Justin Long’s light, buoyant personality makes him perfect for comedy films, but his career has led him to feature in several horror movies as well. The actor has appeared in more than sixty films, most of which have been light dramas through to outright comedies. His first acting credit is Jeepers Creepers, a horror film so successful it spawned a series of sequels, and he has since appeared in several films that all fall squarely into the category of horror.
Long began his comedy career in college, as a member of a sketch comedy group called Laughingstock. Then, after breaking through in Galaxy Quest, Long began starring in some of the most well-known comedies of the past twenty years. In Alvin and the Chipmunks movies. Suffice it to say, it’s a career dominated by inoffensive, often funny films. Maybe that’s why Long has also peppered his CV with some truly dark and horrifying material too.
Including a brief cameo in Jeepers Creepers 2, Long has appeared in a handful of horror movies. So much so, his horror movie back catalog is starting to catch up with his comedic output; at least in quality, if not quantity. The charismatic actor often brings an initial lightness and sarcastic humor to each appearance, before dipping into a fear that he transposes shockingly well to film. While it’s always a welcome surprise to see a comedic actor in a horror film, say Danny McBride in Elizabeth Banks in the movie Brightburn, it’s usually a one-off. The novelty makes it intriguing. Justin Long has gone beyond this, proving he can do horror as well as comedy, and turned it from a novelty into a successful addition to his repertoire. So here are all his horror films, ranked from worst to best.
Yoga Hosers
Smith’s own daughter, Harley Quinn Smith, it was universally panned on release. To his credit, Long provides one of the more humorous scenes as yoga guru, Yogi Bayer. His turn as the pretentious guru, while a bit on the nose, one pose is called the ‘pretentious frog,’ is disarming and fun. While being pitched as a horror-comedy, it includes barely any true horror and Long doesn’t have much of a chance to dip into the darkness he can do so well. Yoga Hosers is a low entry into his horror career.
Ghost Team
Not really a horror, and not really a comedy either. It makes this list by virtue of having ghosts in the title and vaguely following the story of amateur ghost hunters, who turn out not to be hunting scary horror movie ghosts at all. A complete misfire filled with actors who’ve all done better work in far better films. Long plays an obnoxious and annoying security guard who’s invited onto the ‘Ghost Team’ by Jon Heder’s Louis, who claims to have discovered a haunted house. What follows is a cash-grab exercise in ticking off rote character stereotypes and story beats. Once again, Long’s horror career won’t be judged by this entry.
After.Life
After.Life is the first entry with its feet fully in the horror/thriller genre and where Long leaves comedy at the door. He plays Paul Coleman, the boyfriend of Anna Taylor who may or may not be dead. She’s played by the brilliant Christina Ricci who channels some serious Addams Family vibes. This is the central mystery and failing point of an irable attempt at mediating life and death. Anna has woken up in a funeral home, on an embalming table, as she is being prepped for burial by an enigmatic mortician played with sincerity by Liam Neeson. The film’s premise is failed by a refusal to disclose whether Anna is in fact dead, or being made to think she is. The audience is left wondering what they’ve invested in and what in fact the film is trying to say. Despite this, director Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo, succeeds in building a creeping atmosphere of dread and Long does good work as the grief-stricken lover, who finds himself in a horrifying situation by the end credits. A running theme that spills over in the following, better horror films he’s been in.
Jeepers Creepers
A horror movie classic, Jeepers Creepers not only introduced us to the iconic ‘Creeper’ but launched Long headfirst into the world of horror. The film had a lukewarm reception from critics when it was first released in 2001, but has since developed somewhat of a cult following. And the introductory sequence, where the Creeper runs Patricia (Gina Philips) and Darry (Long) off the road in its truck remains one of the scariest and most threatening moments in modern horror. While the film peters out in the third act, Long gives it his all, portraying true fear in the face of an unknowable horror. His and the film’s ending is one that can’t be forgotten quickly.
Tusk
Kevin Smith’s so-called True North Trilogy, the second being Yoga Hosers and the third an, as of yet, un-made film called Moose Jaws. It’s also Smith’s first foray into body horror and the result is an incredibly difficult-to-watch, but surprisingly good film. Justin Long plays Wallace Bryton, the host of a podcast who finds himself at the mercy of a deranged man called Howard Howe, played brilliantly by the ever-watchable Michael Parks. Howe is intent on turning Bryton into a walrus and does so, step by step, over 100 grueling minutes. It’s horrible, it’s uncomfortable and at times, a very tough watch. But within all that lies a twisted comedy, that gives Long a chance to play a character both snarky and fearfully desperate.
House Of Darkness
While in Kevin Smith's Tusk his crass sense of humor sees him sewed into a walrus suit, in House of Darkness his sleazy, pick-up routine sees him cross paths with a gothic mansion filled with vampires. Director Neil Labute, best known for the unintentional comedy goldmine that is The Wicker Man, turns the tables on the sordid and shady ‘nice guy’ character, in a film that shifts the power balance firmly in the direction of the woman, in this case Mina (Kate Bosworth). Hap (Long) has picked her up after a night out, and it’s clear he doesn’t simply want to see her home safe; the end result sees him probably wish he had. A rather standard storyline is elevated by charismatic performances from both Long and Bosworth, who ensure the film gets its message across.
Creepshow: Night Of The Living Late Show
2019’s Creepshow revival was a welcome return to the original anthology classic. It re-introduced audiences to the Creep and the Creepshow comic book episodes, capturing the unsettling but humorous spirit that made the 1982 film so wildly popular. Among the 36 segments, spread over three seasons and a special, is a wonderfully nostalgic and terrifying entry called Night of the Living Late Show. It features Long as an inventor who creates a machine that allows the to enter any film they want. It gives Simon Sherman (Long) the opportunity to converse with horror icons Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, which is about as close to horror royalty as you can get. The end is dastardly cruel and leaves Long’s character, once again, wishing he’d been a better person.
Barbarian
The recently released Keith Toshko (Bill Skarsgard) to begrudgingly share a property for the night and together make the horrifying discovery of what lies underneath it. The owner of said property is the unlikeable, Aj Gilbride (Long), who is facing financial woes after being accused of rape. Long is once again perfectly at home in portraying the sleaze and smarminess of a character the audience is meant to enjoy disliking. Long is adept at turning that sycophantic charm off and dialing up the fear, which he does to great effect in this solid monster movie horror.
Drag Me To Hell
The Evil Dead trilogy. Long is the hapless boyfriend of Lohman’s character, given the unsavory job of watching his girlfriend suffer the consequences of disrespecting Mrs. Sylvia Ganush (Lorna Raver). Justin Long’s classic look of wide-eyed horror, used throughout his horror career, is never more impressive than when he has to watch Christine literally get dragged to hell. The film is an absolute blast.
