These cinematic performances were unhinged in the best way possible! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most unnerving movie performances between 2014 and 2024.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Thank you for everything.
00:04I know you'll look down on me proudly.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most unnerving movie performances between 2014 and 2024.
00:14There will be major spoilers to follow.
00:16When you bring me out, can you introduce me as Joker?
00:21Number 10. Nicolas Cage as Longlegs. Longlegs.
00:24What's your name, little angel?
00:30Nice to meet you, Carrie-Anne.
00:33We knew Nicolas Cage could play scary. We just didn't know how scary.
00:37Longlegs is one of the most acclaimed horror films of 2024, following an FBI agent as she hunts an occultist serial killer.
00:43This killer is Longlegs, played by a virtually unrecognizable Nicolas Cage.
00:47Coco. Coco. Coco. Coco.
00:53Despite his name, Cage does not have particularly long appendages.
00:55But he does have a powdery white face, numerous scars, and a pitched falsetto that is unbelievably creepy.
01:01And when you add in his bizarre behavior and horrific crimes, it all amounts to a terrifying performance that is widely considered one of the actor's best.
01:08All these years later, he's still killing it. No pun intended.
01:11We had such a big laugh about it.
01:16I thought it was only me who laughed, not she.
01:20Number 9. Florence Pugh as Dani. Midsommar.
01:22I'm just checking in, making sure everything's okay. Listen, I got kind of a scary email from Terry, and she hasn't been responding.
01:33Ari Aster's second film was a surreal trip to rural Sweden with Dani, her boyfriend, and a couple of his pals attending a Midsommar festival.
01:40Pugh is masterful as Dani, and the performance would prove to be her mainstream breakthrough.
01:44The role required Pugh to enter some dark places, as Dani is a very depressed, anxious, and fragile young woman.
01:49I was so very sorry to hear about your loss.
01:53Oh.
01:55What happened, I mean, I can't even imagine.
01:58She has major survivor's guilt following the demise of her family, and it's heartbreaking seeing her so desperately alone.
02:03And that's to say nothing of her climactic descent into madness, when she finally lets go of Christian and watches with delight as he burns to death inside a hollowed-out bear.
02:12Yeah, this festival goes places.
02:14How are you?
02:16They were laughing at me.
02:18What? No, no, no, I'm sure they weren't.
02:21Number 8. Ethan Hawke as The Grabber, The Black Phone
02:24I am a part-time magician. Would you like to see a magic trick?
02:28With a name like The Grabber, you know this guy isn't getting up to anything good.
02:32Indeed, he is a known abductor who haunts a small town in Colorado and eventually kidnaps young Finny.
02:37He takes Finny to his house and keeps him locked up in the basement, and Ethan Hawke is allowed to chew the scenery as the creep confronts the child.
02:42I know you're scared and you want to go home. I'll take you home soon.
02:47He doesn't often play villains, besides maybe the disturbed priest in First Reform, so it was great seeing him stretch his capabilities, and do so in a thoroughly convincing manner.
02:56The Grabber's pure nightmare fuel, and Hawke allows us to see it the second he appears on screen.
03:00Tell me your name.
03:02Why do you care?
03:04I usually don't. I find out eventually in the paper. They always print a nice, big photo.
03:11No. 7. Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunn, Gone Girl
03:15He took and took from me until I no longer existed. That's murder.
03:20The titular girl is Amy Dunn, and she is gone because she's planning revenge on her husband, Nick, for having an affair.
03:25Amy orchestrates her own disappearance and frames Nick for her supposed murder, all before committing real murder against poor Desi.
03:31Rosamund Pike plays dead inside to an absolute T, her predatory eyes showcasing the total lack of soul.
03:36You need to package yourself so that people will truly mourn your loss. And America loves pregnant women.
03:44Whether she's tricking others into doing her business, calmly detailing her revenge plot through voiceover, or outright killing a guy in his own bed, Amy's a textbook psychopath, and Pike is stellar at portraying her cold but driven demeanor.
03:56I've killed for you. Who else can say that? You think you'd be happy with a nice midwestern girl? No way, baby.
04:04Number 6. Elizabeth Moss as Cecilia Kass, The Invisible Man
04:23Lee Whannell could have done an easy and linear adaptation of The Invisible Man, but he took the story in a new direction, using the horror as a metaphor for domestic abuse.
04:30In this case, the victim is Cecilia Kass, an architect plagued by the violence of her partner, Adrian.
04:36I swore to your sister I'd get you to step outside my house.
04:40Hey, see, he's not out there.
04:45Even when Adrian supposedly dies, Cecilia can't shake the feeling that he's still out there watching her, a perfect vehicle for both the Invisible Man gimmick and the themes surrounding trauma.
04:53Those themes come across perfectly thanks to Moss' commitment to the role.
04:57We're sure all those tears were painful to conjure, but it resulted in a spectacular performance that is both brave and necessary.
05:03I need that strength in my life right now, and I need you to believe what I'm about to tell you.
05:12Number 5. Mia Goth as Pearl, Pearl
05:15What did I do wrong?
05:16Nothing. Calm down.
05:17No! Why are you leaving me if I didn't do anything wrong? I don't understand. I thought you liked me!
05:22X introduced us to the depraved couple, and Pearl gave us their Technicolor backstory.
05:27The titular villain is played by Mia Goth, this time sans the old lady makeup and donning the now iconic bow and red dress.
05:37What do you think?
