Toni Collette is an incredibly popular actress and deserves every moment of attention, as she has quite the varied career. She stunned TV fans when she played the title character in The United States Of Tara, she made audiences tear up in Miss You Already, and she has been in some lighter fare such as In Her Shoes and Little Miss Sunshine.
But Collette has been branching out into other genres in recent years, playing a big role in 2019’s Knives Out and starring in two upcoming creepy TV shows: The Staircase and Pieces Of Her. After watching Toni Collette star in several horror movies, it’s definitely possible to celebrate her achievements in this genre. No matter what the actress does next, Collette should be praised for her roles in scary films.
It’s interesting to hear that Toni Collette isn’t a big fan of horror movies considering the fact that she has starred in quite a few of them. In an interview with The Guardian, the actress said, “I don’t like horror films” and added, “I’m just too petrified to watch horror films! I look for challenging work, and this was so complicated, layered, dense and honest. And unusual. It felt really original, even on the page. That’s what I hope for in life. And it rarely comes along.”
When Toni Collette starred in Hereditary, she gave an incredible performance as main character Annie. Hereditary’s trailer didn’t give anything away and the movie is a perfect example of how to achieve a surprising plot twist (or perhaps two, if fans count the shocking moment involving Charlie). It definitely feels appropriate to call Toni Collette a celebrated horror movie star after watching her discover her family’s connection to a demon named King Paimon. While this film’s original premise and script would have wowed audiences no matter what, it’s safe to say that Collette’s performance brought it to a new level. Collette helps the movie seem like a twisted family drama layered with a creepy and horrifying story about demons.
Based on Toni Collette’s past acting credits, fans might not have expected the actress to star in a campy but fun holiday horror movie, but she delivered another amazing performance as Sarah Engler in Krampus. Sarah’s family is having a pretty awful holiday. While young Max (Emjay Anthony) has a letter that he wants to give to Santa Claus, everyone laughs at him, and the demon Krampus starts attacking the family because they don’t believe in Christmas.
While sometimes a movie about a lesson can be cheesy, Krampus works since it’s about an old myth about a demon that people have heard about for decades. Collette once again shines in this movie, as watching her as a parent who is dealing with her own problems while trying to take care of her family is heartbreaking and interesting. Collette makes any movie that she is in that much better.
Toni Collette has two other great horror movies on her resume: Fright Night (the 2011 remake of the ’80s film) and I’m Thinking Of Ending Things. In Fright Night, Collette played Jane, a mother who becomes interested in her new neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell). Her son Charley (Anton Yelchin) thinks that something is up, and believes that Jerry is a vampire. Jane is a calm presence for Charley and while he hides a lot from her, it’s clear that they share a nice bond.
Netflix is a great place for thriller films and that’s where people can find the movie adaptation of the book I’m Thinking Of Ending Things by Iain Reid. Written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, the movie focuses on Jessie Buckley’s character as she and her boyfriend Jake (Jesse Plemons) go to meet his parents, played by Toni Collette and David Thewlis. The movie is a trippy play on reality, like the novel, and it’s a lot of fun seeing Collette in this type of story. The coolest and most compelling part of the movie is that Jake’s mom and dad are different ages throughout, and the “Young Woman” character (played by Buckley) sees them as younger. It’s impossible to tell what is real and what isn’t here, and Collette leans into the horror.
While Neve Campbell and Jamie Lee Curtis are celebrated horror movie stars thanks to their roles as final girls Sidney and Laurie, Toni Collette definitely deserves to be put in this category as well thanks to her amazing performances. It will be cool seeing what Collette does next and how she continues to play unique and different roles in both film and TV.
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