A masterful actor and Hollywood icon of the 1980s and beyond, Sam Neill has acted in over 60 films, building an exceptional filmography of horror movies in his career. From playing the adult version of Damien Thorn in The Omen franchise to starring alongside Laurence Fishburne and Jason Isaacs in Paul W.S. Anderson’s cult classic Event Horizon, he’s made a significant name for himself in the genre. Sam Neill has proven some of his more prestigious and fascinating projects are horror movies, and they are ranked here from worst to best.
Born in Northern Island, in 1947, Sam Neill moved to New Zealand in his youth and began his acting career at age 24 in the TV movie The City of No. His time at the University of Canterbury exposed him to acting and after achieving starring roles in My Brilliant Career and The Omen III: The Final Conflict, Sam Neill truly started to garner recognition. It wasn’t until Jurassic Park that he became a big name in Hollywood and continued to star in various hit films and television series, including Jurassic Park sequels. Most recently, he returned as Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic World Dominion.
In 1981, Sam Neill starred in Andrzej Żuławski’s psychosexual horror film Possession and Graham Baker’s cult classic The Omen III. The leading characters are very dissimilar and proved his range as both a brilliantly theatrical and trained actor in Hollywood and especially in horror. Acclaimed horror director John Carpenter eventually picked him up for a few of his more well-recognized films, Memoirs of an Invisible Man and the H.P. Lovecraft inspired movie In the Mouth of Madness. He’s become a horror legend since cult followings for his classics are growing every day, in the age of boundless streaming services. Neill hasn’t divorced himself from the horror genre altogether, despite no longer acting in as many. He joined Peaky Blinders co-star Adrien Brody in 2015 for the film Backtrack. These are all of Sam Neill’s horror movies ranked from worst to best.
8. Daybreakers (2009)
Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig’s apocalyptic vampire flick Daybreakers follows Ethan Hawke’s character, Edward, who is attempting to create a substitute for blood in the face of society’s increasing blood shortage. Willem Dafoe and Claudia Carven enter the scene as humans with the answer to Edward’s hematology equation but the characters face Sam Neill as the corporate antagonist who wishes to use the substitute to become rich. The plot is packed full of juicy sci-fi and horror concepts that blend together perfectly but do not result in the best possible final product. Despite its jarring directing choices and predictable action sequences, Daybreakers features an original concept executed well enough to be enjoyed by even the most well-versed vampire enthusiasts. Dafoe and Hawke’s history in horror also adds greatly to Neill’s obvious experience in playing a conniving villain.
7. Snow White: A Tale Of Terror (1997)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is a dark tale on its own but the adaptation Snow White: A Tale of Terror extrapolates all of that story’s most horrific elements and focuses on them to create a disturbing tale of envy and horror. Alien movie star Sigourney Weaver plays the wicked stepmother of the young Snow White character, Lilli. Sam Neill’s role is Lilli’s father and he plays a big part in giving new depths to this famous story. His relationship with his late wife is highlighted more in this rendition. Despite this film excelling in its twisted fairy tale aspects, its emotional core is what makes it a great watch. The shooting locations also set it apart from other adaptations as they filmed in the beautiful nature of Prague and the Czech Republic.
6. Backtrack (2015)
Adrien Brody plays a psychotherapist named Peter in Backtrack who slowly realizes the patients he’s been treating have all been ghosts. Sam Neill plays Duncan, a mentor and colleague of Peter who recommended these patients to him. Backtrack is a unique take on the paranormal genre, in the vein of The Sixth Sense, in that it explores how ghosts can be intimate with the physical world. It fails to deliver true horror without relying on jump scares, but the movie still has an undeniably spooky atmosphere. Neill and Brody play off each other incredibly and their chemistry allows the plot’s required tension to fester. Backtrack isn’t flawless but with a star-studded cast and its original material, it earns a place as an acceptable horror experience.
5. Dead Calm (1989)
Director Phillip Noyce’s nautical horror Dead Calm follows the married couple Rae (Nicole Kidman) and John (Sam Neill) on their trip across the sea where they discover a shipwreck with a sole survivor. The survivor (Billy Zane) claims the crew died of food poisoning but his true nature is slowly revealed when he attempts to maroon John. This isolated story succeeds in its intensified suspense due to each actor giving it their all. Neill especially exudes desperation and resigned love for his wife that makes their separation during the movie more tragic. Billy Zane makes a great villain, bouncing between states of trustworthy guile and troubling rage, but his character’s conclusion is undeniably over-the-top and tarnishes the film’s serious tone.
4. The Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981)
The Omen III: The Final Conflict is the third installment in The Omen franchise and jumps years ahead from The Omen II to follow Damien Thorn’s journey into adulthood and political corruption. He is appointed the United States Ambassador to Britain and tries to use his power of command to thwart Jesus Christ’s resurrection. This narrative feels like a natural progression from the second film’s themes of identity discovery. Neill admirably plays Damien with a chilling demeanor that surprisingly invites both sympathy and fear. The Omen III’s pace noticeably slows down unlike its predecessors but with iconic scenes like the fox hunt dog attack, it remains a genuinely eerie and entertaining sequel to a well-respected franchise.
3. Event Horizon (1997)
Though a flop at the box office, Paul W. S. Anderson’s sci-fi horror movie Event Horizon gained a massive cult following decades after its release. It centers around a crew led by Captain Miller (Laurence Fishburne) that is sent out into space to investigate the Event Horizon, a spaceship that disappeared years prior. Sam Neill plays the creator of the Event Horizon which is a perfect casting choice. The demonic twist of the film is made better by how flawlessly he can slip in and out of the protagonist and antagonist roles. Event Horizon suffers from splicing that occurred in pre-production which makes it feel like many important scenes are missing. However, it is an enjoyable and creepy watch for fans of sci-fi and horror.
2. In The Mouth Of Madness (1994)
Infamous horror novelist Sutter Cane within In the Mouth of Madness vanishes and Sam Neill’s investigator character John Trent is sent off to New Hampshire to find him, but the small town there isn’t what it seems. Director John Carpenter’s final installment in his Apocalypse Trilogy pays tribute to the unimaginable and strange horror elements of H.P. Lovecraft’s novels. Neill’s dry-witted acting shines in his role as the “straight man” character amid over-the-top concepts, characters, and frights. This film never takes itself too seriously and has all the hallmarks of a successful Carpenter film. The final product far cry from the stark realism of Halloween but to the film’s credit since this narrative required a surreal execution.
1. Possession (1981)
The critically acclaimed Possession stars Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani in a disturbing psychosexual drama film that follows their characters’ crumbling marriage and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the escalating madness in their lives. Adjani delivers a striking performance as Anna, interacting seamlessly with the film’s metaphorical body horror to explain her burgeoning sexual freedom. All of Sam Neill’s talents are brought to the surface to make this exacerbated tale about divorce and infidelity even more mind-provoking. His chemistry with Adjani, even while she’s playing Anna’s ideal doppelganger, is unparalleled and truly what makes the non-linear narrative work so well. Neill proves through his character Mark that he can express the consequences of sexual and identity oppression with subtle perfection. With an unnerving yet catchy soundtrack, Andrzej Żuławski’s horrific masterpiece Possession remains one of the genre’s most quintessential films.
Sam Neill’s recent return to the Jurassic Park franchise bodes well for a more action-packed and suspenseful in his career and implies he could do more horror films in the future. His cult following for the genre continues to grow as more horror enthusiasts are discovering these brilliant, often underrated, horror features. As of now, these are all the horror movies Sam Neill has acted in thus far.
