Quentin Tarantino & Eli Roth Pick Their Top 5 Horror Performances

Linda Blair shouldn’t be there. That performance was 50% special effects and 20% Mercedes McCambridge. Her Oscar nomination was considered controversial at the time. You’re gonna choose Linda over Piper Laurie and Ellen Burstyn?? Give me a break. And, yes, Farrow and Perkins should be there.

Also, and QT knows this perfectly well. Jamie Lee Curtis was NOT the first final girl, Olivia Hussey was. I mean, he owns a print of Black Christmas. WTF??

I can listen to Quentin discuss top performances all day

No Claude Rains in Invisible Man? What a snub.

They’ve only focused on the classic horror films but there have been some outstanding performances in recent horror too. My picks, from more recent movies are;

Toni Collette in Hereditary
Mia Goth in Pearl
Demi Moore in The Substance
Florence Pough in Midsommer
Naomi Scott in Smile 2

I love hearing QT rave about Jamie Lee in 1998's H20. I agree that was her best Halloween performance of all of them!

Marilyn Burns as Sally from Chainsaw started the Final Girl NOT Jaime Lee Curtis. Sally saved herself while Curtis got saved by Loomis the first 2 movies. Sally does so much more than Laurie.

Not sure if it counts but anthony Hopkins in Silence of the lambs?

Anthony Hopkins as Lecter

Vincent Price in anything.

I agree that Curtis was better in H2O. I would also say that Danielle Harris in Halloween 4 does a better job than Curtis in the first Halloween.

Charles Laughton in the "Hunchbacl of Notre Dame" and "Island of Loast Souls".

Colin Clive in FRANKENSTEIN.

My top 5:

1) Bette Davis - What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?
2) Tim Curry - It
3) Shelley Duvall - The Shining
4) Kwak Do-Won - The Wailing
5) Toni Colette - Hereditary

Wow great convo. This wont do. We need a top 10

For me it's got to be the one and only... Sigourney Weaver her performance in Alien 1979 is excellent and as an honourable mention Hugh Grant HERETIC

Linda Blair? Ellen Burstyn is the reason Linda Blair is good in that movie.

Gregory Peck - The Omen, Anthony Hopkins - Silence of the Lambs, Piper Laurie - Carrie

Gunnar Hanson is wild when Marilyn Burns' performance in Texas Chainsaw Massacre is right there. One of the greatest horror performances ever. Honorable mention to Toni Collette in Hereditary.

I think I be in a very small camp but seriously would consider Shelley Duvall

Bela Lugosi's Dracula looks ludicrous compared to the performances by literally ALL the other Dracula actors.

Hereditary

Jeff Golbblum in The Fly and Vincent Price in House of Wax are in my top 5

Janet Leigh’s torpedo bra deserves special recognition as a set piece that made the shower scene both horrifying and sexual. If I could ask Green River Gary only one question with elaboration it would be if he ever saw that and how it made him feel.

Misery Kathy bates. Hopkins Hannibal lector. Toni Collette Hereditary, Mia goth Pearl. Bale in American Psycho.

In no particular order

- Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter and Cape Fear
- Sigourney Weaver in Alien, I don’t really need to explain this
- Jason Miller in Exorcist, I feel for the families torment throughout the movie but father Karras just resonates with me a tad more
- JoBeth Williams in poltergeist is my favorite horror movie mom ever. She was so badass at the end going to save the kids, reminded me of how cool my mom is
- the obvious ones such as Anthony Perkins in Psycho and Hopkins in SOTL, Jack Nicholson in The Shining.
- new ones I love would be anyone in hereditary or lighthouse. Also Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out.

Toni Collette in Hereditary tops all of these. Definitely one of those oh we can only look at movies that are Hollywood gems and not an honest conversation. Bale in American Psycho is definitely a great one too. Griffin Dunne in Werewolf in London is pretty fantastic. Essie Davis in Babadook is also incredible. Mia Goth in Pearl deserves some consideration even if the movie isn’t as classic she’s outrageous in it and everything she’s in for that matter

Kurt Russell - The Thing
Sigourney Weaver - Alien
Donald Sutherland - Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Brad Dourif - Exorcist III
Toni Collette - Hereditary