Cillian Murphy’s Horror Movies, Ranked (Including Quiet Place 2)

Cillian Murphy has had an impressive and diverse filmography over the years. Here’s every horror/slasher movie Murphy has starred in, ranked.

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Cillian Murphy’s filmography can be deemed pretty diverse and extensive, with the Peaky Blinders actor dabbling into a string of impressive horror roles. Murphy excels in bringing a certain sense of intensity to the big screen, one which translates into a natural fit for most of his characters, as evidenced in his portrayal of Scarecrow throughout Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, and Patrick ‘Kitten’ Braden in Breakfast on Pluto. Recently, Murphy recently featured in a standout role in John Krasinski’s survival horror sequel, A Quiet Place Part II, bringing a fresh narrative exploration of fatherhood to life.

However, A Quiet Place Part II is not Murphy’s first venture into horror, as he is best known for his breakout role in Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later. Set in the aftermath of a viral outbreak of the Rage virus in Great Britain, 28 Days Later zeroes in on Jim (Murphy), who wakes to this harrowing reality from a coma, whilst battling infected humans and the cruel machinations of human nature. Since then, Murphy has been an unstoppable force in both mainstream and indie cinema, widening his ambit via his role as Thomas Shelby in the explosively popular TV series, Peaky Blinders.

While the list of horror films starring Murphy isn’t long, these entries are seminal in terms of the genre tropes they uphold, and the manner in which the varying narratives flesh out his titular roles. Some entries, such as Red Eye, verge more on the arena of being a psychological thriller, although it does contain slasher elements that make the film a necessary inclusion. Here’s every Cillian Murphy horror movie, including A Quiet Place Part II, ranked.

6. Red Lights (2012)

Written and directed by Rodrigo Cortés and starring Murphy, Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, and Elizabeth Olsen, Red Lights is a supernatural thriller focusing on a frenetic murder mystery. Here, Murphy plays Tom Buckley, assistant physicist to psychologist Margaret Matheson (Weaver), who investigates claims of paranormal phenomena in a murder case. After Matheson’s sudden death, Buckley becomes increasingly obsessed with investigating Silver (De Niro), a psychic intricately involved with the situation at hand. While critics called the cast “undeniably talented”, there is an overwhelming consensus that Red Lights does not quite work well as a paranormal thriller, as the plot meanders without aim and fails to offer meaningful catharsis despite its many convoluted narrative branches. Despite decent performances, Red Lights falls flat, offering neither thrill nor entertainment throughout the many hackneyed horror tropes it clings on to.

5. Retreat (2011)

Starring Thandiwe Newton and Murphy himself, this directorial debut of former film director Carl Tibbets is Retreat, a British horror-thriller wherein three survivors struggle to escape an island isolated from the rest of the world. Murphy plays London architect Martin Kennedy, who often visits a small, uninhabited island with his wife Kate (Newton) for recreational purposes. Things take a sinister turn at the island after the generator at the cottage explodes, leaving the couple cut off from the mainland in the presence of a mysterious soldier, who washes up on the shore, wounded and unconscious. Retreat did fairly well in terms of audience and critical evaluation, as the film is a tautly-paced suspense thriller with consistent emotional stakes. Claustrophobic paranoia plays a seminal role here, which works in tandem with the already strained dynamic. However, some audiences might find Retreat predictable and tedious, especially regarding its central plot.

4. Red Eye (2005)

Murphy assumes center stage in Wes Craven’s psychological thriller, Red Eye, wherein he plays the deceptively charming Jackson Rippner, who turns out to be a domestic terrorist planning to assassinate Charles Keefe, the United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. Ensnared in the nexus of this conspiracy is hotel manager Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams), who is threatened and intimidated by Rippner whilst aboard a red-eye flight to Miami. Red Eye sports solid performances by both leads, especially by Murphy, who plays Rippner with equal charm and sinister flair. From a narrative point of view, Red Eye races forward without hiccups, with McAdams’ performance keeping events grounded and plausible even when the action revs up.

3. Sunshine (2007)

In Danny Boyle’s science fiction psychological thriller Sunshine, Murphy dons the mantle of physicist Robert Capa, one of the eight international astronauts who are responsible for piloting a colossal stellar bomb aboard the spaceship Icarus II. The ensemble cast of Sunshine includes Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, and Chipo Chung. Despite being part of such a diverse cast, Murphy stood out as the silently perceptive Capa, who comes across as the only one truly capable of understanding the nature of the mission and scale of the starbomb. In order to prepare for the role, Murphy worked closely with physicist Brian Cox, who praised the former’s performance as “brilliant”. In terms of plot, Sunshine is a visionary odyssey, shot with immense ambition and an eye for cosmic terror and beauty, with glimpses of madness and the meaning of being human. The film garnered mostly positive reviews and remains a gripping voyage into the unknown.

2. 28 Days Later (2002)

Boyle’s 28 Days Later reinvigorated the genre of zombie horror, with its masterful portrayal of the breakdown of society following the accidental release of a highly contagious virus. While the film focuses on four survivors, Murphy’s Jim assumes centerstage, right from the opening shots of him alone on the desolate streets of London to the very end. Being character-driven from the get-go, 28 Days Later manages to establish an emotional connection with its titular characters throughout its narrative, imbuing the survival scenario with genuine stakes and horrors. While the zombies function as the primary antagonists, the focus of terror shifts halfway through, which is a narrative decision that works in favor of the film. Critics praised Murphy and Naomi Harris’ performances, as they helped ground the movie, working together deftly to concoct a believable survival horror interspersed with moments of intimate beauty.

1. A Quiet Place 2 (2021)

The sequel to 2018’s A Quiet Place, A Quiet Place Part II follows the survivors of the Abbott family, who continue to navigate and survive a post-apocalyptic world infested with alien creatures with an acute sense of hearing. Cillian Murphy fits into this survival horror in the form of Emmett, an old friend of the now-deceased Lee Abbott (John Krasinski), who is initially reluctant to offer shelter to the Abbotts in his underground bunker. A Quiet Place Part II is a nerve-wracking continuation of its predecessor, succeeding in being a horror brimming with both scares and heart. Murphy does wonders with Emmett’s role, as his character appears neither coerced nor orchestrated in any manner, but rather fits in organically within the film’s narrative framework and overarching themes. Keeping the immediate reality of the pandemic in mind, A Quiet Place Part II emerges as especially poignant, revealing the nooks and crannies of human nature at its best and its worst.

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