Summary
- Lupita Nyong’o shines in A Quiet Place Day One with a believable and complex performance.
- David Dastmalchian impresses in Late Night with the Devil with a convincing portrayal of a man in the middle of madness.
- Hugh Grant’s chillingly quiet role in Heretic makes him one of the best horror performances of 2024.
When looking back at 2024, it was a banner year for the horror genre. There were enough very good horror movies and very good performances that they could fill several articles. The genre hasn’t always received the praise it’s due, but it feels like it’s undergoing a resurgence thanks to big stars and big performances.
When it comes to the “favorite” horror performances of 2024, they run the gamet. Some are over the top. Others are so good because they’re understated. And some are just so good because they were given incredible source material and they leaned into it in a big way. One of the nicest part about this list is there are quite a few names that are pretty new to the genre. At least horror isn’t what they’re best known for and yet, they’ve managed to put up great outings.
Related
Hugh Grant takes the lead role of the creepy Mr Reed in the new suspense filled horror thriller, Heretic.
Lupita Nyong’o In A Quiet Place Day One
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Michael Sarnoski |
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Michael Sarnoski |
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June 28, 2024 |
Nyong’o is a rather unexpected scream queen between A Quiet Place Day One and Us. Though she gets accolades in those two projects for very different reasons. Her performance in A Quiet Place Day One makes this list because she’s a complex character who isn’t entirely likeable at first. A cancer patient who likes her cat far more than she seems to like any people suddenly finds herself running and hiding from the same aliens that hunted Emily Blunt and her on-screen family in two films.
Nyong’o’s performance is our favorite because she seems totally believable. This isn’t Ellen Ripley suddenly becoming a tough as nails alien killer. She’s fighting for her life, sure but she manages to make the viewers root for her even if they already know there’s no way this is getting a truly happy ending.
David Dastmalchian In Late Night With The Devil
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March 22, 2024 |
Dastmalchian isn’t a total novice in the horror genre, but it’s certainly not where his bread is buttered. That’s perhaps one of the reasons why his performance in Late Night with the Devil was so believable as a talk-show host who happened across the wrong guest.
He also does a great job as a star, who is trying to recapture the height of his career and is deeply troubled because of the loss of his wife. And then he invites a possessed woman onto his show. It’s not an understatement to say that all hell breaks loose. In the midst of it, he sells his role as the unassuming victim very, very well, but with just the right amount of sleaze.
James McAvoy In Speak No Evil
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James Watkins |
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James Watkins |
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September 9, 2024 |
The American remake of a Danish horror movie that was released just two years ago, Speak No Evil, has some problems, especially in the final act, but James McAvoy is absolutely perfect as the psychotic man who happens across an American couple and their young daughter while on holiday in Tuscany.
The fact that the american couple (played by Mackenzie Davis and Scott McNeary) are about as unlikeable and annoying as humanly possible helps, but McAvoy is incredibly charismatic even in the scenes where he’s absolutely nuts. He does a very good job of convincing the audience at different times that the people accusing him of being strange at the very least, are the ones who are in the wrong. McAvoy has experience playing a mentally deranged person thanks to Split, but this is a different kind of crazy and he does it very well.
Dan Stevens In Abigail
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April 19, 2024 |
It’s hard to think of the former corrupt police detective who gets turned into a vampire with the Dan Stevens who was killed in a car accident while happily driving back to Downton Abbey after the birth of his son. And that’s why his performance is such a good one.
The British actor’s performance as a New York cop is so convincing, it’s clear that there were plenty of people watching Abigail realized they’d seen the actor before but couldn’t figure out where. He also did a good job of being someone who seemed like a leader and even a kind of a (dysfunctional) father figure and then turns very, very bad.
Hugh Grant In Heretic
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November 8, 2024 |
It’s almost unheard of for a veteran actor like Hugh Grant to be basically a total newbie when it comes to horror movies. It’s even more rare for them to be so incredibly good in their horror role. And yet, Grant was one of the best horror performances in 2024 because his portrayal of a serial killer who works religion into his method was absolutely chilling.
When he’s debating the two young women who pay a visit to his home, the audience knows something is off, and yet, he seems like a charming and charismatic person. When he reveals why he wants the young women there, he seems honest and perhaps just horribly misguided. And then Heretic really begins. It’s the quiet that he maintains throughout the movie that makes him one of, if not the best horror movie performance of 2024.
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