Action veteran Bradley Cooper, their horror movies are early opportunities that the actors couldn’t up as a way to get their name out there.
For others, like Dolph Lundgren and Kevin Bacon, horror is a genre they are ionate about throughout their onscreen oeuvre and no amount of fame or critical success can stop them from dipping their toe back into the world of slashers, ghosts, and ghouls. Blockbuster action star Keanu Reeves also falls in this latter category. Despite being famous enough to have his pick of projects, Reeves has repeatedly gravitated back to the horror genre throughout his storied screen career.
However, just because Reeves loves horror does not mean that the genre necessarily always loves him back. While great horror can be a true treat, bad horror movies are often laughably terrible and can fare brutally with critics, as Reeves’ fellow horror lover Kevin Bacon has learned throughout his career (numerous times). So, with seven horrors to his name, which of Reeves’ outings in the genre are worth watching, and which are more unintentional comedies than horror?
The Watcher (2000)
The lone unambiguous villain role in Reeves’ horror oeuvre, David Fincher’s seminal Se7en, this limp and forgettable thriller only managed to cast Reeves because of a mix-up between the actor and one of his friends, leading to his name accidentally ending up on a .
Knock Knock (2015)
A deeply frustrating exercise in miscasting, John Wick being repeatedly outsmarted by a pair of women barely out of their teens, Knock Knock is a goofy slog but remains a step above the bottom of this rundown thanks to Roth’s always-interesting direction and a superb early turn from future star Ana De Armas.
Constantine (2005)
return for Constantine 2 should be exciting for fans), but it is Peter Stormare’s depiction of cinema’s second silliest Satan that is the real standout here. Unfortunately for Stormare’s superb, spirited take on the Prince of Darkness, the silliest devil in cinema history is also on Reeves’ list of horror outings…
The Devil's Advocate (1997)
A unique outing, to say the least, Angel Heart, it is also a lot more fun and easy to watch than that bleaker, harsher take on the same themes.
The Neon Demon (2016)
Released in 2016, The Devil Wears Prada, this ambitiously strange, blackly comic satire has no right to work as well as it does, but some stellar central performances ensure that the melodrama is always on the right side of ludicrous, and the shocking imagery lands instead of falling flat. Well worth a watch, for the strong of stomach.
The Gift (2000)
Released in 2000 and unfairly forgotten in the years since The Gift may be one of director Sam Raimi’s least Sam Raimi movies. Fortunately for fans of the Katie Holmes in the actor’s most underrated performance) soon leads her to confront all manner of local low-lives, including Reeves’ memorable scumbag Donnie. Reeves acquits himself well in the role, and The Gift still stands up as an underrated mystery thriller.
Dracula (1992)
Reeves’ best horror is also his most campy and over-the-top, and perhaps the performance for which the actor has received the most hate. Directed by Reeves’ Dracula performance is often called wooden and unconvincing, upon a rewatch it is clear that the actor’s choice to underplay his role works well alongside scene-stealing scenery-chewers like Hopkins and Oldman, and in retrospect Reeves’ performance helps make Bram Stoker's Dracula his best horror movie.
