There’s nothing that can beat a good horror performance. Usually, the attention and praise go to victims who overcome the threat of monsters and gather the necessary empathy to make viewers cheer for them. However, a good villain can have a performer solid enough to win over the hearts of audiences.
In the case of the following performances, they stand out because they added an element of authenticity and sheer terror, regardless of how horror is seen in today’s industry. The term is controversial, but they elevated the movies by personifying pure evil in films that were already scary. These are the ten perfect villain performances in modern horror.
Played by Ralph Fiennes
In The Menu, a group of gastronomy fans of all kinds receive a very valuable invitation: A world-renowned chef named Julian Slowik will prepare them a very special meal in a restaurant located on his private island. At first, everything seems safe, but the eccentricity of Slowik’s menu proves to be deadly.
Ralph Fiennes provides a unique performance in a film that lavishly navigates between horror and comedy. Nevertheless, his character is eerie enough to make you feel distressed even when he makes you laugh, and it’s because of Fiennes’ unique talent. Undoubtedly, one of the best villains in recent years.
9 Pearl – Pearl (2022)
Played by Mia Goth
In Pearl, we go back in time in order to explore the beginnings of an old lady’s venture into serial killing. The maniacal killer in X was once a beautiful and submissive young girl living on a farm with her parents. She dreamed of becoming a movie star, but when things don’t go her way, she turns into one of modern horror’s most important antagonists.
A masterful performance by Mia Goth was essential to Ti West’s trilogy becoming a notable piece in modern horror. At first, it was all about playing two opposite characters in X, but then, in Pearl, Goth gave life to a multilayered villain with enough presence that audiences and critics found in her a new horror darling to be horrified about when she’s snubbed during awards seasons.
You can stream Pearl on Netflix
8 Kevin Wendell Crumb (and Others) – Split (2016)
Played by James McAvoy
In Split, three friends are waiting to be taken home after a birthday party when suddenly they get kidnapped. Claire, Casey, and Marcia are taken to an underground dungeon where a man with dissociative identity disorder keeps them, until Casey decides to fight back without knowing Kevin is more than just a mashup of different personalities.
James McAvoy proves his versatility by giving life to eight different personalities under the same physical vessel. The result is nothing short of a masterful interpretation of ideas and concepts that make McAvoy’s Kevin one of the best villains in all of Shyamalan’s filmography. It’s arguably the best thing about the director’s return to mainstream Hollywood in 2016.
7 Red – Us (2019)
Played by Lupita Nyong’o
Us follows the Wilson family as they take a trip to the beach for a long-awaited vacation. The very first night, they realize there’s a mysterious group holding hands outside their rental, and when the strangers attack, the Wilsons see they’re actually doppelgängers who want some payback as part of a planned worldwide attack.
Jordan Peele’s excellent exercise in horror features Lupita Nyong’o in one of her best and most underrated performances. She plays Addy and Red, two physical manifestations that collide as the world is being taken over by the inexplicable. However, Red stands out as a personification of absolute evil, only possible due to Nyongo’o’s excellent execution of a profound being who just wants to take care of her own under her terms.
6 Ellie – Evil Dead Rise (2023)
Played by Alyssa Sutherland
In Evil Dead Rise, Beth visits her estranged sister, Ellie, to rekindle their relationship. Ellie is a single mother of three who turns into a violent monster when a demon possesses her. Ellie’s children and Beth are witnesses to the young mother’s transformation from a once-loving mother to the leader of the Deadites.
Alyssa Sutherland’s execution of a Deadite is the most memorable one in many years of a franchise that has seen some of the best demonic entities of the genre. Aided by impressive makeup effects, the actor does a great version of the worst mother in modern horror, who indulges in sadistic violence against her own children and will do anything to incite new “family values.”
5 Rose the Hat – Doctor Sleep (2019)
Played by Rebecca Ferguson
Doctor Sleep follows The Shining’s survivor, Danny Torrance, as he tries to sober himself after being tormented by demons throughout his life. Danny’s “cleansing” is interrupted by a gang of vampires who are wreaking havoc across the country and who share a special connection with those who “shine.” Ultimately, he will have to go back to the forsaken hotel where he once faced the wrath of his abusive father.
Rebecca Ferguson plays Rose the Hat, the leader of a very special herd of vampires who don’t suck blood but the souls of helpless victims. She’s clever and seemingly invincible, but there’s a place for doubt and wonder coming from a ruthless villain who finds innocence looks very delicious. Ferguson’s villain is one of the best in Stephen King’s filmography.
4 The Grabber – The Black Phone (2022)
Played by Ethan Hawke
Finney is going through a rough time with an abusive father and relentless bullies. However, they’re no match for the latest threat in North Denver: a serial abductor known as the Grabber whose victims vanish without a trace. As Finney gets taken and put in an underground dungeon, he discovers he will get some help from the beyond. With enough courage, he’ll be able to fight the sadistic killer wearing horrific masks.
Ethan Hawke’s rendering of the Grabber is terrific. The very amusing masks are no match for the physicality accomplished by the actor when embodying the talkative and erratic killer. Even though Finney ultimately defeats him, Scott Derrickson’s feature was effective enough to leave the imprint of a very sick individual in the minds of audiences.
3 Rose – Get Out (2017)
Played by Allison Williams
Chris Washington is an African-American man with a white girlfriend who decides to invite him over to meet her family, the Armitages. Things feel off from the beginning, as Chris is shown as a novelty, and eventually, he discovers his girlfriend Rose is part of one very sick family with an agenda that will shock you beyond reason.
Jordan Peele’s directorial debut, Get Out, doesn’t feature the most prominent villains. However, Rose takes her act very far, and under Allison Williams’ performance, we believe in her golden smile and seemingly compassionate attitude. The reveal is powerful, but the shot of her selecting her next villain is simply unforgettable.
2 Abigail – Abigail (2024)
Played by Alisha Weir
In Abigail, six criminals decide to commit a perfect crime that looks like a very easy gig. They just have to kidnap a young ballet dancer called Abigail and care for her for 24 hours, and they’ll be paid $50 million. The problem is that Abigail isn’t just an innocent victim, and she will show them they shouldn’t have taken her.
Abigail is a different vampire movie, because the villain isn’t a random bloodsucking vampire. Instead, we get Alisha Weir‘s exceptional interpretation of an ancient vampire who likes to play the victim, as well as play with her food. Weir’s role as a not-so-helpless victim is the best thing about this underrated horror film that was acclaimed by critics, and that features the best child performance of 2024, so far.
1 Longlegs – Longlegs (2024)
Played by Nicolas Cage
In Longlegs, FBI agent Lee Harker is tasked with finding who’s behind a series of strange murders. Every case involves a father who kills the family and then commits suicide. The clues point to a mysterious being known as Longlegs, but Lee will eventually find that her “ability to see beyond” the simple clues represents her downfall.
The most recent performance on the list is, by far, the one that was most talked about in horror this year. Nicolas Cage‘s rendering of a mysterious individual known as Longlegs sparked all kinds of theories on the internet as people tried to figure out what he actually was. What most didn’t realize is that what he was, wasn’t exactly important. It’s what he could do, a concept that was perfectly displayed by the underrated Cage.
