BEST SCARY ACTORS
Lon Chaney The so-called “Man of a Thousand Faces” made a particular face, that of the Phantom of the Opera, one of the most enduring images in horror. Boris Karloff Frankenstein’s monster. ‘Nuff said? Bela Lugosi Like Boris Karloff, all it takes is the mention of one role – Count Dracula – to justify Lugosi’s place on this list. Elsa Lanchester Her get-up in the role has been much mocked ever since, but British acting veteran Lanchester became an immediate icon as the “Bride of Frankenstein.” Lon Chaney Jr. Terror stayed in the family, thanks to Junior’s portrayal of the Wolf Man, a part that his natural appearance made him ideally suited for. Peter Lorre Lorre’s unusual look made him a natural for the horror genre, but he even could be scary on a more subtle level, evidenced by his haunting portrayal of a child-killer in the classic “M.” Vincent Price He became a caricature of himself in later years, as in “Theater of Blood” ... but in his prime (“House of Wax,” etc.), the refined Price could be quite a frightening fellow. He helps launch Halloween weekend with “The Abominable Dr. Phibes” Friday, Oct. 29, on Turner Classic Movies. John Carradine Though he also made many other types of films, the presence of the craggyfaced father of fellow actors David, Keith and Robert often signaled something scary was on the way. Anthony Perkins Here’s a case of an actor whose horror cred comes down to one role (all together, now) – Norman Bates in “Psycho.” If the film’s very last shot doesn’t creep you out, nothing will. John Hurt While he wasn’t only a horror actor, Hurt could lay claim to one of the knockyour-socks-off scare sequences in all of movie history, given what happens to him in the pivotal scene of “Alien.” Heather O’Rourke Sometimes innocents can be terrifying, demonstrated by young O’Rourke as the target of specters (“They’re hee-e-ere!”) in “Poltergeist.” Robert Englund “A Nightmare on Elm Street” might have yielded a few too many chapters – even extending to the television series “Freddy’s Nightmares” – but the sharpfingered Mr. Krueger was good for some solid screams early on. Tobin Bell So effective as the lethally clever Jigsaw in the “Saw” movies that the series wouldn’t let him die, though the character technically is dead, Bell had a great run with the franchise ... appropriately, right up to 2017’s “Jigsaw.”