KEANU REEVES: SINKING HIS TEETH INTO HORROR
By Kirsten Howard
Keanu Reeves has carved out a career in action movies, but he’s never been afraid of the darker side of cinema.
Reeves’ star has never seemed to fade in Hollywood, and that might be because he often challenges himself with unexpected roles.
Despite many people knowing him from the Bill & Ted movies, The Matrix franchise or his latest foray into action-revenge with the John Wick films, Reeves does dabble in other genres.
Often seen toting guns and exploring various science fiction universes in the projects that he chooses, Reeves still loves to sink his teeth into a horror movie.
One of his first major parts was in River’s Edge, a crime drama where he played a young teen caught up in the murder of a young girl.
The film was well received by critics, and got him noticed as an emerging talent.
Reeves would go on to star in Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula as Jonathan Harker.
Although filmgoers found it hard to take the actor seriously thanks to a dodgy English accent, the movie itself is much more well regarded these days.
Five years later, Reeves went toe-to-toe with Al Pacino as Satan himself in The Devil’s Advocate.
Much like Dracula, reviews were mixed when the film first came out, but it has since become a cult classic.
Reeves was back working with another horror maestro a few years later when he joined the cast of Sam Raimi’s The Gift.
Audiences found it hard to see Keanu play against type as a violent and abusive member of a small town community who is suspected of murder.
People also weren’t ready to see Reeves take on the role of John Constantine in WB’s dark DC comic book adaptation back in 2005, but the film has been reassessed since.
It would be a decade before Keanu tried to take another stab at horror.
Eli Roth’s Knock Knock was a wild ride, putting Reeves at the center of a deadly home invasion scenario.
It was only seen by a small slice of its potential audience when it was released, but after hitting Netflix recently, it’s gained a cult following.
No doubt Keanu Reeves will return to the horror genre soon enough!