All 8 Elijah Wood horror movies, ranked

Elijah W.D May not be exactly ubiquitous with the horror genre, however He has managed to put in a shockingly high number of appearances in scary movies over the years. Better known for his time at Peter Jackson The Lord of the Rings Trilogy like Frodo Baggins and his seasons heading the surreal supernatural sitcom WilfredElijah Wood isn’t exactly synonymous with horror movies. Upon closer inspection, however, Wood’s name appears in the credits of a surprising number of horror projects of vastly varying quality.

Both during Elijah Wood’s career afterLord of the Rings And his younger years as a child actor hot off of movies like flipper, The beloved American actor found himself in various cruel or cruel situations. Most of the films are rarely known, With even the most famous among them being dark titles only the more dedicated fans of horror will have ever kept searching. However, that’s not to say any of them are worth watching, with the best of Wood’s horror prowess showcasing his skills as an actor in general.

8

The good son

The movie was released in 1993

While Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McCallister of the Home alone Kino has rightly been described as sadistic by some, it wouldn’t be until The good son That Culkin seriously got to play a proper pint-sized horror movie villain. Elijah Wood stars opposite Culkin in the film as Mark Evans, a 12-year-old boy who goes to stay with his cousins ​​after the death of his mother, including Culkin’s death-obsessed Henry.

It’s not long before Henry goes off the rails with his murderous behavior as Mark begins to grow closer to his own mother than he ever was. Funny enough, Culkin is more believable than a blossoming serial killer in Home alone, Failing to sell the necessary screen presence of Henry In The good son.

Although there is some tension to be had, particularly the fantastic setpieces set on a cliff’s edge during the climax, the film’s impossible-to-ignore cuteness gets in the way of any genuine psychological horror. Elijah Wood does his best to direct this film, but for so many reasons, it’s easily the weakest of his horror forays.

7

Open Windows

The movie was released in 2014

With the advent of the digital age, a new subgenre of found-footage horror was born, telling scary stories diegetic through screen recordings of video calls and web browsing in films like Unfriended And host. Elijah Wood threw his own hat into that particular ring open windows, A self-professed Cyber ​​thriller about a seemingly normal fan forced to stalk and terrorize his favorite actress after being blackmailed by a mysterious hacker. An ambitious premise, but one that director Nacho Vigalondo fails to do justice to.

Again, it’s hard to blame Elijah Wood for the failure of Open WindowsWhich unleashes a steady stream of exposition that overshadows any tension it might build with information overload. The disgustingly confusing twist about Wood’s character also comes out of left field, further diluting whatever potential for psychological terror the film has. Still, at least the film has some interesting ideas and clever uses of technology to piece together a story, Which is more than can be said for The good son.

6

Cooties

The movie was released in 2014

Elijah Wood’s other critical bomb in the horror space of 2014, the failure of Cooties It’s hard to justify how he had nothing to do with Wood himself considering he also featured as a producer on the film. Here, Wood stars as a substitute teacher at an elementary school in a town called Fort Chicken (really) in Illinois. When a deadly zombie virus sweeps through the school students thanks to a batch of contaminated chicken nuggetsIt is up to the teachers to join in hopes of survival.

The simple logline of Cooties Offers a lot to the imagination, with hordes of feral, zombified children being a stunningly unique idea for a horror movie. unfortunately, Cooties has little else to offer other than that idea, with rote performances, low-key humor, and satisfying enough carnage that nonetheless fails to live up to better zombie movies. It’s a shame there isn’t much more Cooties Apart from its creative premise, it cannot be performed as a truly entertaining horror comedy.

5

Play child in the night

The movie was released in 1990

A direct-to-TV horror film starring Elijah Wood at the tender age of 9, Child in the night is by far the actor’s most obscure horror movie appearance. Here, Wood is positioned as a young boy who witnesses the brutal murder of his father, compartmentalizing the trauma by turning into a fantasy starring Captain Hook of Peter Pan, matching the killer’s improvised weapon. It’s all child psychologist Dr. Hollis, played by Jobeth Williams, Can do to open the child’s mind in order to solve the case.

