Why is it that a regular complaint about horror is the quality of the acting, but when amazing performances do happen, they are commonly overlooked? Relatively new voices in horror like Ari Asterand Jordan Peele are creating character-driven horror, and for those to work, the actors are tasked with challenging roles.
Within the last 15 years, we’ve been graced with horror movies featuring nuanced, emotionally charged performances that are, in some cases, highlights of that particular actor’s career. Unfortunately, horror rarely gets a nod during awards seasons, so fantastic portrayals come and go without receiving the recognition they deserve. With that in mind, we’ll take a look at the ten greatest horror performances from the last 15 years. No one won Oscars for their effort, but they can print this list out and hang it on their walls.
10
Anya Taylor-Joy in ‘The Witch’ (2016)
Anya Taylor-Joy’s first major theatrical role was a memorable one as Thomasin in The Witch. Set in the 1600s, The Witch follows a family who are forced to leave their colony over religious differences. While the family struggles to build a homestead in a foreign land, an evil figure lurks in the woods, creating a divide among the already emotionally strained group and preying upon their individual desires.
It’s rare to see a debut as strong and as self-assured as Taylor-Joy’s in The Witch. The young actress embodies her role with a level of skill that allows a range of emotions to be expressed, from a repressed yearning to righteous indignation, without saying a word. Every scene until the climax sees Thomasin wage an internal struggle between freedom and responsibility, and Taylor-Joy shows us that without a hint of overacting.
9
Florence Pugh in ‘Midsommar’ (2019)
In Ari Aster’s 2019 folk horror film Midsommar, Florence Pugh stars as Dani, a college student grieving the sudden death of her family.Her boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor), is emotionally pulling away and considering a breakup, but he reluctantly invites her along on a group trip to Sweden for a midsummer festival. There, Dani and her group are exposed to rituals that will shock them, confuse them, and leave them forever changed.
One of the key elements to Pugh’s performance is not her expression of grief, but rather her attempts to hold it in, to fake enthusiasm when all she feels is a numbness. While the other characters accept her offering of normalcy, we as an audience see the struggle in her eyes or the deflated posture when she assumes no one is looking. Pugh’s smile in the final scene is the centerpiece of one of the most unnerving endings to a film in recent years.
8
Willa Fitzgerald in ‘Strange Darling’ (2023)
Willa Fitzgerald gives a masterclass performance in the twisty horror thriller Strange Darling. The film opens with two strangers, a woman (Fitzgerald) and a man (Kyle Gallner), determining if they trust one another enough to engage in a one-night stand. As the night progresses and they learn more about one another, the two will have their boundaries tested in an escalating, deadly struggle.
Fitzgerald’s character, only known as “The Lady,” is a constantly evolving character, shedding layers to reveal new and surprising aspects to her personality. While some of the plot twists drastically change our perception of who she is, Fitzgerald’s performance is nuanced enough that it never feels implausible or far-fetched. She immediately adapts to each new situation, and each reveal is more satisfying than the last.
7
James McAvoy in ‘Split’ (2016)
James McAvoy has thrown himself into challenging roles, but his range was put to the test in M. Night Shyamalan’s Split. McAvoy is Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man with 23 distinctly different personalities referred to as “The Horde,” who abducts and hides three teens in a secret location. While the collection of personalities keeps the teens secure, they prepare for the arrival of the 24th personality, known as “The Beast.”
Split absolutely cannot work, and likely becomes a farce, if McAvoy’s role is not only convincing, but frightening as well. McAvoy succeeds on all counts, committing fully to each personality in a way that even the friendly ones are disturbing to watch. If swapping between each character wasn’t enough, McAvoy leaves one trick in store for the finale, where he transforms into an imposing threat that seems more like a force of nature than a human.
6
Sally Hawkins in ‘Bring Her Back’ (2025)
Sally Hawkins plays a riveting and often despicable villain in the supernatural horror thriller Bring Her Back. The two-time Oscar nominee plays Laura, a peculiar foster mother who takes in a half-brother and sister who have just lost their dad. Laura plays mind games with the pair, which leaves them both unsure of what to trust, bringing her one step closer to a plan to recover something that seemed forever lost.
