The Scariest Things

We’re Guessing Here! Every year brings great expectations. As we roll into the peak of festival season, we are given a glimpse at what movies are coming to try and scare you. In January, the announced movies are usually known commodities. Your sequels. Your reboots. A couple months in now, and we have a better sense of what offerings are on the table. In Episode 196, The Scariest Things talks about our most anticipated horror films of 2025. As you might expect, this is much more of an art than science, as rarely does the most anticipated movie at the beginning of the year-end up as the favorite movie by the end of the year. For Liz, she hit the bullseye with Oddity last year. The buzz going into SXSW was strong, and the movie delivered. Similarly, two years ago, Talk To Me was getting lots of notice from Sundance, the earliest of the big festivals. The hype proved accurate. Some films spend a year in Limbo but build up a lot of good press, like Late Night With the Devil. However, nobody saw When Evil Lurks coming. And sometimes, we have great hopes for some of the big sequels and reboots, like Halloween Kills or Exorcist Believer, only to be disappointed at what could have been. And yet, sometimes, the big studios deliver offerings like The First Omen. Like baseball’s opening day, the season begins full of optimism. The trend lines usually show up by June when the big festivals have run their course. 2024, even in the rearview mirror, was a bit of a mixed bag. The Scariest Things was divided about the outcome. Some thought, “Meh,” and some of us thought the year had great depth. What will 2025 bring? Listen in, and then one year later, we’ll see who was right and wrong! At this point, we’re still playing darts. Check out our predictions in Episode 196 here: 28 Years Later (2025) Clown in a Cornfield (2025) First Word On Horror – TV (2025) I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) Opus (2025) Sinners (2025) The Ritual (2025) Wildwood (2025) Good Boy (2025) The Monkey (2025) Death of a Unicorn (2025) Ash (2025) The Bride (2025)

It's Alive. It's ALIVE! IT's ALIIIIIVE! At long last, The Scariest Things goes to the bedrock of horror movies. Frankenstein. So important, and yet, much like the Monster himself, much-maligned. Though new versions of the Mad Scientist messing with life and death have been produced, the central idea has been passed by other, more immediately terrifying themes. How does the story of Frankenstein stay relevant? Listen to the Scariest Things Episode 146 and find out!

Trick or treat! Smell my feet! Give me movies to repeat! It's that time of year, to binge scary films. So, it's time for the Scariest Things to recommend some highly thematic Halloweeny films for you to watch while you eat your (or your kid's) excess candy.

Imagine that one day, you're just standing around, minding your own business and then ZOOP! You've been captured! Whisked away to a strange dungeon, and then tortured, and experimented on and... well it's not pretty, and for many, this a fate worse than death. The Scariest Things Crew explores this trope and has managed to drum up some real sleepers that might be new to you!

Inexplicable, unfathomable, abominable, and utterly incomprehensible: Cosmic Horror is designed to blow your mind. The concepts are vast and often come with a metric ton of tentacles. Behold and beware, it's Episode 105! The Stars are Right and your fates have been sealed. You MUST listen to this podcast!

We all know that horror movies are not the work of a single individual. That the production is a team effort. In many cases, these collaborative partnerships become long-lasting and reflect upon the skills and efforts of two (or a few) closely collaborating individuals that become forever linked together, and The Scariest Things takes a look at some of our favorites.

Ah, summertime! School is out, and bored kids (and adults) manage to find ways to get themselves hunted in the woods. Summer horror movies reflect the frisky and fun side of the genre. Time to break out those campfire tales and conspiracy theories. And, spend far too much idle time at a lonely cabin in the woods. Good thing there's cell phone coverage out here right? No? Well, good luck!

We're usually a fairly PG-13 site. This will be an exception. We're bringing the blood! Be warned if you click on this post, as we explore the gore in horror. This page will be very NSFW and pretty disturbing. But that's what you like about horror, right?

David Dastmalchian is one of Hollywood's good guys, and he is on the cusp of something very big, playing Polka Dot Man in the deliriously entertaining (with gore worthy of a horror movie) DC Comics movie The Suicide Squad. If you want to get to know our friend a little better, take a listen to our Episode 101, Drug-Induced Horror, where David shares some wonderfully personal tales of recovery and redemption. Congratulations David, on the big hit film!

It's hard to believe, but we made it! The Scariest Things turned 100 episodes old, and we had some of our Patreon pals and horror media associates to celebrate with us by picking through our Horror Movie Championship Tournament, where we picked the best Horror Movie of all Time!

