SHOCK examines the darker side of actor Jeff Goldblum.
After running our review of Scream Factory’s Blu-ray re-release of Philip Kaufman’s mesmerizing 1978 remake of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, we got to thinking about beloved American actor Jeff Goldblum.
The towering (in every respect – the actor stands 6’4) performer has made a mark in primarily comic roles, with many filmmakers channeling his unique, exaggerated features and wild-eyed, caffeinated line deliveries to amusing effect.
Witness his turn in the first two JURASSIC PARK films and you “get” the Goldblum charm: he’s smart, weird, sexy, funny and physical.
But, outside of his twitchy performance in BODY SNATCHERS, Goldblum has appeared in a plethora of darker films, some outright horror, some that play within the genre, some that are lighter of heart, some of which require the actor to mine the darkest parts of his persona.
Here then are a pack of pictures that feature the awesome Jeff Goldblum, framed in fantastical and frightening settings.
Jeff Goldblum
-
DEATH WISH (1974)
Goldblum's first credited screen performance is also his most malevolent. Playing "Freak #1", our man Jeff is a repellent home-invading rapist from Hell whose acts of cruelty, frustration and boredom spur on Charlie Bronson's Paul Kersey to become cinema's most infamous vigilante. Goldbum is a festering sore of a human here and because of that, he's totally memorable.
-
THE SENTINEL (1977)
DEATH WISH director Michael Winner brought Goldblum back for this lurid Satanic thriller, this time giving him the brief and benign role of Jack, a high fashion photographer. In a movie filled with horror and horrible people, Goldblum's Jack is a harmlessly arrogant hombre. Incidentally, Nicolas Winding Refn's THE NEON DEMON has a major character who is an equally self-absorbed fashion photog named Jack. Coincidence? Hmmm...
-
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978)
In Philip Kaufman's 1978 masterpiece, we see the first strains of the fevered, goofy, attractive intellectual intensity that Goldblum would drag with him to great success in film's like THE FLY and the JURASSIC PARK films. But when Goldlum's Jack (another Jack!) Bellicec gets "snatched", his warmth is replaced by a dead eyed gaze that chills the blood.
-
THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW (1980)
Goldblum seemed born to play Washington Irvin's socially awkward schoolteacher Ichabod Crane in this obscure, but fun and spooky TV movie adaption of Irvin's oft-mined book. Watching Goldblum face-off against the Headless Horseman is a blast.
-
TRANSYLVANA 6-5000 (1985)
This irredeemably goofy horror comedy sees Goldblum playing a tabloid reported (named Jack...again!) trying to debunk monsters in Romania. Goldblum is fun running afoul of the undead and a pack of eccentrics, one of which is the delicious Geena Davis, his future THE FLY co-star and eventually long-time, real life lover.
-
THE FLY (1986)
The mother of all Goldblum movies, director David Cronenberg had met the actor when they were both starring in John Landis' 1985 comedy INTO THE NIGHT. Impressed by the actor's presence, Cronenberg knew he was right to bring the doomed Seth Brundle to oozing, slimy, tragic life in this, one of the greatest body horror films of all time. Here Goldblum pulls out all the stops, delivering an intensely physical and emotional performance.
-
MISTER FROST (1990)
Phillipe Setbon's absolutely mesmerizing psychological and supernatural horror film is ripe for re-discovery, with Goldblum at his darkest playing a dangerous man who may or may not be The Devil. A must see film and a high-point in Goldblum's career.
-
HIDEAWAY (1995)
Director Brett Leonard (THE DEAD PIT) delivers an intense, mean and violent ride with the seemingly forgotten Dean Koontz adaptation HIDEAWAY. In it, Goldblum is in his black leather jacket hero mode as Hatch, a man who survives a near death experience only to emerge psychically linked to Jeremy Sisto's ruthless psycho killer. Goldblum is urgent and intense and the industrial metal score adds ferocity to the film.
What's YOUR favorite "Dark Goldblum" performance?
