11 Big Name Actors Who Ruined Good Horror Movies
You can book a big name, but that doesn't mean they'll deliver the goods.
What do Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando have in common, apart from an eight-figure paycheque?
In one way or another, each of these actors -- and a host of other big names -- have been responsible for disaster befalling what otherwise ought to have been reliable, enjoyable and wholeheartedly decent horror movie nourishment for the casual filmgoing fan.
Horror is a versatile genre that welcomes all kinds, whether big budget or indie arthouse, and there is generally room for all levels of talent -- but sometimes it can be a bit of a squeeze. Some big bookings refuse to check their egos at the door and get down to the serious business of making movies, others bring their profile to set and turn the whole production inside out, but more than anything some well-known actors are just not as multitalented as their popularity might have us believe.
Sure, not every film in this list is the gold standard of cinema, and not every actor involved did an abysmal job but, one way or another, they still managed to bury the promise and anticipation of a good movie six feet under.
10. Ewan McGregor -- Doctor Sleep (2019)
First thing's first: Doctor Sleep is a good film. It's just not an amazing horror movie. It's also not The Shining, and that is part of the problem.
Mike Flanagan's most significant entry in the Stephen King revival, Doctor Sleep saw the director secure King's approval and deliver a film designed to satisfy fans of both the books and Stanley Kubrick's 1980 classic -- which is no mean feat.
Unfortunately, for him, for us, for everyone, Ewan McGregor was fundamentally miscast as Danny Torrance. Sure, he's about the right age, he's an accomplished actor, and lines rarely sound forced when coming out of his mouth, but he never really sells the part. McGregor neither makes a believable alcoholic -- not in the way Jack Nicholson did -- nor a convincing American. Given he's not known for his dexterity with accents, the blame for this lies squarely on the casting director.
Add to this that the sense of fear portrayed by McGregor, particularly in contrast to his fellow castmates, is always a little padded, a little muted, and there's a pervasive feeling of the underwhelming, which is the very opposite of what any self-respecting horror movie should be aiming for.