The best Maika Monroe horror films, ranked

This list was originally published on July 12, 2024. Maika Monroe’s latest horror movies, The hand that rocks the cradlepremiered on Hulu on October 22, 2025.

Before Jenna Ortega and ScreamingBy mia goth and PearlAnd before the young cast Yellow vests Maika Monroe has become our favorite cannibal, leaving her indelible mark on 21st century horror. Over the past decade, Monroe has established herself as a mainstay in the horror genre, not just a dependable player but a true modern scream queen capable of upping the ante, standing up to monsters of all kinds, and of course, driving modern classics to greater heights.

Thanks to her unnerving performance in Oz Perkins’ serial killer horror film Long legsMonroe is on the verge of making a kind of second breakthrough in her horror career, a chance to remind audiences that not only is she here, but she’s still the best young actress in the genre right now. In celebration of this achievement, and Monroe’s indefatigable talents, here are all the horror films she’s made to date, ranked from worst to best.

One of Monroe’s great talents, and a hallmark of good horror acting in general, is her ability to maintain a compelling edge in a scene without another human partner, something she achieves brilliantly in other films we’ll talk about later. It’s a gift that is a tremendous asset in a film like Taoin which she plays a woman who is kidnapped by a mad scientist (Ed Skrein) to help him develop the advanced artificial intelligence (voiced by Gary Oldman) that he is trying to master. For large portions of the film, Monroe is left alone in a large, cold house with nothing but the voice of an artificial intelligence to keep her company, meaning the humanity of the film rests on her shoulders. Trying to balance claustrophobic horror with high-concept sci-fi doesn’t quite work, and everything goes exactly as you’d expect, but with Monroe at the center, Tao It retains watchability and a surprisingly consistent emotional core.

Monroe is clearly having a good time playing the scheming babysitter for Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s concerned, megalomaniacal, and increasingly wealthy mother in Michel Garza Cervera’s remake of Curtis Hanson’s 1992 thriller. Unfortunately, Monroe’s efforts to delve into the world of a scheming seductress with a very mean streak are one of the few It’s in this movie that really works. All the ingredients for a compelling and frightening piece of domestic horror are there, but aside from some third-act fireworks, we mostly have to settle for Monroe walking a fine line between subdued and bombastic. And since this is Monroe we’re talking about, she is He does Pull it out most of the time – but not enough to save a medium-sized movie on your own.

Monroe takes a supporting role in GretaA psychological horror film directed by Neil Jordan, it’s about a young woman (Chloë Grace Moretz) who befriends a mysterious older woman (Isabelle Huppert in the lead role) and soon discovers she’s accidentally bonded with a monster. As Moretz’s roommate, the lively and sassy Erica, Monroe disappears from the film for long stretches, but Jordan is smart enough to keep her actively involved in the plot, and she eventually becomes the star of the film’s two best scenes. One is a fantastically tense chase sequence, the other a showdown with Hubert; Monroe was able to flex her Final Girl muscles in both scenes to great effect, which helped Greta Her scariest moments land.

A black comedy crime film in the spirit of a horror film, The bad guys Monroe reunites with Bill Skarsgård as they play two small-time crooks trying to make enough money to live the life of their dreams in Florida. When their car breaks down, they stumble upon a house in the woods, and a strange couple (Jeffrey Donovan and Kyra Sedgwick) who are hiding a dark secret. What follows is a strange, violent, and twisted game between predator and prey that is both tension-packed and deeply satisfying. Unsurprisingly, a large part of that satisfaction is the chemistry between Skarsgård and Monroe, who are able to shift from the film’s comedic undertones to its horrific developments with ease and grace. It’s arguably the funniest movie on this list, but that doesn’t stop it from being really scary.

There is a very delicate tonal dance at work significant otherin which Monroe plays a woman who reluctantly goes out hiking and camping with her boyfriend (Jake Lacy), only to find something she never expected in the woods. Humour, paranoia and heart are what front the narrative, and when the real sci-fi/horror elements start to kick in, you think you know where it’s going, until you don’t. Volatility in significant other Very effective, but it’s what happens next that makes the film a hidden gem of the 2022 horror landscape, and both Munro and Lacey navigate the film’s delightful weirdness wonderfully.

This is the point where the list starts to shift from good genre films into the realm of potential masterpieces. in observerChloe Okuno’s stylish and sexy directorial debut, Monroe plays a lonely woman who moves to Bucharest with her husband (Karl Glusman) and, while he’s at work, begins to worry that someone in the apartment across the street is watching her. It’s the stuff of classic paranoid filmmaking, clearly following in the footsteps of Hitchcock and De Palma. But what makes observer What’s particularly notable about the film is how squarely Okuno focuses on the woman who must persist despite not being listened to and how successful Monroe is in that environment. It’s one of those shows that often has to sell it alone, in a room, interacting not with a scene partner but with a particular environmental feature, and she not only masters that, but makes us feel that same sense of creeping anxiety as well.

Monroe’s breakthrough as a mainstay in the film industry came in 2014 thanks to two films. One offered a lead role, which we’ll get to in a moment, while the other saw her take second place with Dan Stevens’ stunning performance in the title role. guest. He drives it You are next The team of director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett, guest It unfolds as a seemingly straightforward thriller about a military man (Stevens) who visits the family of his late comrade and forms a strange relationship with their teenage daughter (Monroe) and young son (Brendan Meyer). One of the film’s great strengths is its ability to shift from such a thrilling perspective to full-blown horror at the end, and that’s not just thanks to Stevens. Monroe has to slowly go from being fascinated and infatuated with Stevens to completely terrified of him, and her ability to pull this off while explosions and gunfights happen around her makes for the film’s tonal shifts perfect.

In this mix of procedural thriller and diabolical nightmare from horror director Oz Perkins, Monroe plays Lee Harker, an FBI agent trying to track down a serial killer (Nicolas Cage) even as he approaches her as the object of his latest infatuation. Monroe plays Lee with some unwavering restraint, keeping her emotions guarded until the film’s horrific plot slowly gives way and Cage becomes… well, unhinged in the best ways. It’s one of those films that seems strange and full of strangeness from the beginning, and Monroe knows exactly how to navigate that environment.

The other major film of 2014 (although it didn’t hit US theaters until 2015) that cemented Monroe’s status as a genre star, He follows Since then it has become not just a successful horror film, but a cultural mainstay Babadook and Get out As one of the most talked about films of his decade. Monroe plays Jay, a young woman who finds herself cursed after a one-night stand, followed by a strange entity that will kill her if it catches her. In theory, it’s a brilliant work of horror from director David Robert Mitchell, but it’s Monroe who has to navigate the harrowing emotional journey of the piece, as Jay goes from unwitting participant to desperate prey to unforgettable Final Girl. It’s a remarkable performance in one of the best horror films of the 21st century to date, and one that cemented Monroe as one of its brightest and most compelling artists.