Winona Ryder names cinema’s “ultimate” scary movie: “I love psychological thrillers”
When Winona Ryder emerged under the spotlight, she quickly cemented herself as an actor with an affinity for all things gothic and a little offbeat.
With her role in the dark comedy Heathers as a high-schooler who uses unconventional and murderous methods of revenge on the popular clique, she excelled, while her part in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice established her as an alternative to the more mainstream roles played by the Brat Pack.
Since then, Ryder has appeared in a string of movies and television shows that align with horror themes like Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola, Lost Souls, Black Swan, and, of course, Stranger Things. Yet, the actor isn’t actually a massive horror film; in fact, she prefers those that fall into the psychological thriller category.
In a 2000 interview, Ryder once revealed, “I don’t like the, you know, slash ’em up movies very much. I love psychological thrillers,” claiming that she’s “not a big fan of gore”.
Clearly, the actor is not much of a slasher fan, preferring films that have more depth to them, the kind that really get into your head. That’s not to say that a slasher can’t have depth – many classics, like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween, use the format to explore rich social themes – but it seems that Ryder is simply more interested in the kinds of psychological films that bury themselves under your skin.
“Like I think the ultimate is Don’t Look Now. Anything dealing with clairvoyance, things like that,” the actor said, highlighting the iconic 1973 film featuring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. Directed by Nicolas Roeg, the movie is a stunning exploration of grief and how it can leave you without a firm grasp on reality. At the beginning of the film, Sutherland’s John Baxter attempts to save his daughter from drowning, but he is ultimately unsuccessful, and she dies in his arms.
Following the tragic event, John and his wife Laura travel to Venice for John’s job, but you can’t always run from your feelings by going to a different country – they’ll just come with you. After the pair meet two strange women who claim that the couple’s daughter is trying to contact them from beyond the grave, John’s life spirals into chaos as he frequently sees a red-cloaked figure walking around the city, as if they are tormenting him by running away from his sight.
It’s a terrific film full of paranoia and indelible imagery, although it garnered significant controversy upon its release for a rather explicit sex scene between Sutherland and Christie. While Don’t Look Now has its scary moments, like the climax of the movie, most of the fear comes from the tense and uncertain atmosphere that the director crafts, relying on paranoid visions, confusion, and near-death experiences to leave the audience feeling uneasy.
Similarly, Ryder highlighted her love for David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone, calling it “a great movie”. With its science-fiction themes rather than outright horror, Ryder seems drawn to its thematic complexity as something much more than just a collection of easy scares. For Ryder to like a horror film, it has to really say something to her by examining the parts of life which are actually the scariest, like grief.
