One of our favorite modern-day scream queens is back with a new, albeit familiar, film hitting Hulu this week! Maika Monroe is portraying Polly Murphy in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. a remake of the 1992 psychological thriller. The film originally starred Rebecca De Mornay and Annabella Sciorra. Monroe’s villainous turn is garnering positive reviews from critics and adds yet another notch on her belt of solid performances. She continued to show promise with each passing role. While her film career only goes back a little over a decade, Monroe has stacked up a filmography. One worthy of the opportunity to break down her five best performances to date with the knowledge that many more are on the way.

Honorable Mention: Significant Other (2022) as Ruth

Significant Other may have been missed. It was regulated to streaming on Paramount+. But it’s still a decent enough sci-fi horror film that makes for 84 minutes of solid entertainment. It’s written and directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen. Significant Other follows Ruth (Monroe) and Harry (Jack Lacy). A couple dealing with their share of relationship issues as they embark on a backpacking trip in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. Their situation grows more complicated when a meteor strike throws an alien life form into the mix that proves to be a bigger threat than their relationship woes.

Even though Significant Other has a bit of a generic plot, it’s elevated by the performances of its leads. Monroe’s portrayal of Ruth especially stands out. It’s a bit different from the roles she had taken on before this. It’s a wonderfully nuanced performance that requires her to use more of her body language rather than spoken lines to give hints about Ruth’s fragile mental state. The audience is constantly trying to figure Ruth out and that’s due in large part to Monroe not playing all of her cards until absolutely necessary.

5. Greta (2018) as Erica Penn

Monroe plays a supporting role in the 2018 psychological thriller Greta, but she more than makes an impression that resonates. It’s directed by Neil Jordan from a screenplay he co-wrote with Ray Wright. Greta follows a young woman named Frances (Chloë Grace Moretz) who befriends a lonely widow from France named Greta (Isabelle Huppert). She becomes obsessed with her after Frances returns her handbag that she found on a subway train. Monroe portrays Frances’s best friend and roommate, Erica, whom Greta also has her sights on as a means to stalk all aspects of Frances’s life.

Monroe portrays Erica with an intuitive confidence that elevates the part from a mere supporting role. The actress is able to turn Erica into more than a concerned best friend. Displaying cleverness as Greta’s obsession begins to escalate. This is certainly Huppert and Moretz’s film through and through. Monroe is featured in a couple of the film’s best scenes. Particularly one leading to the climax that also serves to make Erica’s presence far more important than it would’ve been in a lesser film. What Monroe brings to life is Erica’s tenacity, in an underrated psychological thriller. It dives deep into the dangers of toxicity in relationships. As well as how one should be on their toes when deciding to help out a complete stranger.

4. Watcher (2022) as Julia

Monroe has a knack for appearing in underrated psychological thrillers, and it doesn’t get more underrated than Watcher. This film that deserves to have more eyes on it. It’s directed by Chloe Okuno in her feature directorial debut and written by Zack Ford. Watcher follows Julia (Monroe) and Francis (Karl Glusman). An American couple who move to Bucharest after Francis lands a new job. Julia begins to feel a sense of unease after moving into their high-rise apartment and begins to suspect that someone is watching her from the building across the street. However, is Julia projecting because she’s a stranger in a new place? Or is someone really out there who poses a viable threat? Watcher is a slow-burn thriller that rides on Monroe’s complex lead performance.

The actress sells both facets of the character to perfection. Suggesting that her sanity could be slipping because of the unfamiliarity of a new location. Or that there this someone out there giving her a reason to ratchet up her anxiety. Monre walks a steady line, making the audience relate to Julia’s plight. All while still giving a side-eye to the possibility that she could be blowing this all out of proportion. What develops is a tantalizing game of cat-and-mouse. It toys with your own anxiety as the walls begin to close in around Julia. The tension wonderfully escalates as the film goes along. Giving Monroe one of the best showcases of her diverse talents.

3. The Guest (2014) as Anna Peterson

Before director Adam Wingard was having Godzilla go head-to-head against King Kong, he crafted one of the best thrillers of the last ten years. The Guest, written by Simon Barrett. The movie follows a U.S. soldier named David Collins (Dan Stevens) who arrives on the doorstep of the Peterson family, claiming to be a friend of their son who died in combat while serving in Afghanistan. He’s welcomed with open arms by most. But it’s Monroe’s Anna Peterson who isn’t totally on board with David, and soon a series of deaths occur that this total stranger might be connected to.

This is one of Monroe’s early performances. The reason why it stands out is that she gives the role much more depth than was likely presented on the page. Anna is one of those young adult characters who is seemingly immersed in her own life. But Monore makes the character much more than that. She’s intuitive and isn’t afraid to take charge. This is particularly true when the movie requires her to really step into action later in the film. The actress proves to be more than capable of holding her own against David. He is chillingly brought to life by Stevens’ quiet yet deadly performance. There’s a confidence in the performance that shines through immediately. Monroe more than proved that she was on her way to being one of the genre’s most skilled actresses.

2. Longlegs (2024) as Lee Harker

Longless may get more credit for its brilliant marketing campaign and Nicolas Cage’s disturbingly chilling turn. But it’s Monroe that keeps it all grounded with her portrayal of FBI agent Lee Harker. Written and directed by Osgood Perkins, Longless is set in the 1990s and follows Monroe’s Lee Harker. She is tasked with hunting down a serial killer who is responsible for a series of family murders in Oregon.

Longlegs offers up Monroe’s most adult performance to date. While some critics did believe she was a bit too understated, her decision to keep her emotions at arm’s length proves to be the perfect choice for the character. Lee is someone clearly dealing with a lot of repressed trauma and pain. Something that Monroe conveys with just a look. The audience knows that Lee has gone through a lot, and that comes courtesy of Monroe’s expertly controlled performance that doesn’t really need to hit a fever pitch until the film’s climax.

While she is strong throughout, it’s her performance during the interrogation of Longlegs (Cage) that stands out as one of her strongest moments in the film. You can sense her growing fear as she engages his escalating insanity. She also hits another strong moment during the film’s closing scenes with her mother, portrayed by Alicia Witt. It allows Monroe to break down some of the walls Lee has built up. Cage may have the role that is the most flamboyant and showy, but it’s Monroe’s work that keeps Longlegs leveled, preventing it from falling over completely into camp.

1. It Follows (2014) as Jaime “Jay” Height”

For many of us, It Follows was our first exposure to Monroe’s talents. What a way to make your presence known as of of the industry’s best emerging talents. Written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, It Follows follows a young woman named Jay (Monroe) who is pursued by a supernatural entity following a sexual encounter.

Monroe takes the role of Jay and runs with it. Making the despair of her situation palpable while displaying vulnerability and frequently terror that feels completely authentic. Jay finds herself in a walking nightmare. First drowning in the confusion and fear of her plight until eventually finding the determination to try and beat something attached to her that doesn’t offer the best scenarios for escape and a happy ending. Monroe’s eyes do a lot of the work here, with the actress sometimes giving just a look that makes the audience feel for Jay’s impossible situation.

It Follows is one of the best horror films of the last decade. While Mitchell’s direction and writing go a long way to solidifying this fact, it’s Monroe’s committed performance that holds it all together. Proving early on that she was destined to be one of horror’s best talents who displays so much skill that it’s obvious she can tackle any genre if given the opportunity.

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is now streaming on Hulu.