Nicolas Cage horror films are magnificent experiences. Cage is one of the most distinctive and talented actors working in the craft today and loves working in scary movies. Why? Because fright films are fantastic and he knows it. In fact, at the 2018 Sitges Film Festival, Cage said, “Horror has a different set of physics to it. It’s dream logic. And within that dream logic, you can experiment, you can explore. It’s like a playing ground. As a filmmaker or an actor, you can realize the most abstract, surrealist dreams within this genre and not be judged for it but be respected for it…This genre enables artists to be surrealists, and that fosters creative thinking and stimulates new talent.” Cage isn’t slowing down with horror films, as his upcoming film, Longlegs, with Maika Monroe, which is directed by Oz Perkins, new teaser trailer suggests. Oo, creepy! For his 60th birthday, read on to experience the horror movies that have made him a scream king. Read more: Nic Cage Calls Oz Perkins’ Longlegs A “Possessed Geppetto” Movie.
Vampire’s Kiss (1988)
In his first role in a horror film, as Peter Loew, a literary agent from New York who becomes the victim of a glamorous vampire, or does he? In the movie, directed by Robert Bierman and also starring María Conchita Alonso, Jennifer Beals, and Elizabeth Ashley, the question of whether or not Loew is really becoming a vampire or if he is merely losing touch with reality is left up to the viewer. The cult classic film was written by Joseph Minion, who also wrote After Hours for Martin Scorsese. Cage’s unhinged performance made an undeniable impression on the audience as he committed fully to the role, trying to push the physical limits of his body, like his eyes, to bring all that he could to the role.
8MM (1999)
8MM is the story of a private detective, Tom Welles, hired by a wealthy widow to find out if what looks like a “snuff film” that she found in her late husband’s safe is real. The film, written by Andrew Kevin Walker (Seven) and directed by Joel Schumacher, stars an incredible cast, including Cage, Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini, Peter Stormare, and Anthony Heald. The film was not well received because its violence is quite realistic and has a downbeat and pitiless outlook. But the idea of someone exploring whether or not snuff films exist is intriguing, and Cage commits to the role and the film completely.
The Wicker Man (2006)
This remake of the classic folk horror film starring Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee was co-written and directed by playwright Neil LaBute. Cage starred as police officer Edward Malus on a mission to find the daughter of his former fiancee on an island in the Pacific Northwest. The film reimagines the original and became a meme before memes were as common as they are now. The unforgettable “Not the Bees” meme is still being used to this day. You can never say that Nicolas Cage did not go above and beyond for this film. It also stars Ellen Burstyn, Kate Beahan, Frances Conroy, Molly Parker, and Leelee Sobieski.
Mom and Dad (2017)
Jumping ahead in time, Mom and Dad is a black horror comedy that takes the lesser-traveled road of killer parents. Usually, the kids go haywire in most horror films, like The Children, Who Can Kill a Child, and Children of the Corn. It is a strange static, transmitted through radios and TVs, that sets the parents off and makes them become killers. But it doesn’t just stop with the parents of kids who are currently young; if you are an adult with parents who are still alive, they will try to kill you, too, and gruesome hilarity will ensue. The film stars Cage, Selma Blair, Anne Winters, Zackary Arthur, Robert T. Cunningham, and Lance Henriksen.
Mandy (2018)
Mandy is a beloved cult classic directed by Panos Cosmatos and co-written by Cosmatos and Aaron Stewart-Ahn. Set during the 1980s, the story is about Red Miller, deeply in love with Mandy Bloom, an artist and author. They live in peace in the Shadow Mountains until one day, the leader of Children of the New Dawn cult, Jeremiah Sand, sees Mandy, becomes infatuated with her, and will stop at nothing to make her his. After Mandy mocks and refuses Sand, he murders her and sets Red on a course of vengeance against the cult and the supernatural bikers who kidnapped the couple. The psychedelic horror film and romance also stars Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache, Ned Dennehy, Olwen Fouéré, Richard Brake, and Bill Duke. Cage’s heartrending portrayal of Red’s grief is undoubtedly a high watermark in his career. Read more: Mandy Director Panos Cosmatos Has A New Film In The Works With A24.
Color Out of Space (2019)
Color Out of Space is an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story The Colour Out of Space, directed and co-written by Richard Stanley. The tragic tale of the Gardener family who moves to the family’s farm in the country as their mother recovers from a mastectomy. A strange meteorite crash lands near the farm’s well and begins to poison the water table of the area and the Gardener family. The film stars Cage, Joely Richardson, Elliot Knight, Madeleine Arthur, Q’orianka Kilcher, and Tommy Chong. It has a cosmic terror and underlying humor that many Lovecraft adaptations do not. Cage works well with the cast as a man trapped by an otherworldly force as his family and farm animals start mutating, bringing pathos and rage to the film.
Willy’s Wonderland (2021)
Willy’s Wonderland tells the story of The Janitor, played by Nicolas Cage, whose car breaks down and is talked into working at the closed-down family entertainment center by the owner and then locked into the empty business. In the building, animatronic characters are possessed by the souls of a cannibalistic group of serial killers and come back to life when drifters are locked into the building by the nearby locals as human sacrifices. The Janitor seems to be the only one with the power to resist the killer animatronic animals and fights to survive. Directed by Kevin Lewis, the film stars Cage, Emily Tosta, Ric Reitz, David Sheftell, and Beth Grant.
Pay the Ghost (2015)
Pay the Ghost is a supernatural horror film in which a ghost abducts children and keeps them in an alternative world. Cage plays the father of one of those lost children, Professor Mike Lawford. After going to a Halloween carnival, Lawford’s son Charlie disappears while Lawford is holding his hand. After investigating the disappearance, the desperate father finds that he only has a little time to save Charlie from the Celtic ghost. The film was directed by Uli Edell (Last Exit to Brooklyn, Body of Evidence) and stars Cage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Veronica Ferres, and Jack Fulton.
Renfield (2023)
The horror comedy Renfield has Nicolas Cage’s second turn as a vampire. This time, he plays the king vampire Dracula in the story of his familiar Renfield, a meek servant who finally realizes what he has been doing for centuries and wants a better life for himself. Cage took the fantastic performances of Christopher Lee, Gary Oldman, Bela Lugsoi, Frank Langella, and his father, August, as his templates and added his own distinctive Cage-ness to the role. This film will likely be reassessed in the future because it is fun and scary, and both Cage’s performance and Nicolas Hoult’s performance as Renfield were fantastic. Chris McKay ably directed the film, which also stars Hoult, Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Camille Chen. Read more: Renfield Director Chris McKay On Creating A Deliciously Over The Top Dracula Movie.
Sympathy for the Devil (2023)
David Chamberlain (Joel Kinnaman), who is about to become a father, is suddenly kidnapped by a mysterious man known only as The Passenger (Nicolas Cage). David is forced to drive the Passenger to an unknown destination in a tense duel of words between the two men. The Passenger murders people when David tries to ask them for help, and slowly, the story of why David is being kidnapped emerges as the mayhem continues. The performances of Cage and Kinnaman play wonderfully against each other, and Cage gives it all as usual. Read more: Sympathy for the Devil Trailer: A Game Of Cat And Mouse With Nic Cage.
