Importance of star power in Horror?

[JasonLuck]

Hi all,

Just wanted everyone's thoughts on the importance of the actor in horror movies. What I mean by that is that, in comparison to other genres such as Action and Comedy, the name of the movie star is not as important. Sure there was Christian Bale in American Psycho, which he was awesome in.

But in my opinion, the success of a horror movie depends mostly on the script/story. As long as the actor can act, I think in a horror movie, having a unknown and an A-lister will not make THAT much of a difference, compared to other Genres.

Indeed many greatly successful horror movies are all unknowns, e.g. paranormal activity, Blair witch project, etc.

I would even go so far as to say that having an A-lister may even diminish the movie as people will have expectations of what type of role they should be playing from their past roles.

What does everyone else think?

[MichaelMyers]

Yes, I hate horror films with big-name celebrities in them. I find it distracting.

[JessieC]

So true. But then it also depends, if the story is largely dependent on the one character, then a big-name may be an asset. Take for example Jack Nicholson in the Shining, that movie owns it success almost solely to the performance of Nicholson. He absolutely owned it.

Then look at the saw movies, where i was the story and the concept itself that won the audience.

[crabapple]

I would tend to agree that it matters less--that's not saying that it doesn't matter at all, of course. A bankable star can always be a useful draw. But I think there is something about the thematics of horror, the degeneracy and the universality/primal nature of the themes, that makes the unknown "new" actor or "anyperson" more acceptable. There are so many examples of big horror classics that were just tiny independent productions, with actors the audience had never heard of before...

[Zero]

with notable exceptions - shining, sixth sense, etc. - I think it is better to have relatively unknow actors in horror films. adds to the shock value

[LordofTears]

Yeah I agree - I much prefer to see unknowns (as long as they're competent obviously) as it helps with suspension of disbelief. I think this is even more important with horror than other genres cos it's crucial that what you're seeing feels as real as possible for it to be properly scary.

If Tom Cruise is in it, that'll take the edge off the realism and the terror for sure :P That said, a really good known actor can disappear into a role to the point where you soon forget it's them.

Still, for me, I like a horror film to feel like it really is taking place in some alternate universe - familiar faces hinder that experience.

[neverending]

Then again, horror has always had its own stable of stars that fans will flock to see, no matter how crappy the movie is, from the days of Karloff, Lugosi and Price, to the days of Kane Hodder, Robert Englund and Jeffrey Combs.

[Straker]

Take for example Jack Nicholson in the Shining, that movie owns it success almost solely to the performance of Nicholson.

I appreciate the point you are making, but I gotta disagree with the example... Nicholson is amazing in The Shining, but his performance takes a back seat to one of the greatest directors of all time. As good as he is, The Shining would've been amazing with or without Nicholson, Kubrick at the helm is as close as you get to a dead cert. Hell, he even got a performance out of Shelly Duvall. Kubrick could get anyone to perform way beyond their ability.

As for the subject, I think horror tends to rely more heavily on a strong director than the actors. Obviously strong actors help and we have a huge list of top actors that have been massive in our genre, but the directors are so influential, probably more so than in any other genre I think. When you think of 'big names' in say, comedy, you tend to think of actors first and I'd probably struggle to tell you who directed alot of my favouirte comedies, but when I think about horror movies, the directors tend to go hand in hand with the actors. Thats a bit of a generalistion really because there are great directors in every field. I just think maybe there are more directors synonymous with horror than any other genre, or maybe I just know them better. :rolleyes:

[JessieC]

Yeah, good point about Kubrick. I agree that directors (and writers) are the engines of the horror genre. I wouldn't exactly say Nicholson takes a backseat to the directing, I think they go hand in hand :P, simple because the movie was so focused on the development of that one character.

[Ice Pik]

I appreciate the point you are making, but I gotta disagree with the example... Nicholson is amazing in The Shining, but his performance takes a back seat to one of the greatest directors of all time. As good as he is, The Shining would've been amazing with or without Nicholson, Kubrick at the helm is as close as you get to a dead cert. Hell, he even got a performance out of Shelly Duvall. Kubrick could get anyone to perform way beyond their ability.

As for the subject, I think horror tends to rely more heavily on a strong director than the actors. Obviously strong actors help and we have a huge list of top actors that have been massive in our genre, but the directors are so influential, probably more so than in any other genre I think. When you think of 'big names' in say, comedy, you tend to think of actors first and I'd probably struggle to tell you who directed alot of my favouirte comedies, but when I think about horror movies, the directors tend to go hand in hand with the actors. Thats a bit of a generalistion really because there are great directors in every field. I just think maybe there are more directors synonymous with horror than any other genre, or maybe I just know them better. :rolleyes:


I agree. I'll watch a horror film first if I hear wes craven then I would hear if say sam l jackson is in it.

I actually think when I see a big name in a horror film i tend to think it will not be as good. A lot to do with horror is relating to the character as if you were the person walking through the cold dark shadowy house. When you see Jim Carey walking that house you tend to judge his performance compared to other films and not the effect and sounds that brings the suspense.
I watched sinister the other night and it seemed more that my wife and i were talking about him in training day or the movie with angliania jolie and not the suspense.

As of boris karloff and others...they were known for their horror films as jim carey and chris rock are known for their comedies. how many actors today can you come to as (_____ is to horror as jim carey is to comedy)

Overall I think it's better to have a unknown to be able to focus more on the movie than the actor.

[JasonLuck]

Yeah that's, a no namer helps the audience empathize with the character, adding a personal experience to the movie. Watching a big star do horror would be hard to see yourself in their position.