We had so much fun recording this episode, it's a two parter! Now we get to the real hard-to-stomach material. The Bridge Too Far movies. How did our sissy chicken friends fare? Listen and find out!

The scaredy cat is back! And this time in comes in the form of our friends (and patron) Dan Bradbury and Mike Halstead. These two gentlemen are what you would call horror movie averse. So, we decided to challenge them to watch nine horror movies, and to see if they could handle it! Heh... heh... heh...

In the sophisticated current age of genre fare, black characters are getting meatier and more significant roles in horror feature films. It hasn't always been that way though. In Episode 90, The Scariest Things discusses the pioneers of black horror cinema, as well as some of the new faces looking to move the genre forward.

What’s that smell? It’s time to sift through the Worst Horror Movies of 2025! Here come the stinkers! It’s time to discuss the Worst Horror movies of 2025. Of course, just like our favorites, our disappointments are highly subjective. You may be surprised to discover that some of the movies we didn’t enjoy have received plaudits from other critics. We have some fun internal disagreements, for sure. We know you love hearing us throw shade on movies. Enjoy the hot takes! This year, we have big hits, well-established franchises, underdeveloped indie films, and even a book. (From Liz, of course.) We watched a record number of films this year, with Eric seeing over 100 and Heather more than 150. So, we have a good sample size to pick from. Also, remember that this subjective list may include movies we had high hopes for and were disappointed to see fall well short of expectations. And then, of course, there are the movies that you watch because of boredom on a Saturday night, and rent a free campy movie, and it really stinks. I regret to say that it happened to me often this year. Hey, it was free! I have a full roster of the movies I saw in 2025 on my favorites list. By the way, if you haven’t listened to our best of 2025 episode, you can listen to it HERE. And remember, most of us thought it was a very good year for horror, so these are the outliers. Some of our opinionated themes this year: Mike: Big directors who should know better, and gave us unlikable characters.Liz: Turned off more movies than she can count this year. Got burned at the festivals.Eric: After watching a record number of horror movies in a year… plot still matters. Here’s our Podcast for the Worst Horror Movies of 2025: Episode 208 If you watch any of these films, you’ve been warned! If you disagree with us, by all means, let us know. Trolls are welcome! (Ahem) Spoiler Alert: Here are our selections Bonus: Here are some other terrible titles that you should avoid if you are browsing through your free Tubi, Netflix, or Amazon choices: (Eric’s list) Version 1.0.0 If you feel like you need to watch a Mickey Mouse Horror, watch Mouseboat Massacre instead. It’s not great, but better than the crap that is Mickey’s Mousetrap. For the better Popeye horror, watch Popeye the Slayer Man instead, which makes a whole lot more sense… even if the Popeye in Popeye’s revenge looks better. A Breed Apart is some of the worst digital animation you will see; it looks like CGI from the 90s. It might qualify as so bad it’s good, but I dunno. MAR.IA isn’t nearly as sexy as the cover suggests. Stay away!

If it’s January, you know it’s time for our Top 10 Horror Movies of 2025. You might think there is a group consensus, in a year that had so many good horror movies… but you’d be wrong! The best part of having a great sampler platter of movies to pick from is that there is something for everybody. This year, the box office and the awards programs agree, 2025 had a lot to offer. This was a year full of original story ideas, and, for a change, they were represented in both studio films and indies. Plus, the sequels and reboots this year proved to be both profitable and refreshing (for the most part). What you all may enjoy the most are the movies that split the critics. There are several movies on our respective lists that are very divisive, and you know what? That’s the best part of these episodes. Here’s the best part: you get to hear us argue the merits and flaws of these films, and you can decide for yourself whether it’s worth watching. If you are visiting our site for the first time, we have three posts that also describe our selections: Eric’s List, Mike’s List, and Robert’s List. Eric’s list has a full ranking of ALL 100+ films that he saw. But, that’s not the most movies digested in 2025, as Heather has seen over 120! That’s a good sample size, folks! We, who love horror movies, watched a lot of them last year. The best news is that, given that these movies hauled in the cash train, horror movies are going to get more attention. Here is the Podcast: Listen and behold!