The role of Laura is especially challenging because even though she is a person who is abusing their role as a guardian, there needs to be a strong enough reason to do so. The script supplies that reason, but Hawkins pumps blood into it, making it a damaging enough trauma to catalyze a person into madness. With a subtle, understated effort, Hawkins gives Laura a recognizable humanity warped by loss.
5
Bill Skarsgård in ‘It’ (2017)
Pennywise the Dancing Clown is one of Stephen King’s most famous creations, and Bill Skarsgård stepped up to the challenge in 2017’s It. In the town of Derry, Maine, children go missing all the time, but only a few have seen glimpses of the creature responsible. When a group of children makes a pact to kill the monster, they form a bond that will keep them connected for decades after.
The role of Pennywise comes with high expectations from fans of the iconic horror villain, considering Tim Curry‘s iconic portrayal in the 1990 ABC miniseries. However, Skarsgård made the role his own with a fresh yet no less terrifying take on the murderous creature. More than a clown that turns into a monster, there’s a detached, inhuman quality to Pennywise that creates an unsettling aura around the creature. The jerky, unnatural movements, the vacancy in the eyes despite the friendly voice, all combine for a chilling presentation of an evil that’s lived for centuries.
4
Daniel Kaluuya in ‘Get Out’ (2017)
In Jordan Peele’s directorial debut, Get Out, Daniel Kaluuya stars as Chris, a photographer who takes a trip with his girlfriend Rose (Alison Williams) to meet her parents. Chris is game to take the next step with Rose, but his time with her family and their odd friends makes him uncomfortable, and then suspicious. It’s clear that everything is not as it seems, and it runs much deeper than a cultural divide.
Get Out is one of those movies that hooks you from start to finish,partially due to the central mystery, but it’s Kaluuya’s performance that is impossible to look away from. The Oscar-winning actor could have spoken zero words in the film, and anyone would have perfectly understood what he was thinking at any given moment. There’s suspicion, discomfort, self-doubt, and more, all layered together in every scene with Chris, and we feel his journey thanks to Kaluuya’s expressive vulnerability as a performer.
3
Essie Davis in ‘The Babadook’ (2014)
The Babadook follows Amelia (Essie Davis), a single mother who is increasingly overwhelmed and exhausted. Amelia’s mental state slowly deteriorates as she fights the grief of losing her husband and being left alone to raise their child, Samuel (Noah Wiseman). However, nothing compares to the arrival of the Babadook, a character in a children’s book who establishes a dark presence in her house.
The Babadook is remembered as one of the most emotionally powerful horror movies of the last few decades, and that’s largely due to Davis and her performance as Amelia. We watch Amelia slowly transform from a maternal protector to a threat, and there’s no false moment in that evolution. We understand her pain and why she’s at the brink of destroying everything, and because of that, we can root for her until the very end.
2
Mia Goth in ‘Pearl’ (2022)
X introduced Mia Goth as the elderly homicidal host Pearl, but she was able to dig into the character to explore her dark origins inPearl. Set near the end of World War I, Pearl follows the titular character as she waits for her husband to return from service on her family farm. Stuck with a domineering mother who makes her feel hopeless and trapped, Pearl’s spirits are awakened with news of a dance troupe audition that could make her a star.
Conceptually, it seems impossible to turn Pearl, a character who embraces selfish and destructive actions, into a sympathetic figure, but Goth does it staggeringly well. Goth makes Pearl a woman who is desperate to receive love and return it, but she also doesn’t know how to regulate the overwhelming aspect of the disappointment that accompanies those emotions. Goth portrays Pearl as a wounded animal who is dangerous to those around her, even if she doesn’t intend to be.
1
Toni Collette in ‘Hereditary’ (2018)
The Academy made one of its biggest blunders, overlooking Toni Collette for her role in Hereditary. Collette carried Hereditary with a tour de force performance as Annie Graham, a mother of two mourning the death of her mother. In life, Annie’s relationship with her mother was distant, but in death, her mother’s influence feels greater than ever.
Hereditary showcases Collette at her very best, an essential movie in her filmography that stands as definitive proof she is one of the most talented actors working today. It’s understandable to feel secondhand exhaustion from watching Collette throw herself into the role of Annie, who spirals deeper and deeper into emotional collapse before the end of the film. Without Collette, Hereditary would probably have been a great film, but with her at the center, the movie is a masterpiece.
