Have you ever watched an ’80s horror movie and thought to yourself, “Hey, I know that face?” You probably weren’t wrong. Plenty of actors got an early credit in an ’80s horror flick. However, with this list, we’re avoiding actors who were in one-off slashers before they got famous, though we do have another list specific to that. The same goes for actors who were in the Friday the 13th movies, the Halloween movies, and the A Nightmare on Elm Street movies. After all, while the ’80s were the heyday of the slasher, the slasher wasn’t the only type of horror flick to be released throughout that 10-year golden age.
That said, there are some exceptions. For one, the movie actually had to be released in the ’80s. That means no Grizzly II: Revenge and its trio of famous faces in Laura Dern, George Clooney, and Charlie Sheen. Secondly, a movie featuring an actor who only got bigger but is mostly known for their work in that particular horror film wasn’t considered. Bruce Campbell has mostly been associated with the Evil Dead franchise, so his debut in The Evil Dead (1981) didn’t seem right here. Lastly, they had to have more than a bit part in the horror movie. Apologies, John Goodman in C.H.U.D.
1) Sam Neill in Omen III: The Final Conflict & Possession
For the most part, Sam Neill is known for his role as Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise. But he’s also been an asset in two John Carpenter films, put in a pair of hilarious cameo performances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and had roles in the classic films The Hunt for Red October and The Piano, and will soon join the Monsterverse in Godzilla x Kong: Supernova. In other words, he can do it all.
For instance, he can play a grown-up version of The Omen‘s Damien Thorn in the ambitious but mostly unexciting Omen III: The Final Conflict. It was his Hollywood breakthrough after about half a decade in Australian and New Zealand films, and even if the movie wasn’t the greatest it was still a massive role for him to take on in his first American project. He then followed up The Final Conflict with another ambitious (and much better) horror film in Possession. Both films were released in 1981, and afterwards he went back to Australian cinema for another decade (the highpoint of which was the thriller Dead Calm, co-starring Nicole Kidman and Billy Zane) before returning to U.S. cinema with Red October.
2) Demi Moore in Parasite
Before she was getting awards season clout (for horror movie The Substance, no less), even before she was a member of the Brat Pack, Demi Moore was making her first major film appearance in Parasite from Charles Band, known primarily for his Puppet Master franchise. The plot takes place in the future, where America is overseen by an organization known as the Merchants. This organization creates a parasite to keep the population under control, which attaches itself to its creator, Dr. Paul Dean, who enlists the help of Moore’s Patricia Welles to help him eliminate it.
Suffice to say, Moore has been in better movies. The only ones that are worse are her next major film, Blame It on Rio, and 1996’s Striptease. The same year Parasite was released (1982), Moore played a regular role on General Hospital, but it was really 1985’s St. Elmo’s Fire that allowed her to break out. The following year she starred in her other Brat Pack movie, About Last Night…, before returning to horror in 1988 with The Seventh Sign. Her ’90s were even better than her ’80s, however, with the co-lead role in 1990’s phenomenal Ghost and 1992’s A Few Good Men. Moore’s career is healthier than ever at his point, with her next role being in Boots Riley’s long-awaited follow-up to Sorry to Bother You, titled I Love Boosters.
3) Meg Ryan in Amityville 3-D
The Amityville franchise has a ton of movies under its belt, but it really ran out of steam quickly. And, while it’s intermittently fun, Amityville 3-D (AKA Amityville III: The Demon) was the first glowing sign of this. But it does feature a pretty impressive cast. Woody Allen favorite Tony Roberts and Academy Award nominee Tess Harper play the leads while other roles are filled out by character actor Robert Joy (Land of the Dead), Candy Clark (American Graffiti and The Blob), and Lori Loughlin of 90210, Full House, and the college admissions scandal fame.
There’s also Meg Ryan, playing Lisa, the best friend of Loughlin’s Susan Baxter. This was only Ryan’s second film. Prior to this she mostly stuck to television, most notably as a main cast member on As the World Turns. Ryan didn’t star in a film for another three years, but it was a big one. Specifically, Top Gun.
4) Lea Thompson in Jaws 3-D
Like the previous two films mentioned, Parasite and Amityville 3, Jaws 3-D was released in, well, 3-D. And, like those other two films, it’s pretty much entirely skippable.It consists of two things: laughable special effects and a trio of notable ’80s stars. The late Louis Gossett Jr. was already well-known thanks to his roles in A Raisin in the Sun and the previous year’s An Officer and a Gentleman while Dennis Quaid was already a star courtesy of his part in Breaking Away.
Lea Thompson, however, was brand new. This was her first appearance on either film or television. She blew up fairly quickly after that, starring in All the Right Moves the same year (1983) before starring in the following year’s Red Dawn and 1985’s Back to the Future.
5) Mariska Hargitay in Ghoulies
Ghoulies is a movie that is mostly remembered for its VHS cover, which drew many an eye while it was propped up in the horror section of Blockbuster. And fair enough, as the sight of the little green monster popping out of a toilet with a smile on its face is pretty fantastic imagery. It’s also not a scene in the film (though they did end up putting it in Ghoulies II).
But, while the toilet scene isn’t in the film, Law & Order: Special Victim Unit‘s Mariska Hargitay is, in her first ever role. She doesn’t make it to the end of the film, though, as a ghoulie kills her off-screen. It’s her one death in a movie to this day. Though, outside brief roles in Leaving Las Vegas and Lake Placid, she’s mostly stayed on the small screen.
6) David Caruso in Without Warning
1980’s Without Warning tells the tale of an alien that comes to Earth and hunts down humans, mostly with thrown toothed jellyfish that suck the life out of their victims. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s basically Predator (minus the jellyfish). And its relation to the 1987 classic is no coincidence, as Without Warning was an influence on that Yautja movie. In fact, the late Kevin Peter Hall played the antagonist in both films.
And, while Without Warning is far from a great film, it does have a host of familiar faces. For one, its led by Jack Palance and Martin Landau, both of whom were established presences back in 1980. CSI: Miami‘s David Caruso wasn’t, though, and his role as Tom, one of the alien’s first victims, was one of his first on-screen performances, after only an uncredited role on 1970s soap opera Ryan’s Hope.
7) Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Troll
If Troll rings a bell, it’s probably because Troll 2 has become such a so-bad-it’s-good classic. Troll isn’t good in any way shape or form. The film follows father of two Harry Potter Sr. as he moves his family into an apartment complex. Within this apartment complex there’s a troll with a magic ring, who begins taking out the building’s residents in increasingly wacky ways.
Even though Troll is hardly worth watching, it does have some pop-cultural importance. On one hand, come on, the protagonist’s name is Harry Potter. Two, one of the apartment complex residents is played by Thunderbolts*, Seinfeld, and Veep‘s Julie Louis-Dreyfus. Both she and her husband, Brad Hall, starred in this movie shortly after leaving Saturday Night Live.
The post 7 Actors Who Were in ’80s Horror Movies Before They Were Famous appeared first on ComicBook.com.