Astra Award-winning actor, Indy! He won for his performance in Good Boy (2025) Who’s a good boy? Why, you are, Indy! In a monumental achievement, Indy the dog’s performance in Good Boy earned him the Astra Award for Best Performance in a Horror or Thriller, beating out his esteemed human competition. In a year that has started off with so much social friction, it is amazing news like this that gives us hope. This win is for the underdog. How did Indy do it? Listen to my interview with director Ben Leonberg about how they pulled off this miraculous feat. The Astra Awards are presented by the Hollywood Creative Alliance, a collective group of movie industry professionals, and this was their ninth annual awards ceremony. The Astra Awards expand the genres eligible for awards. Like the Golden Globes, they award separate categories for dramas and comedies/musicals. In a laudable move, they also have awards for best horror or thriller. So, this is not a genre awards festival; they have set these awards to align with the end of the year and the lead-up to the Oscars. Indy’s competition this year was strong: Alfie Williams for 28 Years Later Alison Brie for Together Ethan Hawke for The Black Phone 2 Sally Hawkins for Bring Her Back Sophie Thatcher for Companion Indy the Dog for Good Boy Curiously, no acting nominations for Sinners or Weapons. I’m actually pleased that these other performances got rewarded. No worries. There will almost certainly be Oscar noms for Amy Madigan and Michael B. Jordan. This may be a first: a non-human acting award over human competition. I think the Astra Awards just made some waves. For those of you who fall in love with Indy and want a dog like him, he is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. It’s an uncommon breed, but I’d expect this movie to make the breed a lot more popular! The AKC describes this breed as “lovey dovey”, pretty good with other dogs, and very good with children. Moreover, they are super cute. How Did They Pull This Off? First and foremost, it helps that Indy is director Ben Leonberg’s pet. Secondly, it took a very long time, over three years from start to release. Hundreds of hours of footage had to be shot to capture the perfect reaction for Indy, and the shooting schedule was limited to three-hour sessions with him to avoid wearing him out. For anyone worried about harming the dog, worry not! All the acting was done with positive reinforcement and treats, and a stunt dog was used for any truly perilous scenes. Harm to dogs is a trigger for many viewers, particularly in horror movies. People who willingly put good money to see teenagers get slaughtered by the dozen will nope out with violence to a dog. So, many people have asked me, “Does Indy make it?” I can’t say that without spoiling the movie, since it’s all about him. However, if it means the difference between seeing the movie and not, I suggest you go to the site Does the Dog Die trigger warning database to get the spoilers. Good Boy is going to go down as the little Indie Horror film that could for 2025. On a reported budget of only $70,000, the movie to date, with a limited release, has a worldwide gross of over $8,700,000… plus whatever they were able to receive as their Shudder contract. That’s over a 100:1 ratio of profitability! Congratulations to Indy and Ben for their wonderful movie. This will be a cult film favorite. It lands at #4 on my Horror Movies for 2025, and I know I am not alone in my admiration for this movie. The Interview: For deeper insight into the movie’s production and how Ben got such a wonderful performance out of Indy, here is my interview with Leonberg at the Overlook Film Festival in April 2025. I’ve been doing industry interviews for going on nine years, and this is one of my absolute favorite discussions. Check it out! Ben Leonberg of Good Boy, directing his dog, the award-winning Indy. On set with the dog height camera rig: Indy and Ben Leonberg from Good Boy.

Ready or Not (2019) is one of our favorite Feel-Good Horror Movies Consider Feel Good Horror as a palate cleanser for those of you looking for a bit of optimism and good vibes in your horror movies. For those of you who may have followed up on our recommendations from Episode 205: Mean Horror, we’re making it up to you now. Triumph over evil! Protagonists for the win! Fist pumps all around. It’s time for some emotional healing through horror with Episode 206: Feel Good Horror. Just because the primary motivation of a horror film is often to scare you, that doesn’t mean you can’t be smiling the entire time. Horror films elevate your emotions, and often that means your happiness as well as your fear. Those movies that do both are usually big winners. When we consider feel-good horror, we ask ourselves the following questions: Is there a happy ending? Do you have a real rooting interest in the protagonists? Are there good nostalgia vibes? Was evil vanquished satisfyingly? Is there a fist-pumping “OH YEAH!” moment? Is the movie fun? Are we laughing throughout? Do the antagonists/monsters get what they deserve? Does the movie make you laugh (for the right reasons)? Did I immediately want more of the movie? Is this a movie that I would go back to as “comfort food” Final girls fit this model. Horror comedies often fit this category. Horror romances are often feel-good films. But, as always, the emotional takeaways from a movie are specifically subjective. Heather has different kinds of horror: films that are comforting and familiar, and films that are light, colorful, and breezy. These are the horror movies that put you into a happy place, however you get there. Podcast Episode 206: Feel-Good Horror You can listen to us discuss our selections using the link below. Don’t forget to find us on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, or wherever you like to stream your podcasts! Key Feel-Good Horror Films include: Totally Killer (2023) Ready or Not (2019) The Hitcher (1986) Day of the Dead (1985) Love and Monsters (2020) Godzilla Minus One (2023) Happy Death Day (2017) Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) Deathgasm (2015) Extra Ordinary (2019) The Final Girls (2015) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors Aliens (1987) Attack the Block (2011) Abigail (2022) Zombieland (2009) Shaun of the Dead (2004) Young Frankenstein (1975) Cargo (2017) Prey (2023) Berserk (1967) Humanist Vampire Seeks Consenting Suicidal Person (2024) The Monkey (2025) The Blob (1987) The Lost Boys (1987) Your Monster (2024) Tremors (1990) Deep Rising (1998) Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) Escape Room (2019) They Live (1988) Dangerous Animals (2025) Re-Animator (1985) Jaws (1975) Nope (2022)

