15 Seemingly Terrible Horror Castings That Totally Paid Off

12. Knock At The Cabin - Dave Bautista

Knock at the Cabin was not only M. Night Shyamalan's best movie in over 20 years, it was also an important calling card for Dave Bautista. He plays Raymond, a hulking, mysterious man who may or may not be a villain. Having cut his teeth in the MCU, Bautista has made no secret of the fact that he wants to move on to different kind of roles and maybe even carve out a niche for himself as a character actor. Based on this? The world is his. 

Bautista is absolutely wonderful in Knock at the Cabin, blending vulnerability and menace with ease. Despite being surrounded by many other gifted performers who are more experienced at this sort-of thing, Bautista effortlessly steals the entire movie. Out of context, you'd think he'd done this many times before. 

He'd provided several hints prior to this, but Knock at the Cabin should hopefully be final, definitive proof to all the naysayers: Dave Bautista is more than just a set of muscles, and he really can act. It's thrilling to think of what the future may hold for him so long as Hollywood casting directors take him as seriously as he deserves. 

Judging by this, the aforementioned casting of Josh Hartnett and Trap and also James McAvoy's career-revitalizing role in Split, Shyamalan is developing a real knack for clever, against-type casting. Hopefully his future films will continue this trend.