Top 10 Most Disturbing Performances of the Last Decade

“Longlegs” (2024)
We knew Nicolas Cage could play scary. We just didn’t know how scary. “Longlegs” is one of the most acclaimed horror films of 2024, following an FBI agent as she hunts an occultist serial killer. This killer is Longlegs, played by a virtually unrecognizable Nicolas Cage. Despite his name, Cage does not have particularly long appendages, but he does have a powdery white face, numerous scars, and a pitched falsetto that is unbelievably creepy. And 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. All these years later, he’s still killing it. No pun intended.

“Midsommar” (2019)
Ari Aster’s second film was a surreal trip to rural Sweden, with Dani, her boyfriend, and a couple of his pals attending a midsummer festival. Pugh is masterful as Dani, and the performance would prove to be her mainstream breakthrough. The role required Pugh to enter some dark places, as Dani is a very depressed, anxious, and fragile young woman. She has major survivor’s guilt following the demise of her family, and it’s heartbreaking seeing her so desperately alone. And 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. Yeah, this festival goes places…

“The Black Phone” (2021)
With a name like The Grabber, you know this guy isn’t getting up to anything good. Indeed, he is a known abductor who haunts a small town in Colorado and eventually kidnaps young Finney. He takes Finney 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. He doesn’t often play villains, besides maybe the disturbed priest in “First Reformed,” so it was great seeing him stretch his capabilities - and do so in a thoroughly convincing manner. The Grabber is pure nightmare fuel, and Hawke allows us to see it the second he appears on-screen.

“Gone Girl” (2014)
The titular girl is Amy Dunne, and she is “gone” because she’s planning revenge on her husband, Nick, for having an affair. Amy orchestrates her own disappearance and frames Nick for her supposed murder, all before committing real murder against poor Desi. Rosamund Pike plays “dead inside” to an absolute t, her predatory eyes showcasing the total lack of soul. Whether 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 is a textbook psychopath, and Pike is stellar at portraying her cold but driven demeanor.

“The Invisible Man” (2020)
Leigh 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. In this case, the victim is Cecilia Kass, an architect plagued by the violence of her partner, Adrian. Even 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. Those themes come across perfectly thanks to Moss’s commitment to the role. We’re sure all those tears were painful to conjure, but it resulted in a spectacular performance that is both brave and necessary.

“Pearl” (2022)
“X” introduced us to the depraved couple, and “Pearl” gave us their technicolor backstory. The titular villain is played by Mia Goth, this time sans the old lady makeup and donning that now-iconic bow and red dress. Goth is sensational, earning widespread acclaim and even some calls for an Academy Award nomination. She is 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. Goth adeptly toes the line between endearingly cute and utterly insane, and frankly, we don’t know how she did it.

“It” (2017) & “It Chapter Two” (2019)
It was going to be hard filling the massive clown shoes left behind by Tim Curry, but we think Bill Skarsgård did an admirable job as the shapeshifting killer clown. He put a new spin on the character, being far more outwardly malicious than Curry’s interpretation. There’s no faux friendliness to be found here - Pennywise just wants to eat, and he takes enormous delight in tormenting the children of Derry. Whether he’s speaking in that horribly creepy voice or doing that weird thing with his eyeballs, this Pennywise is both terrifying and unforgettable. For anyone who dislikes clowns - stay far, far away, because there is nothing good to be seen here.

“Joker” (2019)
Who knew that Joaquin Phoenix’s first Oscar would come via a supervillain origin story? In Todd Phillips’s canon, the Joker was at one time a struggling stand-up comedian named Arthur Fleck. But 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. Phoenix nails all the complex aspects of Arthur’s character, from his sad and sympathetic floundering to his climactic descent into supervillain anarchy. No one really saw the Joker as a three-dimensional character with commiserating traits, but Phoenix helped change that with his groundbreaking performance.

“Nightcrawler” (2014)
You 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. Lou is the titular nightcrawler, an unhinged man who seeks out violent events in L.A. in order to film them for the news. Gyllenhaal’s performance was widely praised, with some comparing his character to Travis Bickle from “Taxi Driver.” Like 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. Gyllenhaal has certainly never been creepier, and he nails those “psychopath eyes” unlike anyone else.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Essie Davis as Amelia Vanek, “The Babadook” (2014)
A Haunting Portrayal of Depression & Anxiety

Matt Dillon as Jack, “The House That Jack Built” (2018)
He Plays the Perfect Cold & Calculated Serial Killer

J.K. Simmons as Terence Fletcher, “Whiplash” (2014)
Never Before Has Jazz Been So Scary

James McAvoy as Numerous, “Split” (2016)
The Scottish Actor Dons Numerous Threatening Personalities

Anya Taylor-Joy as Thomasin, “The Witch” (2015)
This Breakout Performance Saw the Star Descending Into Madness

“Hereditary” (2018)
The Academy often overlooks the horror genre, and that has never been more apparent than the snubbing of Toni Collette. She deserved a nomination for playing Annie Graham, the matriarch of the cursed Graham family and the eventual target of the demon Paimon. Collette is given free reign to display her acting prowess, hitting a multitude of notes with total ease. We see her love, we see her grapple with conflicted feelings, we see her grieve, and we ultimately see her hate. It’s the type of multi-faceted performance you don’t often get in the horror genre, and watching her mental health slowly deteriorate is one of the movie’s biggest - and scariest - strengths.

Which performance disturbed you the most? Let us know in the comments below!