Elijah Woodmight not be exactly ubiquitous with the horror genre, buthe’s managed to put in a shockingly high number of appearances in scary movies over the years.Better known for his time inPeter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Ringstrilogyas Frodo Baggins and his seasons heading the surreal supernatural sitcomWilfred, Elijah Wood isn’t exactly synonymous with horror movies. Upon a closer examination, however, Wood’s name has appeared in the credits of a surprising number of horror projects of vastly varying quality.
Both duringElijah Wood’s career post-Lord of the Ringsand his younger years as a child actor hot off of movies likeFlipper,the beloved American actor has found himself in a variety of gruesome or ghoulish situations.Most of these films are seldom-known,with even the most famous among them being obscure titles only the more dedicated fans of horror will have ever considered seeking out. However, that’s not to say that none of them are worth watching, with the best of Wood’s horror prowess showing off his skill as an actor in general.
8The Good Son
The Movie Was Released In 1993
While Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McCallister fromtheHome Alonemoviesis rightfully described as sadistic by some, it wouldn’t be untilThe Good Sonthat Culkin earnestly got to play a proper pint-sized horror movie villain. Elijah Wood stars across Culkin in the film as Mark Evans, a12-year-old boy who goes to stay with his cousins after the death of his mother, including Culkin’s death-obsessed Henry.
Elijah Wood Reveals If He’d Return To The Lord Of The Rings As Frodo
Elijah Wood, who is known for playing Frodo in The Lord of the Rings franchise, opens up about whether he would return to the fantasy series.
It isn’t 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. Strangely enough, Culkin is more believable as a blossoming serial killer inHome Alone,failing to sell the necessary screen presence of Henry inThe Good Son.
The Good Son
Cast
The Good Son stars Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood in a psychological thriller directed by Joseph Ruben. The film follows a young boy who is sent to live with his relatives after his mother’s death, only to discover his cousin harbors dark and dangerous tendencies. As tension escalates, he must navigate his cousin’s increasingly menacing behavior. The movie examines themes of innocence and malevolence within a family dynamic.
While there is some suspense to be had, particularly the fantastic setpiece set on a cliff’s edge during the climax, the film’s impossible-to-ignore cutesyness gets in the way of any genuine psychological horror.Elijah Wood does his best to carry the film, but for so many reasons, it’s easily the weakest of his horror forays.
7Open 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 diegetically through screen recordings of video calls and web browsing in films likeUnfriendedand Host.Elijah Wood tossed his own hat in this particular ring inOpen Windows,a self-professedcyber thriller about a seemingly normal fan forced to stalk and terrify his favorite actress after being blackmailed by a mysterious hacker. An ambitious premise, but one which director Nacho Vigalondo fails to do justice.
Open Windows
Open Windows follows Nick, who wins a dinner with his favorite actress, Jill Goddard. When she refuses to meet, Nick is offered a chance to watch her through her webcam. This decision plunges both into a dangerous game of surveillance and pursuit.
Again, it’s hard to blame Elijah Wood for the failing ofOpen Windows, which unleashes a steady stream of exposition that overshadows what suspense it could be building with information overload. The nauseatingly confusing twist regarding 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 what could be said forThe Good Son.
6Cooties
Elijah Wood’s other critical bomb in the horror space of 2014, the failure ofCootiesis harder to justify as having 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 named Fort Chicken (really) in Illinois.When a deadly zombie virus sweeps through the school’s students thanks to a batch of contaminated chicken nuggets, it’s up to the teachers to band together in hopes of surviving.
Cooties
Cooties, directed by Jonathan Milott, unfolds at an elementary school besieged by a mysterious virus that turns children into feral creatures. As chaos ensues, an unlikely hero emerges to lead a group of teachers in a desperate struggle for survival against the school’s transformed students.
The simple logline ofCootiesoffers a lot to the imagination, with hordes of feral, zombified children being a stunningly unique idea for a horror movie.Unfortunately,Cootieshas little else to offer besides this idea, with rote performances, low-effort humor, and satisfying enough carnage that nevertheless fails to live up tobetter zombie movies. It’s a shame that there isn’t much more toCootiesbesides its creative premise, not being able to carry itself out as a truly engaging horror comedy.
5Child In The Night
The Movie Was Released In 1990
A straight-to-TV horror film starring Elijah Wood at the tender age of 9,Child in the Nightis by far the actor’s most obscure horror movie appearance. Here, Wood is posited as a young boy who witnesses the grisly murder of his father, compartmentalizing the trauma by turning into a fantasy starring Captain Hook ofPeter Pan,matching up with the killer’s improvised weapon.It’s all child psychologist Dr. Hollis, played by JoBeth Williams,can do to open up the child’s mind in order to solve the case.
Child in the Night
Child in the Night is a 1990 thriller about a young boy named Luke who witnesses the brutal murder of his father and is subsequently enlisted to aid in identifying the killer. As the investigation unfolds, he is caught in the ensuing psychological and emotional intricacies.
