#HorrorLoversChallenge An Actor You Enjoy Watching
Prompt: An Actor You Enjoy Watching
Horror has never fared well at the Oscars. Despite the Academy Award’s 93-year-run, horror films have only won 18 Oscars out of over 3,000 possible ones. Frequently, horror films don’t even make it into the Oscar nomination phase — as was the infamous case for Toni Collette’s performance in Ari Aster’s “Hereditary.” Now and again, a film like 1991’s “The Silence of the Lambs” breaks through this boundary. Jonathan Demme’s procedural thriller became the first and only horror film to earn an Oscar for best picture. But since Hannibal’s on-screen debut, only a handful of horror films have received award-season attention — namely 2017’s “Get Out,” which won an Oscar for best screenplay. Sadly, horror stars haven’t received the recognition they deserve for the grueling emotional and physical work the genre requires.
There are a bunch of actors I really enjoy including Tony Todd in Candyman, Boris Karlof, Bella Lugosi, Shelly Duvall in The Shining, and of course Jamie Lee Curtis, but I am going to go with one of the horror icons: Dee Wallace.
Dee Wallace entered the world of horror with 1975’s “The Stepford Wives,” portraying Nettie, the maid. Decades later, she still reigns as a scream queen. Wallace has portrayed some of horror’s most memorable roles in such films as “Cujo,” “The Howling,” “Lords of Salem,” “The Hills Have Eyes,” and 2007’s “Halloween.” She frequently collaborates with Rob Zombie and has worked with iconic genre directors like Steven Spielberg, Wes Craven, and Peter Jackson — achievements that few horror stars can claim.
While it’s impossible to pick which horror film best showcases Wallace’s talent, many look to her role as Donna in “Cujo” as a prime example. Although the Stephen King adaptation takes place during a scorching summer, filming for “Cujo” happened in the winter of 1982. Despite Wallace “freezing to death” on set, her acting never falters. It’s easy to believe she’s fighting against a rabid dog to save the life of her son and herself. Once “Cujo” wrapped, Wallace spent three weeks in the hospital due to exhaustion.
