On a recent edition of Eli Roth’s History of Horror podcast, Roth and Quentin Tarantino wrapped up their 2-hour conversation by discussing who they would pick as some of the greatest performances in horror film history. The two horror aficionados limited their choices to five and never came up with a definitive list. That’s where we take over.
Too often dismissed for their subject matter, horror films usually don't come to mind when discussions of great acting performances take place. In reality, horror can produce some terrific work from actors, as a range of emotions often is on display. In part one, we take a look back at some of the greatest acting performances by females in horror films. A tough list to narrow down to just ten, the list is sure to stir a lot of debate about who should have made it and who should have been left off. Hopefully, though, you’ll agree with most of what we have come up with. Here are the 10 Greatest Female Performances In Horror Film History.
10 Toni Collette - Hereditary
In director Ari Aster’s first feature film (and the superior film to his more talked-about follow-up, Midsommar) Hereditary, Toni Collette stars as emotionally wrecked mother Annie Graham. Running the full gamut of emotions, Collette truly delivers on all levels in one of the finest performances of her career. In fact, her incredible performance was more than deserving of earning a Best Actress nomination at the 2019 Academy Awards.
If it weren’t for the Academy’s long-standing bias against horror films (the ones that do get nominated are often rebranded thrillers), Collette may not have only received a nom for her work, but very well may have taken home the Oscar that year.
9 Shelley Duvall - The Shining
Although heralded as a masterpiece by master director Stanley Kubrick (which it definitely is), the performances in The Shining played a major part in the film working as well as it did. Jack Nicholson often gets much of the credit for the acting work in the film, but Shelley Duvall’s performance as Wendy Torrance deserves just as much praise, if not more. In fact, Nicholson himself has said that he considers her role to be the most difficult any actress has ever tackled.
And let’s not gloss over the fact that Duvall allegedly endured verbal abuse from the famed director, which led to severe exhaustion and illness. It is often said actors sacrifice for their craft, but no actor should have to go through what Duvall did. Her performance should be celebrated, not overlooked.
8 Sissy Spacek - Carrie
Four years before she would win an Academy Award for her work in Coal Miner’s Daughter, Sissy Spacek exploded on the scene in Carrie, the first film to be adapted from a Stephen King book, which also happened to be King’s first novel.
Directed by Brian De Palma, Spacek’s stunning performance of the abused and tormented high school girl with telekinetic powers was a harbinger of the great work to come from the very talented actress. Spacek said she was able to achieve the performance in part by isolating herself and diving deep into religious study.
7 Jamie Lee Curtis - Halloween
What more can be said about the iconic Halloween and the role of Laurie Strode, made famous by Jamie Lee Curtis? The film, which launched the career of legendary director John Carpenter, was responsible for the explosion of the slasher genre, which itself would thrive well into the nineties. Although it was Carpenter’s directing, musical score, and writing (along with co-writer Debra Hill) in tandem with some incredible work by cinematographer Dean Cundey that gave the film the perfect atmosphere and tone, much of the film hinged on Curtis’ performance, which by the way was her first in a feature film.
Her vulnerability, and then strength, as teen bookworm Strode gave the audience a sympathetic character to root for against the evil, seemingly invincible Michael Myers. The role was so powerful and iconic, it has endured for over forty years, with Curtis returning to the franchise for a sixth time this year in Halloween Kills.
6 Sigourney Weaver - Alien
Now celebrated for its strong female heroine, the part of Ripley in Alien was not originally intended to be female (although the part was written as unisex, so it could be cast as either male or female). However, director Ridley Scott wisely chose to switch the character to female during the film’s development. Although technically still a “final girl,” Sigourney Weaver’s character is a strong, intelligent female from the start and is more akin to a male hero character, a la Captain Kirk or Han Solo.
Groundbreaking for the time, the film, along with Weaver’s portrayal of Ripley, opened the doors for more powerful female characters down the road, such as Sarah Connor, Arya Stark, Captain Marvel, and Buffy Summers. Ridley’s work in Alien would garner her an Academy Award nomination in 1980 and cemented the film as an American cinematic masterpiece.
5 Kathy Bates - Misery
Maybe the greatest performance ever by an actress in a horror film, Kathy Bates thoroughly dominated the screen with her performance in Misery, picking up an Oscar for Best Actress in 1991 as a result.
Although a successful working actress in film and television before she landed the part of Annie Wilkes in Rob Reiner’s Stephen King adaptation, Bates’ work in Misery placed her on a different level, leading to major parts in Fried Green Tomatoes, Titanic, and About Schmidt. It even impressed King so much, he wrote the character of Dolores Claiborne with Bates in mind and changed the part of Ray Flowers in his The Stand screenplay adaptation from male to female when Bates expressed interest in the part.
4 Linda Blair - The Exorcist
Considered by many to be the greatest, or at least scariest, horror movies of all-time, The Exorcist was released to much controversy on December 26, 1973. Based on William Peter Blatty’s novel, the film created quite a hysteria among Catholics and non-Catholics alike, with reports of people becoming physically ill or traumatized by the film and protests following the film across the country.
The movie’s success was largely dependent on finding a young girl who could pull off the very challenging role of Regan, a task that turned many filmmakers away from taking on the film. Director William Friedkin rejected many known young actresses before discovering little-known twelve-year-old actress Linda Blair. Blair proved more than up to the challenge, giving the film the emotional heft it needed to work.
3 Mia Farrow - Rosemary's Baby
A true cinematic masterpiece, Rosemary’s Baby is perhaps now best known as the movie that preceded the horrific Manson family murders in 1969, with one of the victims being Rosemary director Roman Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate. It also may be tainted, depending on if you can separate an artist’s personal life from their work, by Polanski’s statutory rape conviction and subsequent fleeing from the US. The film’s star, Mia Farrow, is no stranger to scandal herself, as evidenced by her messy divorce from filmmaker Woody Allen.
Putting all of that aside, however, Farrow’s work in Rosemary’s Baby is truly excellent, portraying Rosemary Woodhouse, a pregnant young woman recently relocated to a New York City apartment building with her husband, who suspects a cult is trying to take her unborn baby from her. Farrow won and was nominated for multiple awards for her performance.
2 Essie Davis - The Babadook
In this 2014 Australian horror film, Essie Davis plays Amelia Vanek, a frazzled, widowed mother to six-year-old Sam, a hyperactive, difficult child. Exhausted and at her wit’s end with Sam, the situation gets worse when a malevolent spirit, the Babadook, begins tormenting the family.
On the verge of a complete mental breakdown, as a result, Amelia is eventually possessed by the Babadook, leading to the film’s thrilling conclusion. Davis is outstanding in the role, truly capturing the portrayal of a mother on the edge of sanity, drowning in resentment, and being consumed by rage. Her performance is critical in making the film work as well as it does, and she excels on all fronts.
1 Marilyn Burns - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Released in 1974 to mostly positive reviews, Tobe Hooper’s cinematic masterpiece, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, has inspired and influenced an immeasurable number of filmmakers over the past 46 years. Its influence can be seen in films such as Evil Dead and The Blair Witch Project, as well as laying the template with silent killer Leatherface for movie monsters Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and countless others.
The performance by final girl Marilyn Burns as Sally Hardesty is nothing short of phenomenal, particularly in the film’s third act when Hardesty is tortured and tormented by the cannibalistic clan of creeps. Burns is so convincing in her work as the mentally broken Sally that the audience can’t help but be left shaken and deeply disturbed by the time the end credits roll.
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