Not all of brad pittHorror films have been critical hits, but some are surprisingly influential entries in the genre. For many actors, horror movies are a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Traditionally, the largely low-budget genre was seen as a way for actors to gain exposure in the hopes that horror movie parts would lead to more impressive and – importantly – more respectable roles in the future. .
However, the advent of “high horror” has changed this perception. These days, stars like Alexander Skarsgard don’t make horror films until they’re already well established and can often be acclaimed for their bold choice of projects. However, one star who has gone the traditional route when it comes to horror roles is The lost cityit’s Brad Pitt.
Although Pitt is best known for his blockbuster roles these days, the actor has featured in his fair share of horror endeavors. Before his decisive role in Thelma and LouisePitt appeared in 1989 Cutting class around the same time the actor appeared in not one, but two major television horror anthology shows. After this first role, Pitt would not return to the horror genre until the 1993 serial killer thriller Kaliforniawhich was quickly followed by the campy horror romance Interview with a Vampirewhere Pitt bolstered his blockbuster credibility by playing alongside Impossible mission franchise star Tom Cruise. Now a household name, Pitt may have shunned the horror genre in favor of bigger budget projects, but returned to the genre’s scarier side for the 1995 serial killer thriller. Se7fr. This release was his last horror film until the much-delayed 2013 zombie flick. World War Zan epic that fused apocalyptic action with horror elements.
Cutting class
One of Pitt’s first roles, 1989 Cutting class is a weak slasher that came at the end of the subgenre’s dominance in horror. While there are some surprisingly fun behind-the-scenes comedy moments, Cutting classThe predictable story of a misunderstood teenager released from a mental institution to be surrounded by suspicious murders adds nothing new to the genre. That said, Cutting class is still more fun than most classic slasher franchise sequels of the same decade, thanks to Pitt’s fiery turn as the school’s resident bad boy and supporting role of comedy veteran Martin Mull.
World War Z
2013 World War Z is an atypically ambitious zombie film, telling the story of an epidemic of the living dead not from the perspective of ordinary citizens, but of Brad Pitt’s adviser to the UN. In World War ZIn the novel’s original form, this ploy works well, offering a grounded (if somewhat dry) idea of what the international bureaucracy’s response to a zombie apocalypse would look like. As a movie, however, World War Z is kinda serious and dignified, not to mention it’s nowhere near scary enough to function as a zombie horror. That said, World War Z is still a bit better than the previous sci-fi horror adaptation from 2007 I’m a legend, even if ultimately the two apocalyptic zombie films fall into the same trap. Big-budget, large-scale action-horror rarely scares, and it’s even less likely to do so with a very famous lead actor who viewers can be sure will at least make it to the film’s finale.
Kalifornia
Pitt’s performance as the seductive, unhinged Early Grayce is the best thing about Kalifornia, a grungy ’90s thriller in which a serial killer and his disarmingly innocent girlfriend hitchhike with an artsy, pretentious couple across the United States. A harsher version of the same story was told in dark blood and a more playful, darkly comic version came in 1996 highwaybut Kalifornia still worth watching to see Pitt play a sordid villain role. However, horror aficionados who found Juliette Lewis’ childlike innocence baffling in Martin Scorsese Cape fear remake will want to avoid this one, as the actor manages to make Pitt’s romantic partner/hostage tragically believable and therefore difficult to watch in a sad supporting role.
Interview with a Vampire
Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, two blockbuster movie titans, go head-to-head in a melodramatic horror romance. Interview with a VampireThe story spans centuries, telling the tale of vampiric life partners Lestat and the not quite romance of Louis. It’s touching, tragic, over the top and at times surprisingly touching, although despite its horror movie status no one can argue that Interview with a Vampire is always particularly scary. Pitt’s Wistful Vampire is an engaging track, and Cruise puts the confident charm of Superior gun‘s Maverick to use in a rare villainous role. However, the supernaturally talented Kirsten Dunst steals Interview with a Vampire under the two actors as the rude vampire child Claudia. Certainly uneven and a little too long, Interview with a Vampire is still a campy delight that takes the exaggerated pleasure of Bram Stoker’s Dracula into even more ridiculous territory.
Se7fr
Relentlessly dark and brutal, Se7fr is more of a horror movie than a crime novel and more of a deep dive into the depths of human depravity than a standard horror movie. Director David Fincher’s modern masterpiece is easily Pitt’s best horror film and a massively influential entry into the genre. Pitt and Fincher collaborated again on the most pressing fight clubbut Se7fr sees the duo strike the perfect balance between the cold, clinical cynicism of Fincher’s style and the puppy-dog sweetness that Pitt brings to the role of inexperienced detective David Mills.
Se7frPitt’s tight plot unfolds slowly, taking Pitt’s doomed hero on a journey through hell as he pursues a mysterious murderer through a rain-soaked and impossibly gray metropolis. Willingly ugly, hopeless and harsh, Se7fr was a risky decision for both its director and its star. However, thanks to Pitt’s engaging lead role, Morgan Freeman’s generally stellar supporting work as a taciturn partner, and the steady stream of shocking plot twists, Se7fr is a major bet that has paid off beautifully for everyone involved. Even though classic horror franchises are relaunched every two weeks, it’s unlikely Hollywood will produce another film as nihilistic and dark as Fincher’s 1995. Luckily, that means Se7en will remain the star. brad pittthe best horror movie – as well as one of the best psychological thrillers of all time – for quite some time to come.
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