More of a psychological thriller than an outright horror movie,Child in the Nightstill 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 critiques of the financial greed that infiltrated the previous decade,but the narrative ofChild in the Nightdoesn’t do enough to distinguish itself meaningfully from a standard murder mystery. Wood is quite good even at such a young age, however, making this film at least a noteworthy time capsule of his acting skill to come.
4Maniac
The Movie Was Released In 2012
It’s rare that Elijah Wood actually gets to be the bad guy in anything, let along among his modest retinue of horror pictures.Luckily, 2012’sManiacallows Wood to stand on the wrong side of the blood and guts for once, playing adisturbed slasher villainwith a penchant for stealing the scalps of his victims and attaching them to mannequins. When the killer genuinely falls in love with beautiful photographer, it’s a mad struggle to contain his dark urges for the sake of his newfound romance.
Maniac
A mannequin shop owner hides a sinister double life, committing horrific murders driven by his warped obsession with women. The narrative offers a disturbing look into his mind, portraying his descent into insanity through a series of violent and unsettling acts.
A predictable, but disturbing film,Maniacis able to revel in some clever gore, stunning sound design and commendable cinematography,enough to more than justify a watch in good faith. Elijah Wood is excellent as the tortured serial killer, making it a shame that he isn’t able to visit more despicable characters more often. Even ifManiacis occasionally a little too artsy and a tad full of itself, its ego is at least an interesting place to be, decorated by haunting mannequins and the remains of countless victims.
3The Faculty
The Movie Was Released In 1998
Bridging the gap between Elijah Wood’s younger years and hisLord of the Ringsera,The Facultyis a quietly perfect science fiction horror movie evocative of thegreat 50s B-movies.The film takes place at a high school in rural Ohio besieged by alien invaders,capable of parasitizing and controlling human bodies to carry out their sinister 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 bizarre alien life forms.
The Faculty
The Faculty is a 1998 horror mystery film directed by Robert Rodriguez. The plot centers on newspaper photographer Casey Connor, played by Elijah Wood, who sees his high school nurse alive after she was murdered. Since its release in the late ’90s, The Faculty has become a cult classic, with many claiming it’s one of Rodriguez’s most underrated films.
Like much of Wood’s horror filmography,The Facultyis perhaps not the most original story in the world, running far with the clear shades ofInvasion of the Body Snatchers.Yet 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 might expect from such a setting. With creative alien designs, a steady driving soundtrack, and a breezy pace to the final edit,The Facultyis an enjoyable, if not brilliant, horror escapade.
2Come To Daddy
The Movie Was Released In 2019
As the years pass, Elijah Wood seems to have gotten more and more comfortable in the horror space, eventually crafting hilarious black comedies likeCome to Daddy.As the title might imply, the film stars Elijah Wood as a sheltered musicianwho absconds from his wealthy lifestyle in order to meet up with his estranged father at a remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest. Before long, a series of increasingly bizarre and dangerous encounters with strange men gradually reveals the truth to Wood’s Norval about his father’s absence in his life.
Come to Daddy
Come to Daddy is a dark comedy-thriller film that follows Norval Greenwood, a privileged and estranged son, who receives a mysterious letter from his long-lost father, leading him to reunite with his father at a remote cabin. As the two reconnect, Norval’s trip takes an unexpected turn, uncovering dark secrets and family dynamics.
It’s hard to imagine anyone was able to come up with a narrative as wild and unexpected asCome to Daddy, the twists and turns of which making for an unforgettable viewing experience.The gore is quite memorable as well, with standout moments like the barbecue fork scene or Norval’s final kill of the movie resonating with bloodily disgusting creativity. Wood also gives one of his best horror performances yet, portraying quite a unique brand of character that doesn’t get enough screen time in splatter films ofCome to Daddy’s ilk.
1The Toxic Avenger
The Movie Was Released In 2023
While technically a superhero film, just like the firstThe Toxic Avenger, Elijah Wood’s 2023 remake doesn’t shy away from the series' inherently horror-themed slant.Just like the original, the remake revolves around a stereotypical weakling 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 instead transform him into a hideous monster.
The Toxic Avenger
The Toxic Avenger is directed by Macon Blair and follows downtrodden janitor Winston Gooze, who becomes a superhuman hero after a toxic accident. Armed with a glowing mop, he must save his son and thwart a power-hungry tyrant seeking to exploit toxic superpowers.
Peter Dinklage knocks it out of the park with one of his best roles ever as Winston Gooze, a.k.a. the Toxic Avenger himself.2023’sThe Toxic Avengerknocks it out of the park with special effects, from the ghoulishly over-the-top kills to the gruesome appearance of the Toxic Avenger himself.
Boasting the highest Rotten Tomatoes score of any Toxic Avenger movie, the 2023 reboot of the knowingly ridiculous franchise is by farElijah Wood’s strongest appearance in a scary movie.
Elijah Wood is also unrecognizable in heavy prosthetics and makeup as the hilarious Fritz Garbinger, leaving no scrap of the set unchewed in his show-stealing scenes. Boasting the highest Rotten Tomatoes score of any Toxic Avenger movie, the 2023 reboot of the knowingly ridiculous franchise is by farElijah Wood’s strongest appearance in a scary movie.
