Viola Davis should try Horror
Friday, November 24, 2023 at 8:00PM 
Coming into its second week in theaters, the new Hunger Games movie keeps doing solid numbers. The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is a not-so-surprising success, reinforcing the franchise's popularity and audience's taste for fancy-dressed dystopia. What's more surprising, perhaps, is the relatively positive critical consensus. Though few herald the Francis Lawrence flick as best-of-the-year material, it's also not counted amid 2023's many busted blockbusters. The cast has been especially praised, including Viola Davis, who is expanding her repertoire to include one mad-eyed, crazy-haired villain in red.
As Gamemaker Volumnia Gaul, she's the story's primary antagonist, an embodiment of its universe's power structures, bloodthirsty and ruthless. Seeing Davis triumph in the role makes one wonder how she'd do in more genre fare. Horror, for example…
Back in 2012, when Davis was nominated for Best Actress for The Help, she took part in one of The New York Times's editorials, where various awards contenders posed for photos and small videos. That year's theme was cinematic villainy, with the actress taking a spin on the whole Nurse Ratchet concept. Rather than New Hollywood Realism or Ryan Murphy's glammed-up Netflix camp, this vision of the character leaned on horror. And so, directed by Alex Prager, Viola Davis stared down the camera, her gaze a threat while ladybugs crawled over the nurse's uniform, her countenance and steely frame.
Since catching that little clip, I've dreamt of Davis as a proper horror star. But sadly, the ensuing decade never saw the thespian tap into that potential. Prestige and theatrical grandeur are her comfort zone, and she's delivered some incredible turns within those parameters. Hell, Davis even showed she could do thriller antics like nobody's business in the Oscar-worthy Widows and aced an action-heavy premise in The Woman King. It's not hard to imagine her doing the same in some celluloid nightmare. If her Dr. Gaul is any indication, Davis could kill as a monstrous figure come to haunt our collective imagination.
Do you agree, dear reader? Would Viola Davis do well in horror? And what other genres would you like to see the thespian try?
Reader Comments (7)
Of course she’d do well in horror! I don’t think there’s anything she can’t do. Although has she done a proper comedy? Where’s her Devil Wears Prada? She’d kill that. Or to borrow another Meryl vehicle, where’s her It’s Complicated? That’s not a perfect film but it’s a fun rom com, something light and breezy. No big message, just movie stars movie starring.
She'd be awesome in horror. As long as it's not from Ryan Murphy.
Absolutely she would. It takes a great actor to give a great performance in horror and Viola has proven that she can pull off the sinister streak in multiple projects now.
It is certainly something i'd like to see,Ma though not perfect was an eye opener for fans of Octavia Spencer because it was soooo different from the saintly friend roles she'd been pigeonholed into,it's that old adage of Hollywood liking to put people in boxes and they are so much better when they break out of those boxes,I think a psychological/horror word work best for Viola and not an all out slasher or maybe the lead in a Sci-Fi/Horror.
charlea -- I'd love to see her in an actual comedy. Sometimes, even the most serious of actresses can be a comedic revelation. I'm thinking of Swinton in TRAINWRECK and Williams in I FEEL PRETTY. Davis has the presence of a movie star alright, so it'd be glorious to see her in a proper star vehicle, breezy and glitzy. Just for once, for a change.
thevoid99 -- Please, may their paths never cross. We don't need to lose any more amazing actresses to the Ryan Murphy industrial complex.
Robert G -- Seeing Davis play horrifying and sinister in a meaty role would be a dream come true.
Mr Ripley79 -- MA is an excellent example for how it showed a different side of Spencer. Honestly, as mediocre as the movie may be, she proves her range.
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I had a great time with her in Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, but maybe mostly because she was really playing up the camp of a severely underwritten character. She basically took the Nicolas Cage route of imbuing a nothing character with so much out there performance zaniness, you have to admire it.