20 Great Performances Wasted In Terrible Horror Movies

It's always painful to see an actor absolutely giving it their all in a film that just isn't up to their level, no matter the genre.

Some actors are just too damn professional to give anything less than the best of their ability, and when it's in the service of a poorly written or flatly directed film that just doesn't work otherwise, it's tough.

And where horror films are concerned, it's certainly common for actors to commit harder to a limp part than anyone could've conceivably expected them to.

It's certainly a net positive for the movie, and each director must've been thrilled, but most came away from these films feeling like these actors' hard work was totally squandered.

From veteran actors taking a blatant paycheck role but refusing to phone it in, to hungry young actors giving it their all to a lousy part, these films would've been even worse without the presence of a performer who clearly cared a whole lot about what they were doing.

No matter how bad the movies might be, these performances ably acquitted themselves...

There are few acting tasks more thankless in horror than following up an acclaimed, even iconic performance that fans had little interest in being recast.

And while 2010's remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street was a messy, largely "unnecessary" rehash of Wes Craven's indelible original, it's tough to argue with Jackie Earle Haley's towering performance as Freddy Krueger.

No, he's not Robert Englund, because nobody is, but even while bristling up against a slapdash script that feels like a pale imitation of the original, Haley still manages to stand out as a terrifying, menacing presence worthy of Englund's O.G.

Haley smartly doesn't merely try to reheat Englund's nachos but makes 2010 Freddy a vile antagonist all his own. 

It's just a shame that the surrounding film is such a flat misfire, ensuring that all his hard work was largely for nought, and as such he never got a second opportunity to play the part.