10 Actors Who Just Gave Their Best Performance In A Horror Movie

There's a baffling yet commonly held sentiment that the horror genre somehow can't be fertile ground for great acting, as though the heightened nature of the genre prevents actors from finding emotional truth in their roles.

But recent years have surely rubbished that daft myth, given the avalanche of genuinely Oscar-worthy performances we've seen in the horror genre - perhaps most notably, Toni Collette in Hereditary, Lupita Nyong'o in Us, and Florence Pugh in Midsommar.

More broadly, horror has also given many actors the floor to deliver the best performances of their entire careers, and over the last year-or-so, that's absolutely true of these 10 performers.

These actors all gave everything they had to these horror movies, elevating the material with their stunningly lived-in work, even if only a few of them ended up receiving serious awards consideration.

All the same, they confirmed what all horror fans already know - the genre can be a fascinating sandbox for actors to experiment, test their own limits, and hopefully surprise audiences with something they never expected.

With these monumental performances, these 10 actors all did that - and then some...

Theo James has enjoyed a major career uptick in recent years thanks to his acclaimed performances on TV shows The White Lotus and The Gentlemen, but he recently turned in his finest work to date in Osgood Perkins' wild black comedy The Monkey.

Beyond delivering a pretty damn impeccable American accent, James had to pull double duty here as twin brothers Hal and Bill Shelburn, and did a superb job of making his dual roles feel totally distinct.

James' droll voiceover narration as Hal brings a dry wit to the table that so perfectly compliments the increasingly unhinged death scenes throughout, and seeing the actor riff off himself in the later scenes featuring Hal and Bill together is a barmy delight.

Fresh off the success of last year's Longlegs, Perkins reaffirms his clear penchant for turning high-concept horror fare into an unexpected acting showcase for his lead cast members.

James' superb work in The Monkey confirms that he's on a career-high roll right now, and hopefully it won't be letting up anytime soon.