10 Best Horror Movie Performances Nobody Talks About

Andrzej Żuławski’s bleak depiction of a crumbling marriage from 1981 is underrated as a whole. It’s deeply depressing, truly frightening and very, very weird. Doppelgangers and tentacles are arguably the least bizarre part of this whole movie.

At the centre of the film, married couple Anna and Mark are in serious need of couples counselling. Anna is distant and wants a divorce, having several affairs behind Mark’s back. But Isabelle Adjani’s performance is so much more than that. With her wild eyes and throat-shredding screams, she jerks across the screen and thrashes through the story. She is almost animalistic, snarling and spitting blood whilst maiming herself and others around her. Simply put, she is a terrifying force of nature.

Then, as if one incredible performance wasn’t enough, she also plays Anna’s doppelganger Helen. There is something about Helen that gets under the viewer’s skin, in a way that is far more subdued than Anna. Mastering the uncanny valley effect, Adjani is genuinely terrifying to watch in two vastly different ways. This demonstrates her skill, even if you’re watching through your fingers.

The ‘subway scene’ in particular highlights Adjani’s embodied performance; her body contorting and thrashing with those wide eyes boring out into the dingy surroundings. Like an Argento witch and the seething mania of Annie Wilkes combined, this horror performance deserves far more attention and will utterly terrify whoever sees it.