More of a psychological thriller than an outright horror movie, Child in the night Still has enough scares and a slow boiling build-up of dread to qualify for the title as far as Elijah Wood’s filmography is concerned. The plot contains some early and noteworthy criticisms of the financial greed that infiltrated the previous decade, But the story of Child in the night Doesn’t do enough to differentiate itself meaningfully from a standard murder mystery. Wood is quite good even at such a young age, though, which makes the film at least a noteworthy time capsule of his acting skills to come.

4

Maniac

The movie was released in 2012

It’s rare that Elijah Wood is actually the bad guy in anything, let alone among his modest retinue of horror films. Fortunately, 2012s Maniac Allows Wood to stand on the wrong side of the blood and guts for once, playing a disturbed slasher villain with a penchant for stealing the scalps of his victims and attaching them to mannequins. When the killer is truly in love with a beautiful photographer, it’s a maddening struggle to contain his dark urge for his newfound romance.

A predictable but disturbing film, Maniac is able to bring to life some clever gore, stunning sound design and commendable cinematography, Enough to more than warrant a watch in good faith. Elijah Wood is excellent as the tortured serial killer, making it a shame he wasn’t able to revisit more despicable characters more often. Even if Maniac A bit too arty at times and a bit full of himself, his ego is at least an interesting place to be, decorated by haunting mannequins and the remains of countless victims.

3

The faculty

The movie was released in 1998

Bridging the gap between Elijah Wood’s younger years and his Lord of the Rings era, The faculty is a quietly perfect science fiction horror movie evocative of the great 50s B-movies. The film takes place in a high school in rural Ohio besieged by alien invaders, Able to parasitize and control human bodies to carry out their evil work before evolving into terrifying cephalopod-like forms. Elijah Wood joins the cast as Casey, the curious photographer for the school newspaper who first discovers the strange alien life forms.

Like much of Wood’s horror filmography, The faculty Is perhaps not the most original story in the world, running far with the clear shades of Invasion of the body snatchers. But as a knowingly low-brow science fiction romp through a hormonal high school taken over by creepy aliens, It more than satisfies, hitting all the right notes of comedy, horror and romantic drama that one would expect from such a setting. With creative alien designs, a steady driving soundtrack and a breezy pace to the final edit, The faculty is an enjoyable, if not brilliant, horror escapade.

2

come to dad

The movie was released in 2019

As the years pass, Elijah Wood seems to be more and more comfortable in the horror space, eventually crafting hilarious black comedies like Come to the father. As the title may mean, HHis film stars Elijah Wood as a sheltered musician who absconds from his wealthy lifestyle in order to meet up with his estranged father in a remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest. Before long, a series of increasingly strange and dangerous encounters with strange people gradually reveal the truth to Wood’s Norval about his father’s absence in his life.

It is hard to imagine that anyone could have come up with a story as wild and unexpected as that Come to the fatherThe twists and turns of which make for an unforgettable viewing experience. The gore is also quite memorable, with standout moments like the barbecue fork scene or Norval’s final kill of the movie resonating with bloody disgusting creativity. Wood also gives one of his best horror performances yet, portraying a rather unique kind of character that doesn’t get enough screen time in splatter films of come to daddyIt’s similar.

1

The toxic revenge

The movie is released in 2023

While technically a superhero film, just like the first one The toxic revengeElijah Wood’s 2023 remake doesn’t shy away from the series’ inherently horror themes. Just like the original, the remake revolves around a stereotypical villain who falls into a vat of toxic waste, An accident that would turn him into a powerful superhero in any other comic book-themed story, only to turn him into a hideous monster instead.

Peter Dinklage knocks it out of the park with one of his best roles ever as Winston Goose, aka the Toxic Avenger himself. 2023s The toxic revenge Knock it out of the park with special effects, from the ghoulishly over-the-top kills to the gruesome appearance of the Toxic Avenger himself.

Elijah Wood is also unrecognizable in heavy prosthetics and makeup as the hilarious Fritz Garbinger, leaving no scrap of the set unchived in his show-stealing scenes. With the highest Rotten Tomatoes score of any Toxic Avenger movie, the 2023 reboot of the knowingly ridiculous franchise is by far Elijah W.Ds strongest appearance in a scary movie.