Movie fans around the world are grieving the sudden loss of the great Sam Neill, a modern legend perhaps best known for playing Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park films. Yet there was much more to this New Zealand actor’s résumé, which included a host of truly classic films, such as The Hunt for Red October, The Piano, and many more. To mark the sad occasion of his passing, we wanted to highlight five of his more underrated movies, all of which feature incredible work from this iconic star.
While widely acclaimed in arthouse circles upon its release in 1981, Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession has only in recent years become recognized as a horror classic. Its influence has been felt in everything from Sydney Sweeney’s Immaculateto the recent The First Omen. While Isabelle Adjani’s performance is the one that usually gets mentioned, Neill is just as good as her husband, a brooding spy working in West Berlin during the Cold War who starts to go to pieces as his wife begins to slip away from him. The film is being remade by Smile director Parker Finn, which strikes me as a bad idea—but I guess we’ll see.
While most people think of this as the weakest Omen movie, it has one really great thing going for it—namely Neill’s incredible performance as the now-grown Damien Thorn. Even if the movie is a 6/10 (at best), Neill is a 10 as the suave, handsome, cool Damien, a man you believe could ascend to the highest ranks of power. It was a shame they killed him off at the end, as Neill could have continued playing the character in sequel after sequel while the Antichrist’s powers grew. We really missed out on seeing Damien’s long-teased fate of becoming President of the United States.
While this movie is no doubt tainted by stories of John Carpenter feuding with a poorly behaved Chevy Chase on set, the silver lining is that this was the first time the director worked with Sam Neill. Carpenter liked him so much that he later cast him as the lead in In the Mouth of Madness (more on that in a bit). I’ve always thought this was an underrated movie. Although Chase’s performance is weak, it’s an intriguing, action-driven take on The Invisible Man, with Neill terrific as the film’s smooth-talking antagonist, a shady CIA operative who wants the secret of invisibility for nefarious purposes. I also think if Sam Neill had been the lead in this one (The Invisible Man), it might have been a classic.
It’s a shame that one of John Carpenter’s all-time best movies was such a disaster at the box office, despite arriving in the wake of Sam Neill’s biggest hit, Jurassic Park. He’s incredible as an insurance investigator searching for missing horror author Sutter Cane. Neill, who had built a reputation at the time for playing suave, almost Bond-like characters (he once screen-tested for the role of James Bond), really gets to stretch here, particularly in the final act. The performance helped open the door for him to take on a much wider range of roles in the years that followed.
After a couple of relatively quiet years, Taika Waititi’s charming film seemed to reignite audiences’ appreciation for Neill, reminding everyone just how extraordinary an actor he was. He has one of the best roles of his career here, playing a grumpy, illiterate bushman who winds up on the run through the New Zealand wilderness with his foster son, played by the great Julian Dennison. The film has become a well-deserved cult classic and helped spark a welcome late-career resurgence for Neill.
Sam Neill is best known for playing Dr. Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1993) and Jurassic Park III (2001). However, his career spans decades and includes acclaimed performances in horror, drama, science fiction, comedy, and historical films. Plus, he also starred in the influential tv series Reilly: Ace of Spies, as well as on the first two seasons of Peaky Blinders.
Some of Sam Neill’s most underrated movies include Possession (1981), Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981), Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), In the Mouth of Madness (1994), and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016).
Sam Neill has appeared in several big horror films, including Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness, Omen III: The Final Conflict, and the science fiction horror film Event Horizon.
Hard to say. Some think it’s In the Mouth of Madness by John Carpenter, but others remember him best for Event Horizon and his famous “do you see” line. Possession is also highly acclaimed.
Yes. Sam Neill collaborated with John Carpenter on two films: Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992) and In the Mouth of Madness (1994). Their partnership helped showcase Neill’s versatility beyond his more traditional leading-man roles.
Sam Neill’s most famous role is Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park (1993), Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel. The role made him internationally recognizable and remains his signature performance.
While Jurassic Park introduced Sam Neill to a worldwide audience, his filmography includes much darker, stranger, and more challenging roles. Movies like Possession, In the Mouth of Madness, and Hunt for the Wilderpeople demonstrate his range as a performer.
What’s your favorite Sam Neill performance? Let us know in the comments.