Winona Ryder’s portrayal of the highly-strung Joyce Byers in Stranger Things has garnered her a new generation of fans. Need more Winona? Watch these creepy classics she’s also starred in.
Winona Ryder has a knack for adding an erratic and comedic twist to dark and twisted tales. While Ryder rocks vibrant coming-of-age stories in films like Mermaids and Reality Bites, the 46-year-old actress has a flair for engaging with the darker sides of human nature, as in films such as Alien Resurrection and The Black Swan.
While we wait for the next season of Stranger Things, here are a few of our favorite Winona Ryder movies that demonstrate her versatility across creepy tales — ranging from satirical and historical to the fantastic.
Heathers (1988)
This dark satire features Ryder as Veronica Sawyer. Veronica is a teen who has fallen in with a clique of snobby girls at school who are all named Heather. Like a precursor to Mean Girls, these three Heathers strive for popularity and the perfect hair ribbons. They are nasty to each other and everyone around them. Feeling disillusioned with attempts of social superiority, mega shoulder-pads and games of croquet, Veronica is drawn to the new loner at school, JD, played by Christian Slater. Bad move.
JD just happens to be a gun-toting sociopath. They concoct a dark plot to exact revenge on the Heathers which has deadly consequences. Heathers has been remade as a TV series by Paramount Network. The release was pushed to late 2019 due to recent gun tragedies in the U.S. In an effort of diversity, the new Heathers features a more varied cast. This move to individualize the Heathers, rather than represent them as stereotypes of white privilege, feels at odds with the premise of the original movie.
The Crucible (1996)
This tale of the Salem witch hunts is set in 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. The Crucible is a historical drama based on Arthur Miller’s famous play of the same name. Ryder plays Abigail Williams, one of a group of teen girls accused of witchcraft after killing a chicken and drinking its blood. The township becomes embroiled in a witch hunt and trial of the accused. Let’s just say, justice is not a smooth process. Those who claim innocence face execution and those that refuse to provide names face torture. This PG film focuses on dialogue and the unjust legal system, rather than gratuitous horrors and shock. Miller was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay based on Previously Produced Material.
Girl, Interrupted (1999)
This movie is based on the memoir of Susanna Kaysen, a young woman in the 1960’s who was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Susanna, played by Ryder, is committed to a psychiatric hospital for a few weeks, which extends to over 18 months. Its non-linear form reflects Susanna’s states of mental confusion. While narrating Susanna’s evaluation of her own sanity, the tale reflects on the unlikely bonds she forms with fellow patients and staff. The movie’s stellar cast includes Whoopi Goldberg, Brittany Murphy, and Elisabeth Moss. Angelina Jolie’s charismatic portrayal of the rebellious sociopath Lisa Rowe garnered her an Academy for Best Supporting Actor.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
This adaption of Bram Stoker’s novel features Ryder as Mina Harker. In this epic gothic-horror, Mina is the fiancé of Jonathan Harker, played by Keanu Reeves. Gary Oldman’s Dracula is obsessed with Mina and travels to London to claim her. The opening scene is a flashback of how Vlad became Dracula, following the suicide of his wife Elisabeta, also played by Ryder. This validates why Dracula is obsessed with Mina. However, how Dracula became undead is not really expressed in Stoker’s original novel. Perhaps the upcoming prequel book Dracul, written by Bram Stoker’s great-grand-nephew, Dacre Stoker, may shed light on how the progenitor of the vampire species came to be.
Beetlejuice (1998)
This comedy-fantasy directed by Tim Burton is a quirky classic about The Maitlands, a recently deceased couple who are failing at haunting their former home. They’re unsuccessful in scaring away new residents. Thus, they engage the assistance of the creepy and mischievous ghost Betelgeuse, played by Michael Keeton. The daughter of the new residents, Lydia, is enlisted to try and help scare the family away. This enduring ghost story is 30-years-old and still retains all of its curiosity and charm.
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Another Tim Burton dark-fantasy classic is Edward Scissorhands. Johnny Depp stars as an artificial man whose creator died before creating his hands. After years of solitude in a creepy house on the hill, Edward is taken in by Peg (Dianne Wiest). He learns to use a crude collection of scissor blades as hands while forming a romantic attachment to Peg’s teenage daughter Kim, played by Ryder. Kim is conflicted between being indifferent to Edward and embracing him. Burton’s innovative fairytale expertly blends dark gothic tropes with a kitsch lollipop surburbia, and dark melancholy with glimmers of joy.
We are excited to see more of our favorite ’80s and ’90s actors grace the screen again in Stranger Things, especially Cary Elwes, who sent many hearts a flutter in his role as the valiant Westley in the cult classic The Princess Bride.
Related Story: Cary Elwes and Jake Busey will join the Stranger Things cast in Hawkins
Filming has started on Stranger Things‘ season 3. We can’t wait to see what horrors await for Winona Ryder’s Joyce Byers and her kin.