Trick Or Treat

Top 10 Most Unlikely Horror Movie Debuts

By Lizerne Guiting and Chuck Walton, Fandango Film Commentators

Long before they were busy attending awards ceremonies, these actors got their starts as lower-level scream queens (or kings) to get into the biz. Some of these roles may not have been their very first, but regardless, these cheesy slasher pic roles constitute early and embarrassing credits from their "before they were famous" days.

10. Renee Zellweger & Matthew McConaughey in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation

Who would’ve thought that the lovable romantic comedy stars of Bridget Jones’s Diary and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days had anything to do with the legend of Leatherface? If there were an award for Best Sour Face, Renee Zellweger would be a shoo-in for her facial tics in this early Chainsaw spin-off. And Zellweger’s fellow Texas native McConaughey portrays the murderous head of the cannibalistic household named "Vilmer" (no relation to Val Kilmer).

9. John Goodman in C.H.U.D.

New York’s toxic waste problem had an adverse effect on some unfortunate homeless bums, turning each one into a "Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller" or "C.H.U.D." for short. You’ll have to watch till the very end to see John Goodman’s cameo as a cop who gets slaughtered in a diner, way before his sitcom fame and memorable roles in such films as The Big Easy, The Flintstones and The Big Lebowski.

A young Jennifer Connelly in Creepers.
(Copyright New Line Cinema)

8. Jennifer Connelly in Creepers

Probably somewhere low on the resume of Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly is this little movie, aka Phenomena, from Italian horror auteur Dario Argento (Suspiria, Tenebrae). Connelly plays a young heroine who helps solve a series of murders by channeling a peculiar power: the ability to make insects devour her enemies in full Technicolor splendor. For those who dare watching this one: think twice before ordering pizza.

7. Jennifer Aniston in Leprechaun

Before snagging roles on Friends and Office Space, Aniston earned an A for hotness in this B-movie slasher as a shotgun-wielding, short-shorts-wearing babe who wreaks havoc with Warwick Davis, the sinister leprechaun who declaimed, "I want me gold!". Davis went on to star in movies like Willow, and took a part as Professor Flitwick in the huge Harry Potter franchise.

6. John Travolta in The Devil’s Rain

Travolta played a member of a devil-worshiping group and eyeless follower of a goat demon minister. Although he’s hard to spot, fans will recognize his signature cleft chin. He and the other Satanists actually spend a long time melting on-screen—quite memorable with all the writhing, contorted faces!

5. Patricia Arquette in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

Many consider the third Freddy Krueger film one of the best in the series, partially thanks to Patricia Arquette, who stars as Kristin, one of the disturbed teens in a psychiatric institution with nightmares about Krueger.

4. John Larroquette in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

John Larroquette could be perhaps the most unremembered star who played a part in the TCM films. Even if you rent these horror classics and look for him, you won’t see him... You’ll hear him. In the first TCM film in 1974, he was the narrator with a chilling voice that began the story hidden "in the annals of American history." Since then, he’s been recognized as the sitcom star of Crossroads and is currently one of the regulars of Boston Legal.

3. Tom Hanks in He Knows You’re Alone

Hanks in his first, albeit small, role portrays a young and charming college student majoring in psychology. In a film where the killer murders brides-to-be, who better than Tom to explain the psychology of fear?

2. Kevin Bacon in Friday the 13th

Bacon did the slasher genre proud by taking an arrow through the throat in the original Friday the 13th. He's now known as a first-rate character actor in movies like Mystic River and as the subject of a popular game, but back then, he was just another clueless, sex-crazed appetizer on the dinner menu of Crystal Lake's most famous hockey-masked psycho killer.

Johnny Depp, before Freddy's attack, in the first Nightmare. (Copyright New Line Cinema)

1. Johnny Depp in A Nightmare on Elm Street

It's amazing to think that Johnny Depp's acting debut had him being sucked into his bed, and then sprayed all over the ceiling courtesy of this series' disfigured uber-villain. Director Wes Craven must have been onto something, though, as Depp's first-ever credit was the all-too-important "Introducing Johnny Depp "! Take that, Freddy Krueger.

Dishonorable Mentions: