took on the difficult role of arriving late to a party that had basically taken place already. Nevertheless, the versatility of the veteran actor was necessary to provide Roderick with a complicated set of emotions because of how unbelievable his character’s journey is. It isn’t easy to lead a show that starts with a confession because tension often gets lost. But Greenwood achieves it by adding an elegant element of terror and guilt in the middle of chaos.
Stream on Netflix
10Joaquin Phoenix – Beau Is Afraid
Beau Is Afraid
Ari Aster’sBeau is Afraidtells the story of Beau Wassermann, a paranoid man living in the modern world who has always been misinformed by his mother. Such “trauma” is strong, even now when lonely Beau is a grown man. When he receives the news of his mother’s very tragic death, right as he prepares to go see her, the very anxious Beau takes a trip home to attend the funeral. On the trip, he’ll be forced to face every one of his fears. Literally.
One of Phoenix’s Few Participations in Horror
Beau is Afraidwas overshadowed by more mainstream films that resembled Aster’s more traditional endeavors. Nevertheless, the approach toexistentialist horror with a pinch of dark comedyis very interesting. AddingJoaquin Phoenixto the equation makes the film much more volatile than needed. The actor is never in his comfort zone, and what many would suspect is an easy task for him becomes an unpredictable horror adventure that’ll chill to your bone once you realize we all have a little bit of Beau in ourselves.
Stream on Paramount+
Dead Ringers
2023 saw the TV adaptation of one of David Cronenberg’s infamous body horror thrillers.Dead Ringerstells the story of Beverly and Elliot Mantle, two twin gynecologists who are anything but ethical figures. They work in Manhattan delivering babies, but they want to change how women give birth. They have an agenda that gets uncovered as the series progresses, when their twisted mindset is displayed in a plot of deviancy, sociopathic acts, and bizarre sexual tendencies. This is one of the most underrated shows of the year.
A Gender Swap Under the Hands of a Brilliant Actress
The first thing that comes to mind is how a new adaptation could work. Cronenberg’s film starred Jeremy Irons in a gloomy film with an atmosphere of dread.Transporting the storylinetoward a female-led story wasn’t exactly an easy task, but showrunner Alice Birch does a great job at comparing the obvious while getting rid of elements that wouldn’t work today with such an ambitious change. The result is a tone shift that’s only possible due toRachel Weisz’s very interesting approach to portraying identical twins: two sides of the same coin that’s violently falling into a world of paranoia and twisted individualism.
Stream on Prime Video
8Natalia Solián – Huesera: The Bone Woman
Huesera: The Bone Woman
InHuesera: The Bone Woman, Valeria is trying to get pregnant. She resorts to religion, even if she doesn’t practice it. Her family’s bond is strong enough for this. Ultimately, she and Raúl conceive a child, but Valeria starts experiencing strange phenomena. Mixed with a personal crisis in which she recalls her past, Valeria will have to explore the depths of dark magic in order to save whatever’s growing inside of her.
What Does a Nightmare Look Like?
Thisdirectorial debut by Michelle Garza Cerverais a fierce Spanish-language film that thrives with its controlled exploration of folklore, religion, and the desperate blend Valeria must seek to solve whatever she has. Valeria is going through a crisis in which motherhood seems to be a secondary element. She sees things in the dark, but she never doubts herself, while the rest of the world does.Natalia Soliánaccomplishes her goal with a complete surrender to the possibilities of a character that follows no rules and is aiming toward a horrific tragedy. The young actor is a terrific performer whose physicality is key to the film’s premise, but it’s not only about contriving her body into unworldly shapes. It’s about her capacity to physically depict a woman’s fall into a bottomless pit of doubt. Her eyes just can’t lie.
Stream on Shudder
7Dave Bautista – Knock at the Cabin
Knock at the Cabin
In 2023’sKnock at the Cabin, Eric and Andrew are Wen’s fathers, and the three of them are vacationing in the countryside. Their cabin is ideal until four strangers knock on the door. Their demands? One of the family members must sacrifice another to save the world. Of course, Eric and Andrew are completely skeptical about these invading lunatics, but when the TV is turned on and the news shows start reporting the apocalypse, they start to think maybe they should listen.
Swaying Into More Serious Roles
The former professional wrestlerDave Bautistaplays Leonard Brocht, the leader of the party who arrives unannounced, making unbelievable demands. Bautista is known for playing characters where his bulky figure comes into play, but inM. Night Shyamalan’s divisivefilm, he plays a man who doesn’t exactly need to indulge in physical struggle but feels like a contemplative and almost embarrassed man. His performance is so good that viewers tend to buy into his character, believing he may not be the bad guy we thought he was. Maybe he’s just really trying to save the world.
6Mia Goth – Infinity Pool
Infinity Pool
InInfinity Pool, James Foster and his wife Em are having the time of their lives on their vacation in a remote European country. Their resort has just about everything. When they meet Gabi and Alban, another couple on vacation, they accept an invitation to do something different. The problem is that they end up committing a crime, and in this country, you have to pay for your crimes. How? You must let scientists clone you so that this cloned version of yourself gets punished instead of you.
Goth’s Contribution to 2023 Horror
Directed by Brandon Cronenberg,Infinity Poolstars Alexander Skarsgård, andMia Gothplays the flirty and freaky Gabi. This is one of Goth’smost interesting contributions to horror, because it feels like an inevitable extension of the persona she’s built previously with her contributions to the genre. Gabi is unpredictable but exciting, and she’s a natural expansion of the horrendous world James becomes fascinated with. When it comes to bizarre horror, Goth andInfinity Poolwill blow your mind.