05:38Goth is sensational, earning widespread acclaim and even some calls for an Academy Award nomination.
05:43She's sympathetic and tender when she needs to be, giving Pearl some much-needed humanity, but also deliriously unhinged during the movie's more, shall we say, violent sequences.
05:52Goth adeptly toes the line between endearingly cute and utterly insane, and frankly, we don't know how she did it.
05:58Howard? I'm so happy you're home.
06:05Number 4. Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise, It and It Chapter 2
06:08What are you doing in the sewer?
06:10The storm blew me away. Blew the whole circus away.
06:15It was going to be hard filling the mass of clown shoes left behind by Tim Curry, but we think Bill Skarsgård did an admirable job as the shapeshifting killer clown.
06:22He put a new spin on the character, being far more outwardly malicious than Curry's interpretation.
06:27There's no faux-friendliness to be found here. Pennywise just wants to eat, and he takes enormous delight in tormenting the children of Derry.
06:33Come join the clownettes. You'll float down here.
06:38Whether he's speaking in that horribly creepy voice or doing that weird thing with his eyeballs, this Pennywise is both terrifying and unforgettable.
06:44For anyone who dislikes clowns, stay far, far away, because there's nothing good to be seen here.
06:49Hello, Vicky. Isn't that what your friends call you? Vicky?
06:55Number 3. Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, Joker
06:58Does it help to have someone to talk to?
07:01I think I felt better when I was locked up in the hospital.
07:08Who knew that Joaquin Phoenix's first Oscar would come via a supervillain origin story?
07:12In Todd Phillips' canon, the Joker was at one time a struggling stand-up comedian named Arthur Fleck.
07:17But thanks to a series of injustices, not to mention Arthur's failing mental health, the man eventually snaps and turns to evil to find a sense of purpose.
07:24I killed those guys because they were awful. Everybody is awful these days. It's enough to make anyone crazy.
07:32Felix nails all the complex aspects of Arthur's character, from his sad and sympathetic floundering to his climactic descent into supervillain anarchy.
07:39No one really saw the Joker as a three-dimensional character with commiserating traits, but Phoenix helped change that with his groundbreaking performance.
07:46I know. Isn't it beautiful?
07:50Number 2. Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom, Nightcrawler
07:53I can understand why you're looking into it, but I didn't do anything like that. Nothing that could be considered wrong.
07:57You don't fool me for a minute.
07:59You know the old saying, if it bleeds, it leads? Well, Lou Bloom certainly knows it, and he uses it to shoot his way through the corporate ladder of the newsroom.
08:06Lou is the titular Nightcrawler, an unhinged man who seeks out violent events in L.A. in order to film them for the news.
08:12Now, when I say that I want these things, I mean that I want them, and I don't want to have to ask again.
08:20Gyllenhaal's performance was widely praised, with some comparing his character to Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver.
08:25Like Travis, Lou is a young man hanging on by a thread, a psychopath prowling the dark streets and just waiting for an excuse to let loose.
08:32Gyllenhaal has certainly never been creepier, and he nails those psychopath eyes unlike anyone else.
08:37What if my problem wasn't that I don't understand people, but that I don't like them?
08:44What if I was obliged to hurt you for something like this?
08:47Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
08:50Essie Davis as Emilie Vanek, the Babadook, a haunting portrayal of depression and anxiety.
08:55Is this the only way I can trust you not to embarrass me in front of our neighbors?
09:06Is this what I have to do?
09:08Matt Dillon as Jack, the house that Jack built. He plays the perfect cold and calculated serial killer.
09:13Hunting is such an unpleasant thing.
09:18I used to hunt quite a bit, but I've stopped.
09:21Why?
09:23To be honest, I find hunting distasteful.
09:25J.K. Simmons as Terrence Fletcher, Whiplash. Never before has jazz been so scary.
09:30One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.
09:33Rushing or dragging?
09:34Rushing.
09:35So you do know the difference!
09:36James McAvoy is numerous, split. The Scottish actor dons numerous threatening personalities.
09:41Your heart is pure. Rejoice!
09:51Anya Taylor-Joy as Thomasin, the witch. This breakout performance saw the star descending into madness.
09:57I be the witch of the wood.
09:59Liar! Liar!
10:01I am.
10:02Lest not to a mercy!
10:05I am that very witch. When I sleep, my spirit slips away from my body and dances naked with the devil.
10:12Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
10:18You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
10:22If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
10:28Tony Collette as Annie Graham, Hereditary
10:31I never wanted to be your mother.
10:33Why?
10:39The Academy often overlooks the horror genre, and that has never been more apparent than the snubbing of Tony Collette.
10:44She deserved a nomination for playing Annie Graham, the matriarch of the cursed Graham family and the eventual target of the demon payment.
10:51Collette is given free reign to display her acting prowess, hitting a multitude of notes with total ease.
10:56I think it's my mother. I think, but I can't tell because the skin's all black and she's all distended, but the head is gone.
11:02Will you please? I just need you to go and see how she's doing.
11:05We see her love, we see her grapple with conflicted feelings, we see her grieve, and we ultimately see her hate.
11:10It's the type of multifaceted performance you don't often get in the horror genre,
11:14and watching her mental health slowly deteriorate is one of the movie's biggest and scariest strengths.
11:18If you could have just said, I'm sorry, or faced up to what happened, maybe then we could do something with this.
11:25But you can't take responsibility for anything!
11:27Which performance disturbed you the most? Let us know in the comments below.
11:30You're scaring me, Pearl!