Nicolas Cageis a versatile actor with a recognizable, bombastic acting style that works well withhorrorfilms. The cult actor’s career is filled with genres of all kinds, from romantic comedies to fantasy thrillers. Cage is known for his roles aseccentric wisecracking characters, having a host of quirky ones throughout his career. His track record with horror films is mixed, though he ended up finding a niche for himself in Lovecraftian plots with moody aesthetics.
With Cage’s recent 2023horror comedy filmRenfield’s release, it’s the perfect opportunity to take a look at his success in the horror genre. He is not new to playing the bad guy or the victim in this genre. So, here are all of Nicolas Cage’s horror movies, ranked.
10The Wicker Man
The Wicker Manis a 2006 mystery horror thrillerstarring Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Leelee Sobieski, and Kate Beahan. It is a reimagined remake of the 1973 British film of the same name, while also drawing from David Pinner’s 1967 novelRitual. The film follows police officer Edward Malus (Cage), who investigates the disappearance of a young girl from a small island. He soon discovers that there’s a larger mystery on the island among the neo-pagan community who lives there.
Related:10 Nicolas Cage Movies to Watch If You Loved Renfield
9Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
While theGhost Riderfilms are typically received as humorous, it is unintentional. The films bring together every comic book and action movie cliché into one (or two) films. Regardless, theGhost Rider characteris the epitome of Marvel horror.Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeanceis the second installment in the series, released in 2011. Cage stars as Johnny Blaze, the titular Ghost Rider, who gets a chance at redemption by protecting the Devil’s son, whose father is pursuing him.
8Pay the Ghost
Pay the Ghostis a 2015horror mystery filmstarring Nicolas Cage, Sarah Wayne Callies, and Veronica Ferres. Cage plays Professor Mike Lawford as he searches for his son, Charlie, who was abducted during a Halloween carnival. Nearly a year passes, and they are still searching for their son. However, as they search, they begin to hear and see Charlie reaching out to them from the other world.
While the idea in itself is good,Pay the Ghostis unfortunately a rip-off of the successful film,Insidious, as Charlie was sent to an alternate world occupied by a widow ghost who steals children on Halloween. As inInsidious,Dalton is sent into The Further, where he is held captive by a demon.
7Ghost Rider
The originalGhost Riderwas released in 2007, with Cage starring as Johnny Blaze. In his origin story, the motorcycle-riding Blaze sells his soul to the Devil to save his father’s life. As such, he is transformed into the Ghost Rider. At night or when around evil, Blaze flesh is consumed by hellfire, causing his head to become a flaming skull. His motorcycle turns into a fiery vehicle that he rides around in the night, wielding blasts of hellfire from his skeletal hands. In this film, he is the Devil’s personal bounty hunter, hunting down sinners.
6Mom and Dad
Starring Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair as parents Brent and Kendall,Mom and Dadis a 2017 horror comedy. Brent and Kendall Blair are suburbanites who, along with other parents in the neighborhood, are overcome with a mysterious hysteria that causes them to turn on their own kids. Their children, Carly, played by Anne Winters, and Josh, played by Zackary Arthur, must survive 24 hours while all the parents have really had enough and are trying to kill the kids.
5Vampire’s Kiss
Released in 1988,Vampire’s Kissis a comedic fantasy film starring Cage as Peter Loew, a publishing executive. Loew has delusions of grandeur, and loses his mind after a few visits with a seductive vampire who drinks his blood. While the vampire may or may not be a figment of Loew’s imagination, Peter now believes he’s turning into a vampire and goes on a demented rampage around New York City.
Related:Renfield Star Nicolas Cage Recalls Eating a Cockroach on Vampire’s Kiss Set
4Color Out of Space
The horror mystery filmColor Out of Spacewas released in 2019. The film is based on H.P. Lovecraft’s short story “The Colour Out of Space,” and stars Nicolas Cage, Joely Richardson, Elliot Knight, Madeleine Arthur, Brendan Meyer, Q’orianka Kilcher, and Tommy Chong. Cage plays Nathan Gardner, who moves his family to a secluded farm after his wife’s mastectomy. One night, a strange meteorite strikes the farm, emitting a strange mist and incandescent colors that mutates the land.
Mandyis a 2018 horror action film starring Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, and Linus Roache. The film follows the enchanted lives of a couple in a secluded forest. Red (Cage) is a lumberjack, and his girlfriend Mandy (Riseborough) is an artist who spends her time reading fantasy books. One day, a crazed cult leader notices her, then conjures a group of biker-demons to kidnap her, which sends Red into a spiraling, surreal rampage of vengeance.
8MMis a 1999 crime thriller starring Cage as a private investigator named Tom Welles, who dives into the world of snuff films after being hired to determine if one is authentic or not. Starring alongside Cage is Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini, Peter Stormare, and Anthony Heald.
With the help of the streetwise Max California (Phoenix), Welles follows a bizarre trail of evidence to figure out the fate of a complete stranger on the snuff film. His work quickly turns into an obsession, and he drifts further away from his wife, family, and life as a small-town private eye.
1Grindhouse
Grindhouseis a 2007 horror action thriller starring Kurt Russell, Rose McGowan, Danny Trejo, and Zoe Bell. Cage does not have a starring role in the film, but rather performs in one of the fictitious trailers. The segment is for a fake movie calledWerewolf Women of the SS.Cage plays Dr. Fu Manchu in the trailer, a Chinese villain who has classically always been represented on screen by a white actor. This one example is exactly the point ofGrindhouse, which was designed to pay homage to the problematic and tasteless exploitation films from the 1970s.
