10 Actors Who Just Gave Their Best Performance In A Horror Movie
4. Hunter Schafer - Cuckoo
Justice Smith wasn't the only actor on this list to be honoured by the Independent Spirit Awards - Hunter Schafer was also nominated alongside Smith for her hypnotic, transfixing work in Cuckoo.
The Euphoria star may just be starting her career, though as this film's troubled protagonist Gretchen, gives a performance that she'll have to work hard to outdo.
Schafer lends enormous dimension to Gretchen, venturing from familiar sullen teenager in earlier scenes to someone more complex and uniquely anguished as the increasingly deranged story lurches on.
Schafer threads the needle here, surrendering Gretchen's vulnerability but also ensuring that she's a tough, resourceful Final Girl the audience can easily root for.
Given that director Tilman Singer's film has its polarising moments and is categorically a not-for-everyone horror flick, Schafer basically helps keep everything in check.
Even if you're mixed on the movie as a whole, it's tough to argue with the studied tenacity of Schafer's work.