#89 Dee Wallace
as Patricia Bradley
in The Frighteners
Christy from Trash Film Orgy told me she felt Dee deserved inclusion here because, "I hate everything she's ever done, but I loved her in The Frighteners so that says a lot." Indeed she does a great job as a demented woman who is incredibly freaked out by ghosts, yet may have more going on than we are lead to believe. It's a nice change of pace from the disturbed yet resolute mother figures she had been typecast as playing in ET, Cujo, and the like. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer.
as Patricia Bradley
in The Frighteners
Christy from Trash Film Orgy told me she felt Dee deserved inclusion here because, "I hate everything she's ever done, but I loved her in The Frighteners so that says a lot." Indeed she does a great job as a demented woman who is incredibly freaked out by ghosts, yet may have more going on than we are lead to believe. It's a nice change of pace from the disturbed yet resolute mother figures she had been typecast as playing in ET, Cujo, and the like. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer.
#88 Sherman Howardas Bub The Zombie
in Day of the Dead
Though most of the zombies in Romero's "Dead" films are just shambling, mindless flesh-eaters, Sherman Howard brings a soul to "Bub", the reanimated corpse of a soldier, who is being taught to use a gun. The deep expressions with his eyes shine through the Savini makeup and result in a loveable zombie that has been given quite a cult following in the 20 years since the film was released. Sherman's made quite a career outside of this role, as well, with may acting and voice-over parts in TV, Film, and even videogames. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer.
#87 Gunnar Hansonas Leatherface
in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Though a few people have played the chainsaw wielding retard, it's Gunnar Hanson's performance in the 1974 original (damn, is it already 30 years ago?) that is the best by far. Long before Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, or Freddy Krueger, Leatherface became the prototype slasher with a gimmick. And hats off to Gunnar for refusing to appear in the 2003 remake, feeling it insulted the integrity of the original. You can watch a gorgeous 17MB QuickTime trailer for the original film if youCLICK HERE, and see Gunnar in all of his glory.
#86 Melinda Clarkeas Julie Harper
in The Return of the Living Dead III
The sexy pain-freak goth girl is taken to the extreme with interesting departure in the third Return of the Living Dead film. Her character, Julie, is killed in a motorcycle accident, and reanimated by her boyfriend with the help of the famous zombie gas. Unfortunately, she wants to eat brains, but finds that she can curb her appetite for brains by self inflicted pain. Since there's no Linkin Park records to listen to yet, she ends up cutting and mutilating herself to the point where she looks like Clive Barker's custom Real Doll. She makes what should have been a throwaway crap sequel into a very watchable, and tragic film. You can get a 7 day free pass with Cinema Now and watch the entire film on your computer for free if you CLICK HERE.
#85 Lance Henriksenas Ed Harley
in Pumpkinhead
Lance has certainly been a great player in genre work, with his roles in Aliens, and the wonderful Fox series Millennium, but his role as the father in Pumpkinhead who seeks revenge against teens responsible for his son's death by getting a witch to bring a horrible creature forth to let the killing commence. It's a great conflicted performance which makes him both the villain and the hero in the same film. You can watch the preview if you CLICK HERE.
#84 Angus Scrimmas The Tall Man
in Phantasm
Angus is wonderful as The Tall Man in the Phantasm series. Blending humorous charm with a creepy menacing quality, he makes the series of films a lot of fun to watch. Angus has a lot of neat trivia about him, among the more quirky is that he's an accomplished writer of CD liner notes and has even won a Grammy for his work. There's a bunch of great clips of Scrimm in action you can view at Phantasm.com if you CLICK HERE.
#83 Roberts Blossomas Ezra Cobb
in Deranged
While Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho both use the real-life crimes of Ed Gein as their influence, it's the story of Ezra Cobb in 1974's Deranged that tells the tale more accurately. Blossom gives a great over the top performance in the necrophilia themed film who's poster slogan read, "Pretty Sally Mae died an unnatural death, but the worst hasn't happened to her yet!" There's a great double DVD that features Deranged and Motel Hell on the same disc that's worth a look. Blossom also had some great work in Christine, Escape from Alcatraz, and Home Alone.
#82 James Karenas Frank
in The Return of the Living Dead
James Karen does a fantastic jobs as the manager of a medical supply warehouse that is soon filled with corpses, butterflies, and even bisected puppies that are reanimated because of a top secret zombie-gas that leaks from a barrel in the basement. His reactions to the madness are hilarious as he and his younger employee try to first cover up the mistake, then succumb to it. His lectures about Night of The Living Dead being a true story, and how all skeletons come from India (and wondering how they all have such perfect teeth) are priceless. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer.
#81 Werner Kraussas Dr. Caligari
in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
The German film from 1920 is not only one the earliest horror films, but it's still one of the most visually striking movies ever made. Werner Krauss as the title character is amazing, in this completely silent film, yet conveying more emotion than many speaking actors ever could. Unfortunately, this film is in the public domain which means there's a wide variety of shitty versions of it on DVD to choose from, so I recommend the beautifully restored and authoritative version from KINO that you can buy if you CLICK HERE.
#80 Jeffrey Allenas Mayor Buckman
in Two Thousand Maniacs!
This is one of my all time favorite bit parts in a film! Jeffrey Allen only appeared in a handful of Herschell Gordon Lewis films, and wasn't in another movie after 1972, but his performance as the super friendly but evil Mayor Buckman in Two Thousand Maniacs is one of the great guilty pleasures of horror film. He's part Mr. Haney from Green Acres, part Boss Hogg from The Dukes of Hazzard, and his own unique ingredients inbetween. I can't help but smile when he joyously exclaims, "We're havin' us a BARBECUE!" CLICK HERE to read our article about 2000 Maniacs Director Herschell Gordon Lewis. And while you're at it CLICK HERE to listen to the 2000 Maniacs theme song.
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