The Most Underrated Horror Stars of the Past 5 Years (And Where to Watch Them)

Horror is littered with icons, whether it be those that play the monster, such as Robert Englund and Kane Hodder, or all of the badass final girls such as Neve Campbell and Samara Weaving.

All of them have become household names and are regularly given accolades of being the best of the best. While this is true, there is also a whole new crop of horror stars bubbling beneath the surface waiting their turn in the spotlight. 

Horror has never been hotter than right now, and in 2026’s Obsession we already have a contender for a future genre great in the form of Inde Navarrette. Her phenomenal performance as Nikki has seen her welcomed into the horror family, and another couple of genre roles will no doubt cement her standing, but which other fresh faces will she be joining? We’ve compiled a list of some of the most consistent and underrated horror stars of the past five years. 

Lily Sullivan

Australian actress Lily Sullivan became an instant horror icon with her turn as Beth in Evil Dead Rise. While she might not have been Ash Williams, the hardy character proved that the Evil Dead franchise was in safe hands. With Evil Dead Burn just out in cinemas, and there being some connectivity between the movies, now is the perfect time to catch up with Evil Dead Rise. 

Other horror offerings from Lily Sullivan include zombie apocalypse drama Forgive Us All, and the utterly fascinating sci-fi horror conspiracy, Monolith. Filmed immediately after Evil Dead Rise, Monolith is a far more intimate and isolated story that sees an investigative journalist caught up in the middle of a strange phenomenon involving weird extraterrestrial bricks. A film for lovers of The X-Files, Australian fans can watch Monolith for free right now on JustWatch TV, but you can also find it in the UK on Prime Video and Apple. 

As we continue to wait to see whether Beth might return in a future Evil Dead outing, Lily Sullivan can next be seen in Kate Dolan’s Soulm8te. A new entry in the cinematic universe that began with M3GAN, in Soulm8te, Sullivan will play a ‘lovebot’ who becomes a little too infatuated with her widowed owner. 

Kathryn Newton

Despite having been in plenty of high-profile horror projects, Kathryn Newton is still criminally unknown. Her early horror credits include a recurring role on Supernatural as Claire, the daughter of the man who became Castiel’s vessel, and Paranormal Activity 4. 

Since then she has gone on to carve out a consistent career in the genre, and is an actress unafraid to embrace the wackiness that can come from a comedy horror. Having starred in body-swap slasher Freaky, babysat a vampire in Abigail, and hunted alongside Samara Weaving in Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, Newton really does have the corner of fun horror covered. Of all of her credits to date, Lisa Frankenstein is her most underseen, but brilliant. Set in the ‘80s and channelling Tim Burton, Lisa Frankenstein sees Newton’s titular teen fall in love with a reanimated Victorian corpse. Directed by Zelda Williams, Lisa Frankenstein is Mary Shelley meets Heathers, telling a wickedly ‘80s hued Gothic romance. 

Although also a regular in the MCU, and announced to be in the forthcoming Avengers: Doomsday, Kathryn Newton is happily still committing herself to horror with two upcoming releases. The first sees her tackle sharks in The Devil’s Mouth, the second, White Elephant, which is set to be a Christmas chiller from the director of Clown in the Cornfield. 

Georgina Campbell

After facing down the insane horrors lurking within Barbarian, Georgina Campbell immediately won over genre fans. Her portrayal of Tess was one for the ages, Campbell imbuing her character with a lot of strength, moxie, and most importantly, awareness. Right from her arrival at the Airbnb where she is faced with the double-booking, Tess is a sensible woman, constantly alert for any threat that Keith may pose. Of course Keith is a massive red herring, but even when faced with the actual horror in the sub-basement, Tess remains a final girl that audiences can rally behind. 

Starring in Barbarian clearly awoke something in Campbell as the actress has barely been away from genre cinema since. Highlights include the ethereal Lovely, Dark, and Deep, the twisty The Watchers, and ingenious horror sequel, Influencers. 

Georgina Campbell will next be found starring alongside fellow horror staple, David Dastmalchian, in The Shepherd. A film that appears to be riffing off of that terrifying Urban Legend opening, The Shepherd will find Campbell’s character’s car-jacked by a mysterious stranger hiding in the back of her car. 

Sophie Thatcher 

Sophie Thatcher rose to fame playing the younger version of Juliette Lewis’ character Natalie in Yellowjackets. Juliette Lewis is an intimidating performer, but Thatcher managed to completely nail the younger half of Natalie, with the character becoming a firm fan favourite across both timelines. Although not overtly horror, Yellowjackets has plenty of weird supernatural goings on to keep genre fans happy, plus the added bonus of cannibalism brought on by Natalie and her friends having to survive in extreme conditions after a plane crash. 

Although the final season of Yellowjackets is still in production, Sophie Thatcher has consistently used her down time from the show to appear in more horror properties. She appears briefly in MaXXXine as a SFX make-up artist, but leads the trio of Companion, The Boogeyman, and Heretic. Each project is vastly different to the other, pointing to an actress with a taste for variety. Companion is more sci-fi focused, Heretic is a fantastic religious nightmare chamber piece, and The Boogeyman is jump scare thrill-ride based on a Stephen King short story. 

As well as in that last season of Yellowjackets, Sophie Thatcher’s upcoming genre projects include Nicolas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell, which debuted at Cannes, and The Girl Who Was Plugged In. While the latter appears to be more science-fiction in nature, it being directed by The Babadook’s Jennifer Kent, means it will almost certainly have some degree of darkness. 

Richard Harmon

Although horror rightly belongs to the girlies, there are several actors also doing great work within the genre. One of those is Richard Harmon. Perhaps better known to many as John Murphy from The 100, Harmon has been appearing in horror movies for almost his entire career. One of his very early credits is in anthology horror, Trick ‘r Treat, where he played the vampire kid. 

Harmon’s other horror credits include R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, Grave Encounters 2, and Lowlifes, but his shining jewel is Final Destination: Bloodlines. He plays Eric, a character fairly dismissive of the concept that death is stalking his family. The character and his exploration of an MRI machine made him an instant icon of the Final Destination franchise, and left those new to the actor eager to see him elsewhere.

Richard Harmon can currently be found in the recently released Pitfall, which is 127 Hours meets Wrong Turn, before next appearing with Ruby Modine in A Most Delightful Game. Don’t let the title fool you, A Most Delightful Game is pitched as being about a young woman venturing to a ‘death-plagued highway where she must confront an unknown evil.’