Summary

• Nicolas Cage's horror movies range from sublime to ridiculous, with some standout performances elevating the genre.
• Cage's eclectic filmography includes hits like "Mom and Dad" and "Mandy," showcasing his range in the horror genre.
• "Longlegs" features one of Cage's best performances, blending horror with crime thriller for a truly disturbing experience.

Cage has appeared in numerous horror movies of varying quality throughout his filmography, with many of these outings arriving in the last few years. Of course, much like the rest of his oeuvre, Cage’s horror efforts range from the sublime to the truly ridiculous - and sometimes a combination of the two.

Cage’s first horror was 1988’s Vampire’s Kiss, an offbeat, blackly comic hybrid of horror and satire from The Moonstone filmmaker Robert Bierman. The actor didn’t revisit the genre until 2006’s critically reviled remake The Wicker Man. After this failure, Cage's horror performances remained relatively sparse, until he featured in multiple horror movies over a brief period. From Mom and Dad to 2018’s trippy indie Mandy, he's made a real impression on genre fans, further securing his horror credentials with critical hits like Longlegs. With such an eclectic filmography, it's unsurprising that some Nicolas Cage horror movies work better than others.

12 The Wicker Man (2006)

Directed by playwright Neil LaBute, The Wicker Man might be one of the least scary horror movies in the history of the genre. Like 1973's original, a British folk horror that remains a defining text of the sub-genre, 2006’s iteration of The Wicker Man sees Cage’s hero visit a remote island where the local Neo-pagans are up to something strange – falling victim to their creepy machinations.

Unlike the original, however – and the many folk horrors it inspired, like Midsommar – what follows is unintentionally hilarious and melodramatic chaos. Cage is hilarious in a role that sees him dress like a bear, knock out various locals, and steal a bicycle at gunpoint, but even this level of inspired lunacy can’t get around the fact this dud is theoretically supposed to be scary.

11 Pay The Ghost (2015)

Directed by Last Exit To Brooklyn’s Uli Edel, Pay The Ghost had the potential to be a solid scare-fest. Cage plays a father desperate to find the child he lost during a Halloween parade. His search sees him gradually dragged down into a strange world of alternate universes, with the titular spooks uncovering the truth about his disappearing offspring.

However, this muddled effort borrows too much from James Wan’s Insidious series and is too content with its low-energy pacing to get the audience truly invested. Meanwhile, an autopilot Cage fails to provide either the bug-eyed lunacy or authentically solid acting he typically brings to his roles.

10 Grindhouse (2007)

The ambitious experiment Grindhouse was not the triumph audiences had hoped for. Nevertheless, the playful double-bill experience was never more of a success than when a slew of legendary horror directors helmed trailers for fake horror films of the ’70s.

Cage has a momentary cameo as Fu Manchu in Rob Zombie’s Werewolf Women of the SS, a two-minute outing that captured the genre's spirit better than much of Grindhouse. Director Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s underrated outing is still overlong, but for the few minutes that Zombie, Eli Roth, and Edgar Wright take over proceedings, it’s very entertaining indeed – bolstered by Cage's cameo performance.

9 Vampire's Kiss (1988)

Reviled by critics, 1988’s black comedy/supernatural horror/satire Vampire’s Kiss is a tough film to categorize and all the more of an unheralded genre great as a result. In arguably his most over-the-top horror performance, Cage stars as a cocaine-fueled yuppie who believes he is turning into a vampire in a story that is part Bright Lights Big City, part Vampire In Brooklyn, and all razor-sharp satire of the apathetic ‘80s.

...this early antecedent of American Psycho turns a satirical laser on the worst excesses of the Reaganomics era.

As Cage’s character deteriorates, his depravity escalates and this early antecedent of American Psycho turns a satirical laser on the worst excesses of the Reaganomics era. Like Cage’s performance, the film is loud, uneven, and not for everyone, but it’s also essential viewing for fans of the actor and anyone interested in horror’s utility as a satirical storytelling device. An unequivocally unorthodox Nicolas Cage horror movie, Vampire’s Kiss remains an underrated cult classic.

