10 Best Horror Movie Performances Nobody Talks About

10. Juan Fernández As The Collector - The Collector Series

The world of horror in 2009 was in a funny place. Remakes of classic horror films and subpar Westernised interpretations of predominantly East Asian cinema were dime a dozen, not to mention the wave of so-called ‘torture porn’. Naturally, audiences were getting a little fed up.

Arguably, The Collector, was part of this stagnant sludge of ‘scares’. It is a home invasion, torture-trap-filled story about a petty thief trapped in a house with a masked killer. Sounds pretty generic, but the titular villain is utterly spinechilling.

The Collector himself is an unnamed force of malice, with no motivation or reason behind his acts of violence. This is what makes him so terrifying, and the viewer isn’t even sure if he’s actually human or some kind of monstrous entity. Little details, such as his reflective cat-like eyes and silent movements make him all the more eerie. Combining the intelligence of John Kramer, the ghostly ambiguity of Michael Myers and just pure nastiness, Juan Fernández casts a truly terrifying figure.

If The Collector had been released at a different time, there’s no doubt that this killer would be a slasher icon. However, the subsequent sequels remove the mystery around him and make him feel more human – which does undermine how frightening he is.