Matt Dillon is Jack in The House that Jack Built (2018), a seriously mean movie. Great Horror movies can often be a bummer. Vicious, unrelenting, and cruel films that deny us the happy ending and the victorious fist pump. Many horror fans, and a couple of the podcasters for The Scariest Things in particular, seek these films out. We are crossing bridges too far. No punch pulling. Beware and behold Episode 205: Mean Horror. The caveats associated with the “recommendations” presented in this episode have caveats of their own. These are the films that may make you regret your movie selection decisions. Grim. Brutal. Emotionally taxing. These movies have merit, but these aren’t movies meant to be enjoyed. Quite the opposite, actually. These movies strip your soul and make you ponder the darkness in society. Often, these movies are human-on-human horror, delivering cruelty that only we can inflict on ourselves. Just know we will be following up soon with the salve for the emotional wounds that come with our “Feel Good” episode to help you recover. Here are the criteria we used in picking our movies. The movie does not require compliance with all the listed criteria, but if the movie contains many of these themes, then it would qualify for our selections. Bad things happen to innocent people. Repeatedly. The protagonists often don’t survive the movie. Evil wins. The ending is a bummer. There is little humor in the movie. Typically, people would not describe this movie as “fun.” The movie may be pervasively depressing and nihilistic. There is little hope in the movie. The movie has an emotional impact. Note that this is not a reflection of the quality of the movies. Many of them are very good and critically appreciated. They also don’t need to be gory to be mean, though they often are. The Podcast: Episode 205: Mean Horror With those caveats and warnings: brace yourselves. It’s time for MEAN HORROR. For similar content, check our Bridge Too Far Infographics. Consider yourselves warned. Benny’s Video (1992) Coming Home in the Dark (2021) Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) Invader (2024) Eden Lake (2008) Megalomaniac (2023) Island of Death (1976) The Lodge (2019) Salo, or 120 Days of Sodom (1975) The House that Jack Built (2018) The Rule of Jenny Pen (2025) Incident in a Ghostland (2018) Funny Games (2007) Antichrist (2009) Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1977) Night of the Living Dead (1968) Last House on the Left (1972) Baskin (2015) Calvaire (2004) House of 1000 Corpses (2003) A L’Interieur (2007) Terrifier 2 (2022) I Spit on Your Grave (1978) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1975) Martyrs (2008) Hostel (2005) The Mist (2007) The Road (2007) When Evil Lurks (2023) Speak No Evil (2024) The Sadness (2021) Beaten to Death (2023) Bring Her Back (2025) Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Richard Jenkins, Kurt Russell, and Matthew Fox go searching in Bone Tomahawk (2016) Upon second thought, that movie was better than I remembered. How often do you tell yourself that? Or, alternately, “What was I thinking? This movie was awful!” We’ve all been there. The movies don’t change, but we do. We get older. Our tastes change. Sometimes we weren’t in the right headspace to appreciate a film for the first watch. The Scariest Things gets contemplative in Episode 204 and reviews movies that we believe should be re-evaluated… for better… or worse. Opinions can change. Sometimes, when you go to a movie, you arrive with expectations, which can affect your view. A film’s reputation may color the first impression, and many of our reactions to the movie are influenced by the environment in which we first saw it. It makes a big difference whether you first saw the film at a world premiere with the director and stars, or if you are seeing it in a living room with a bunch of talkative friends—context matters. Was I too harsh on this film? Was I too generous? In many cases, a movie will stick with you and remind you that there was something that you really liked, and it stands the test of time, even if you didn’t initially