15 Seemingly Terrible Horror Castings That Totally Paid Off

Bring Her Back, the Philippou Brothers' second feature film after Talk to Me, delivered a career-best performance from its lead star, and one which was decidedly unexpected. Sally Hawkins might've already been a justly acclaimed, Oscar-nominated actress but it was difficult to think she had this in her. After all, many still picture her as the delightful Mrs Brown in the Paddington movies.

It was always going to be hard to imagine her as a deranged, murderous member of the occult and yet, Hawkins was so fantastically brilliant that by the end, viewers will be feeling apologetic for ever doubting her. Simultaneously terrifying and tragically vulnerable, Hawkins made the character of Laura one of the very best horror movie villains of the 2020s so far - and that's saying something, for this decade has given us many greats - and quite frankly, she deserved an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. 

Another impressive thing was her mastery of the Australian accent, which many actors struggle with. Out-of-context, you'd never realize that Hawkins is British. Even if Bring Her Back itself wasn't quite as good as Talk to Me, it is worth seeing for Hawkins alone.