8 Drive Angry (2011)

Another Nicolas Cage horror that blurs the lines between multiple genres, Drive Angry is as messy as it is entertaining. The 2011 action/horror/thriller borrows heavily from the grindhouse tradition, the story centers around Cage's character escaping from Hell in order to exact revenge on a cabal of satanic cultists. As this premise might suggest, Drive Angry is anything but restrained.

Starring Amber Heard, the movie embraces its schlocky origins, leaning heavily into its violent setup. While it fails to stand out as something truly ground-breaking (typified by its 47% score on Rotten Tomatoes), it is nevertheless a mindlessly entertaining popcorn thriller – and is certainly more watchable than other Nicolas Cage horrors.

7 Willy's Wonderland (2021)

Released in 2021, Willy’s Wonderland is an atypically low-energy outing that trades almost entirely on goodwill toward its star. The premise of Cage’s stoic antihero beating up possessed killer animatronics at the titular tourist attraction is enough to keep this slight Five Nights At Freddy’s copycat ticking over, but eventually, the lack of character development or stakes does grate on even the most forgiving horror fanatic.

However, despite its flaws, this horror-comedy still has moments of inspiration. Some impressive set pieces are augmented by a dark, Tales From the Crypt-style sense of humor that elevates the material. As a result, Willy's Wonderland is never boring, even if the character development is occasionally lacking.

6 Renfield (2023)

With an impressive cast, cherished source material, and Cage in full nouveau-shamanic mode, Renfield is arguably one of the more disappointing Nicolas Cage horror entries. An update to the tried and tested Dracula story, the movie centers on Nicholas Hoult's titular assistant, while Cage himself skulks in the background in modern-day New Orleans.

...Cage himself was widely praised for his turn as Count Dracula, and his performance certainly makes Renfield worth watching for any fan of the legendary actor's signature style.

The movie received mixed reviews for failing to fully maximize its comedy-horror premise, slipping occasionally into action spectacle rather than something more unsettling. However, Cage himself was widely praised for his turn as Count Dracula, and his performance certainly makes Renfield worth watching for any fan of the legendary actor's signature style.

5 Mom And Dad (2017)

From half of the Crank directorial team Neveldine/Taylor, Mom and Dad is a darkly comic action-horror with a great premise. A fast-spreading disease turns everyone on earth into unhinged maniacal murderers — provided they are parents. Cage has a blast as an infected dad attempting to hunt down his innocent kids, and the film mines a lot of dark laughs out of the inherently silly premise.

Surprisingly gory and unsparing at times, this is easily one of Cage’s finest forays into the genre. Stellar work from the always underrated Selma Blair as Cage’s partner in crime/titular co-parent helps elevate the film further, securing Mom And Dad's status as a successful Nicolas Cage horror movie.

4 Color Out Of Space (2019)

Lovecraftian and cosmic horror is infamously tricky to translate to film, with most Lovecraft adaptations failing to get across the dread of the source material. Luckily, 2019’s The Color Out Of Space is mostly a triumph – a slow-moving and unsettling retelling of the Lovecraft short story that gradually works up to a terrifying, mind-bending climax.

For the most part, this horror tale keeps things contained, with the eponymous color emerging on a family farm and gradually causing all manner of physical and psychological damage to Cage's farmer and his unassuming - and deeply unlucky - family. This atmospheric build-up does pay off, however, as once things get gruesome, this underrated horror movie does not let up until the final frames.

3 Arcadian (2024)

Arguably one of the most underrated Nicolas Cage horror movies, Arcadian is a masterclass in low-budget, high-concept filmmaking. Set in a post-apocalyptic America, the movie borrows heavily from genre hits like A Quiet Place, yet does more than enough to impress on its own .

Cage stars as a family patriarch determined to help his family survive in a post-pandemic nation. In addition to navigating complex relationship dynamics, he needs to battle terrifying monsters whose only weakness is an aversion to light. Cage is unusually restrained here, with the pyrotechnic aspects of his performance style taking a backseat to more subtle character growth. It's this approach that helps Arcadian succeed – highlighted by its impressive 79% Rotten Tomatoes score.