think it was that great. Then, you go back and watch it, and realize that there was real gold there. You might also have had a situation where you decide to watch a movie to impress a friend, convincing them that the movie was great —and then… nope. That movie didn’t age well. My sixteen-year-old self thought this movie was awesome, but I was young and stupid. The Mangler, not as good as my teenage me remembered. There is a proud tradition of this in movie critic circles. A humble critic is one who can own up to re-evaluating a movie. I believe it is best to write a critical review independently of what others think, and I will avoid reading other reviews before I write my own. However, sometimes a movie arrives with tremendous buzz, all the bells and whistles: a revered director, a hot actor, and momentum from early festivals. I take these things into context, but I try my best to walk in with a blank slate. It’s tough, though. PODCAST 204: Upon Second Thought – Reconsidering Horror Movies Here is the podcast where Eric, Mike, and Heather sat down, peeled the bandage off, and admitted that perhaps we were wrong the first time. Most of these movies will be familiar to you, and some of the selections will shock you! If you want to skip the podcast and see what we picked, I have included our selections below. As always, I recommend you listen to the podcast, and come back to this post for reference. Enjoy! Upon Second Thought – The bad news: Movies we initially thought were good, but now the shine has come off. It doesn’t mean these movies are bad (necessarily), but it does mean that they weren’t as awesome as we initially thought. Mike’s List Rosemary’s Baby (1968): Dated and Slow? The Wicker Man (1972): Boring and Staid. Army of Darkness (1992): Nonsensical and not scary at all. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) The Wicker Man (1972) Army of Darkness (1992) Eric’s List Piranha (1978): A Jaws ripoff without a great conclusion. St Agatha (2018): My impressions were heavily influenced by meeting the cast and crew. Early journalism error. Hellraiser (1987): Too slow. Not sexy enough. Not bad, but not the iconic film that I remembered it being. Piranha (1977) St. Agatha (2018) Hellraiser (1987) Heather’s List Paranormal Activity (2007): Weak characters, particularly Micah. The Blair Witch Project (1999): Annoying banter. Dolls (1986): Loved it as a kid, but the campiness didn’t hold up. Paranormal Activity (2007) The Blair Witch Project (1999) Dolls (1986) Upon Second Thought – The Good News: Movies that are better than we initially thought. Sometimes we just got it wrong the first time. Don’t let the group think get to you, and like what you like. For these groups, we are going from bad first impressions to a more positive place upon second viewing. Mike’s List Dreamcatcher (2003): A wild film with great pacing and strong camaraderie. Maxxxine (2023): Mike now appreciates the action-packed conclusion. The Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977): Burdened by being the sequel of an all-time great, it couldn’t help but struggle to live up to expectations. A great cast. Dreamcatcher (2003) Maxxxine (2023) The Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) Eric’s List Bone Tomahawk (2015): Consider it as a western first, with strong horror elements. Deathgasm (2018): Eric wasn’t in the best of moods when he saw it the first time. The Void (2016): A movie tailor-made for Eric’s tastes, my initial review overcompensated to avoid preconceived bias. Upon second viewing: a gory good time. Bone Tomahawk (2015) Deathgasm (2018) The Void (2016) Heather’s List Hellhouse LLC (2015): The first watch was compromised by a movie party watch, unable to appreciate the quality jump scares. Much better on a rewatch. The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015): Initially, Heather found it too slow, but upon second viewing, she appreciates the build. Scream (2022): Heather wasn’t ready for the level of savage violence in this franchise. Now, she’s cool with it. Hellhouse LLC (2015) The Blackcoat’s Daugher (2015) Scream (2022)

