This week we are going to see The Gift hit the big screen and Joel Edgerton - who also wrote and directed the film - play a creepy stalker who turns a couple's life upside down.
The Gift
Over the years, we have seen a whole host of stalker characters on the big screen and we have seen some great actors give memorably and skin-crawling performances.
To celebrate the release of The Gift, we look back at some of the movies that featured some of the best stalker performances.
- Notes on a Scandal
This British film adaptation explores the relationship a teacher (Cate Blanchett) has with an underage student, whilst also looking at her friendship with a fellow teacher (Judi Dench), turned best friend.
However Dench's character quickly begins to create an obsession with Blanchett, and when she discovers her secret she begins to manipulate her to try to gain the upper hand. The realistically creepy portrayal by Dench was award winning, making the small British film explode into the entertainment world.
We have never seen Dench tackle a character like this before or since and it remains one of her greatest big screen performances - it really is unlike anything that she has ever done before.
Blanchett also gives a mighty fine performance but it is Dench who steals the show with a truly harrowing turn as teacher Barbara Covett. The relationship between the two teachers is expertly constructed, explored, and torn apart. It really is an edge of your seat thriller from start to finish.
Dench was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her performance - Blanchett was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress - but she lost out to Helen Mirren for her role in The Queen.
- The Talented Mr. Ripley
Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) craves a life he has never led, and upon ending up in Italy one summer in the late 1950s, he attempts to transform his life into what he has always desired it to be. However, this comes at the cost of using another, Dickie (Jude Law).
Tom is given the task of bringing Dickie home to America by his father, and in his attempts to do so Tom begins to subtly manipulate the pair, eventually making their lifestyle his own. This complex and at times scary film grips any audience through the creepy and stalker character Matt Damon plays.
Hard to believe it was 1999 when The Talented Mr Ripley hit the big screen and saw Anthony Minghella back in the director's chair. The movie was an adaptation of the novel by Patricia Highsmith and was adapted by Minghella himself.
I have been a fan of Matt Damon for many years and he gives a very unsettling and creepy performance very early on in his career. I love the slow pace favoured by director Minghella as it really helps ratch up the tension and suspense.
The Talented Mr Ripley is a fascinating look at how class and money - and the lack of - can fuel desire and ultimately resentment. Minghella delivered a terrific thriller, while Damon and Jude Law both give fantastic central performances.
- One Hour Photo
Robin Williams plays the ultimate stalker in this film, a seemingly ordinary man who works at the photo counter at his local shop. Often overlooked by the customers, Sy begins to develop an obsession with the Yorkin family, long-time customers to the shop.
Secretly making his own copies of their photographs, he hangs the film negatives on the wall in his house. Sy plays the ultimate creepy character, and is only caught when he mistakenly recognises someone he has only ever seen in photographs.
Released back in 2002, One Hour Photo saw Robin Williams team up with writer/director Mark Romanek for one of the best performances of his career - much like Judi Dench in Notes on a Scandal; this is a character that we have never seen Williams tackle before.
We are use to seeing Williams in comedy roles such as Mrs Doubtfire and Patch Adams but he is also a terrific dramatic actor and it was great to see him get the chance to tackle such a role. Williams is the heart of this movie and gives a haunting and chilling performance that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.
One Hour Photo was a movie that really allowed Williams to stretch his acting muscles and show he is more than just a funny man. As the movie, progresses you get to know that character of Sy better and Williams has been able to create sympathy for this character - in lesser hands, I doubt this would have been achieved.
- Fatal Attraction
When it comes to stalker thrillers there is none more iconic than Fatal Attraction - a movie that still terrifies nearly thirty years after it was released.
When Dan (Michael Douglas) has an affair with his colleague Alex (Glenn Close), he quickly begins to regret it as she develops an unstoppable obsession with him. Despite being married with children, she becomes enraptured by wanting him for herself.
Her aggressive pursuit becomes a danger to him and his family, as her stalker qualities make it apparent that Dan needs to save his family from her more than he needs to disguise his affair.
Glenn Close is just magnificent as the 'bunny boiler' Alex and this is the performance for which she will always be remembered. She really does make a terrific villain.
Adrian Lyne was in the director's chair and he has crafted a movie that is packed with twists and turns and is suspenseful from start to finish. He really does send the tension and danger through the roof in the last third of the film that will have you on the edge of your seat. No matter how many times you watch this movie, the suspense that the director creates always packs an almighty punch.
Fatal Attraction is a movie with elements of thriller, suspense, revenge, and horror and the director has balanced them all beautifully. Add in two great performances from Close and Douglas and you have a really classic that is standing the test of time.
- Enduring Love
Before Daniel Craig took on the role of 007, he starred in the big screen adaptation of Enduring Love. The movie was based on the book by Ian McEwan and saw Roger Michell in the director's chair. The movie saw Michell and Craig reunite after working together on The Mother.
The movie followed couple Joe (Daniel Craig) and Claire (Samantha Morton) and a group of people who are brought together when they see a hot air balloon crash. Clambering to help the people in the balloon, the group begin to cling to the basket, hoping to keep it on the ground. The results are disastrous, and Joe and Claire suffer the emotional consequences of the traumatic event.
However, it also brings an unwelcome visitor, Jed (Rhys Ifans), one of the other men in the group helping to save the hot air balloon. Following Joe and Claire everywhere they go, waiting outside their home all hours of the day, Jed begins to make the couple too scared to go out the house.
Enduring Love is a terrific adaptation of a great book and is driven by wonderful performances from both Daniel Craig and Rhys Ifans. Ifans had also worked with the director on Notting Hilly and gives a truly terrifying performance as stalker Jed.
Enduring Love is a great exploration of obsession and Ifans well and truly embraces this dark side of his character - he really will send a shiver down your spine every time you see him on screen.
This is a truly absorbing movie that is full of twists and surprises - all of that is strengthened by a great cast who give some very strong performances.
- There's Something About Mary
There's Something About Mary is one of the most iconic movies of the nineties that helped send the stars of both Cameron Diaz and Ben Stiller rocketing.
This classic romantic comedy has a slightly unusual twist in the form on a stalker. Healy (Matt Dillion) meets Mary (Cameron Diaz) when he is instructed to research her for a friend Ted (Ben Stiller). When Healy sees her, he decides to keep her information for himself instead of relaying it, preventing Ted and Mary to rekindle their love.
As a result, Healy is able to construct an image of himself as the ideal man for Mary; however, it quickly backfires when Ted happens to bump into Mary by chance.
There's Something About Mary is a movie that is crude, sexist, and politically incorrect and yet, it is a movie that is laugh out loud funny. The movie marked the return of Bobby and Peter Farrelly to the director's chair and they brought together a super cast.
Dillion gives a terrific performance as Pat Healy, whose attempts to win Mary really do descend into absurdity. He is one of the most unlikeable characters and yet, you cannot help but laugh out loud at him, his view of himself, and his opinion of women.
Pat is perhaps not your average terrifying stalker like some of the other characters that we have looked at, but he is still a great addition to this list of 'stalker' characters.
The Gift is in cinemas August 7th