10 Horror Movies Actors Want Us To Forget
9. Holly Hunter: The Burning (1981)
Holly Hunter has had an absolutely spectacular career. From her 1984 discovery by Joel and Ethan Cohen, she's picked up countless accolades, including an Academy Award win for Best Actress, two nominations for Best Supporting Actress, and being a member of the Hollywood elite whose films have grossed over $3 billion at the domestic box office. Whether you recognize her from her Cohen pictures, The Piano, Broadcast News, cult favourite psychological thriller Copycat or her TV turn in Saving Grace, her résumé is ridiculously impressive.
However, that all depends on what résumé you're looking at.
Hunter's official list of credits begins in 1984 with Jonathan Demme's Swing Shift, but most horror fans know that's not her first credited screen appearance. Thankfully, websites like IMDb and Wikipedia offer a more complete body of work than Hunter's agency, and her bit part in the 1981 slasher movie The Burning is included on such sites.
Yes, three years before Holly Hunter was "discovered," she was among a group of stranded campers in this somewhat controversial woodland slasher. One can only speculate as to why it is no longer included on her official résumé; perhaps she wanted to distance herself from the uproar when the film was banned in Britain? Perhaps she just wasn't fond of her performance?
Whatever the case, Hunter is used sparingly in the final cut but happens to be one of the lucky few that survive. In the 40 years since the film's initial release, The Burning has garnered a cult following as a well-made, taught, brutal slasher film. It seems a shame that Holly isn't quite as proud of it as other up-and-coming actors of the time, like Fisher Stevens, Jason Alexander and Ned Eisenberg, all of whom recall the film fondly.