Take a good look… we’re going to recast these characters! Horror movies love sequels and reboots. So, a recast is always around the corner. The Scariest Things is going to do what everybody fears: recasting movies that really shouldn’t be rebooted. BUT WE’RE DOING IT ANYWAYS! Redoing A Nightmare on Elm Street with blockbuster casts. Check! A reboot of Jaws with women in the lead? Done! Extending the It story to 27 years, for a Chapter 3 using a senior citizen cast. You betcha! And Hereditary, but swapping out for an all black cast? We can do that! Sacrilege? Absolutely, but you know you want to know who we picked! It’s a cottage industry, predicting who Marvel or DC might cast for their superheroes. The anticipation of who might portray… say BATMAN… has been discussed in numerous podcasts and media posts. But horror movies? The reboots are frequent, but really not that memorable. Can you name all of the Jason Voorhees actors? (tick… tick… tick…) However, there is a wonderful tradition with Dracula, in particular. This is just a portion of the casting call for the famous bloodsucker: Bela Lugosi Carlos Villarias Lon Chaney Jr. Christopher Lee John Carradine Udo Kier Klaus Kinski George Hamilton Frank Langella Gary Oldman Nicolas Cage The Podcast: Episode 203: The Great Horror Recast This was a fun episode. It is a long episode, but it’s totally worth listening to, because we know you do these experiments too! If you want to get the spoilers… read below for our selections. A little crazy, and not always on script, but this episode was a blast! Our Selections: The original cast of A Nightmare on Elm Street: Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, and Amanda Wyss A Horror Recast of A Nightmare on Elm Street(What was Mike thinking?) Character Original Actor Eric’s Pick Heather’s Pick Mike’s Pick Freddy Krueger Robert Englund Andy Serkis Bonnie Aarons Kevin Durand Nancy Thompson Heather Langenkamp Madeline McGraw Nico Parker Sydney Sweeney Glen Lantz Johnny Depp Noah Toth Michael Cimino Austin Butler Tina Grey Amanda Wyss Alisha Weir Kathryn Newton Margot Robbie Rod Lane Jsu Garcia Noah Schnapp Pete Davidson (skipped) Lt. Donald Thompson John Saxon Danny McBride Billy Burke Robert Forster Marge Thompson Ronee Blakley Jennifer Aniston Thandie Newton Meryl Streep Director Wes Craven Damien Leone Lee Cronin Christopher Nolan A Horror Recast of Jaws, but with a female cast Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider, and Robert Shaw in Jaws (1975) Character Original Actor Eric’s Pick Heather’s Pick Mike’s Pick Chief Brody Roy Scheider Emily Blunt Jessica Chastain Parker Posey Quint Robert Shaw Allison Janney Jodie Foster Michelle Rodriguez Hooper Richard Dreyfuss Mindy Kaling Julia Garner Sunita Mani Ellen Brodie Lorraine Gary John Krasinski Zoe Kravitz Dennis Quaid Charlie Susan Backlinie Chris Hemsworth Tom Holland Chris Hemsworth Mayor Vaughn Murray Hamilton Amy Poehler Viola Davis Melissa McCarthy Director Steven Spielberg Kathryn Bigelow Anna Kendrick Mary Harron It: Chapter 3: Casting 27 years after the previous film James Ransome, Jay Ryan, Isiah Mustapha, James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, and Bill Hader in It: Chapter 2 (2019) Character Original Actor Eric’s Pick Heather’s Pick Mike’s Pick Pennywise Bill Skaarsgard Bill Skarsgard Bill Skarsgard *Tim Curry Beverly Marsh Sophia Lillis/ Jessica Chastain Geena Davis Francis Fisher Julianne Moore Bill Denbrough Jayden Martell / James McAvoy Kenneth Branagh Pierce Brosnan Ewan MacGregor Richie Tozer Finn Wolfhard/ Bill Hader Jeffrey Goldblum Liam Neeson Dana Carvey Mike Hanlon Chosen Jacobs / Isiah Mustafa Jeffrey Wright Denzel Washington Laurence Fishburn Ben Hanscom Jeremy Ray Taylor/ Jay Ryan Vincent D’Onofrio Don Johnson Liam Neeson Jack Dylan Glazer/ James Ransome — — Hugh Grant Stanley Uris Wyatt Oleff / Andy Bean — — Hugh Jackman A Horror Recast of Hereditary, but with an all black cast Milly Shapiro, Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, and ALex Wolff in Hereditary (2018) Character Original Actor Eric’s Pick Heather’s Pick Mike’s Pick Annie Toni Collette Taraji P Henson Halle Berry Regina King Charlie Milly Shapiro Pria Ferguson Storm Reid Madison Currie Steve Gabriel Byrne Sterling K Brown Terrance Howard Denzel Washington Peter Alex Wolff Justice Smith Miles Catton Daniel Kaluuya Joanie Anna Down Octavia Spencer Pam Grier Queen Latifa Director Ari Aster Nia DaCosta The Phillipou Brothers Little Marvin Location Salt Lake City Savannah Boston Washington DC