10 Best One Scene Performances In Horror Movies

David Dastmalchian has a talent for standing out regardless of how small a role is, as he has proven in such films as The Dark Knight, Ant-Man, Dune, and Oppenheimer. And 2023's The Boogeyman is no exception. 

In this Stephen King adaptation, Dastmalchian's character, Lester Billings, enters the office of psychiatrist Will Harper and claims a demonic entity killed his family. Unable to deal with the tragedy, Lester hangs himself, passing the curse onto Harper and his children. 

Considering his tragic backstory, Lester could've been portrayed as a hysterical lunatic. Instead, Dastmalchian plays the role with staggering restraint and stillness, his voice rarely louder than a whisper. But based on the defeated look on his face, there's no doubt this disturbed man is at the end of his rope.

As can be expected from a supernatural horror, The Boogeyman is filled with all sorts of jump-scares and unsettling images, especially from the titular creature itself. However, nothing is as skin-crawling as Lester's doomed plea for help. The boogeyman feels like a very real threat long before it appears, purely because of David Dastmalchian's palpable performance.