Screen veteran John Goodman is better known for comedy roles than his work in the horror genre, but the legendary actor has a surprisingly stellar track record when it comes to the spooky side of genre cinema. John Goodman’s name is not one closely associated with horror cinema. Scary movies are not usually considered to be the jovial actor’s strong suit, although a look through his list of roles (particularly in recent years) proves that he is well-suited to horror on occasion.
Goodman’s darker Coen brothers' collaborations prove that there is an edge underneath his goofy comedic persona. Like Tim Curry's turn as Pennywise in Stephen King's It, some of Goodman's performances have used his recognizable status as a comedic leading man to make darker movies all the more unnerving. With five horror roles to date and numerous dark dramas on his lengthy screen CV, Goodman has proven more than able to acquit himself with darker material.
Goodman's first horror role did not stray far from the actor's comfort zone. Goodman played the comic relief in 1990’s Arachnophobia, bringing light-hearted sitcom-style humor to his earliest scary movie. However, it was not long before Goodman branched out to more mature horror roles. 1998’s psychological horror Fallen remains one of his darkest parts to date, while 2011’s bleak Red State saw the actor take on another grim religious horror role. 2016’s 10 Cloverfield Lane was a little less hopeless and 2017’s Kong: Skull Island was a more fun, action-forward brand of horror, proving that Goodman’s works in the genre could run the gamut from sparse, supernatural mystery through to full-blown monster movie mayhem. Here is every John Goodman horror movie ranked worst to best.
5. Red State
Released in 2011, director Kevin Smith’s ambitious if flawed horror debut Red State is buoyed by some impressive performances like Goodman’s taciturn law enforcement officer and Michael Parks' unhinged pastor. Smith’s attempts to merge religious satire with horror aren’t as artful as Stephen King’s horror stories in the same vein, but Red State still works as a brutal siege thriller with a career-best central turn from Parks. The pacing is a little too slow and the movie barely qualifies as "horror" (a problem that would be immeasurably improved by Smith sticking with the wild original ending wherein the Rapture actually occurs and the villain is proven to be right). Nonetheless, Red State remains a solid first attempt with a typically great turn from Goodman as the world-weary cop losing his faith in the face of human evil.
4. 10 Cloverfield Lane
Released in 2016, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a serviceable movie with a superb premise. When Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s heroine wakes up in Goodman’s basement, her stoic captor informs her the world outside is overrun by aliens. This raises the question as to whether this stern kook is either telling the truth or completely crazy, and more importantly, whether it's worth risking her life to find out. The answer isn't easy to guess, but it's a bit too obvious by the end of this lone location thriller. Scream queen Winstead is great even though the story drags and, as a result, the otherwise clever twist becomes obvious. Luckily, this 2016 two-hander remains tense and terrifying largely thanks to Goodman’s central turn as a survivalist who might just be a delusional killer in disguise and Winstead’s reliably solid performance.
3. Kong: Skull Island
A movie tailor-made for viewers who always loved the opening adventure scenes of King Kong but never cared about the tragic love story, Kong: Skull Island is a goofy but agreeably fun fusion of horror, action, and period adventure movie. This 2017 hit is the most shamelessly fun and action-packed incarnation of the giant ape’s story in cinema history but would have benefited from giving Goodman a more substantial role. Fortunately for viewers, what it lacks in Goodman, Kong: Skull Island makes up for in memorable monster designs, rivaling Godzilla Vs Kong in terms of unforgettable creatures that manage to be both gross and impressive in equal measure. It may not be a fully-fledged horror flick, but Kong: Skull Island certainly includes enough scares to warrant a place on this list.
2. Fallen
Released in 1998, Fallen remains a wildly underrated supernatural psychological thriller that was inaccurately written off as a Se7en clone upon release. The dark, slow-burn horror-thriller is far better than that description suggests, taking its time to hint at supernatural elements while playing the requisite police procedural parts of its story dead straight. Denzel Washington plays a cop horrified to discover that the killer he’s tracking is something more than human, and Goodman gives superb support as his long-suffering colleague. Without giving anything away, suffice it to say that the movie asks more of both Goodman and Washington than it initially seems to and both actors acclimate to the shifting genre of Fallen with ease, moving from understated dramatics to horror movie scenery-chewing with aplomb.
1. Arachnophobia
The 1990 horror-comedy Arachnophobia is an underrated monster movie with a likable lead in Jeff Daniels, a great supporting cast including a hammy Julian Sands, and a memorable central creature in its killer spiders. However, it is Goodman who elevated this one to cult classic status with his hysterical turn as Delbert the Exterminator, a comic relief role that makes it his strongest horror so far. Much of Arachnophobia has the potential to be seriously scary if it weren't for Goodman, thanks to its tense, creepy story of a small town being besieged by lethally poisonous spider hybrids. However, as Delbert (a character so goofy he is followed by sitcom-style theme music), Goodman arrives early on to steal the movie out from under the noses of his co-stars and makes the most of every absurd line, rivaling Matthew Lillard’s Stu Macher as an unforgettable horror movie goofball.
Admittedly, the presence of such a silly character should detract from the effectiveness of Arachnophobia’s horror elements, particularly when the movie’s main monster is smaller than a house cat. However, by the time one character is desperately searching for a map to unearth the monster’s lair and Goodman assumes they are idly inquiring into the local property market in the middle of a frantic chase, viewers will be too busy laughing to care. Although John Goodman’s performance arguably makes it a less scary horror movie, on the whole, Arachnophobia remains a classic thanks in large part to The Conners actor’s considerable comedic chops.