Devon Sawa is no stranger to the genre. Most of us fell for him during our pivotal kindergarten years when we saw Casper. This is probably also why so many people from my generation are out here ghost-hunting today. Sawa did not end his genre stint there, though. He would return to make us afraid of flying when we hit play on Final Destination.
Over the decades, he has been in so many horror movies we sometimes lose count. He even has a longstanding beef with Chucky and has played three different characters on that show. His last character left us in pieces, but we know this feud isn’t over yet.
The actor’s horror resume is long. Also, some of the movies are hard to find in the States. Not that any of us have been trying to find Death Rider in the House of Vampires…unless you happen to have a copy. This is why ranking his genre appearances is almost a full-time job. So, it’s purely the Lord’s work that MovieWeb made time to figure out his ten best performances across all genres.
They even had the same #1 I would’ve gone with. Final Destination, because if I see Devon Sawa in my airport, I’m setting my plastic spork down and leaving. I will ask someone to read the room and see if they can get an autograph for me, but my travel plans have changed.
Anyway, this is the kind of journalism I aspire to. So I paused my viewing of 388 Arletta Avenue (on Tubi) and left the Reddit rabbit hole I was trying to find a copy of The Exorcism of Molly Hartley in. I text my mom that she could recycle those old Teen People magazines because I don’t deserve them. It seemed someone else had accomplished my life’s work.
I thought this emotional rollercoaster was over. However, then Devon Sawa entered the chat with a tweet that caused me to rethink everything I thought I knew. He shared the article but disagreed with me and Alex over at MovieWeb.
See What Devon Says Is His Best Performance
If Devon Thee Sawa says his best performance was in the 1999 horror comedy Idle Hands, we can’t argue. Mostly because he was there and we were children.
In the film, a teenage slacker’s right hand becomes possessed with murderous intent.
Idle Hands was directed by Rodman Flender. It was written by Terri Hughes Burton and Ron Milbauer. It stars Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba, Vivica A. Fox, and the late Fred Willard.
The movie is currently on Pluto TV if you want to rewatch and reevaluate your Sawa rankings. It is peak 90s and feels like a time capsule. It’s a solid choice, even though it upset everything I thought I knew.
I’m fine. It’s chill. I will just watch Devil’s Den on Tubi, even though now I know it’s not a better performance than Idle Hands. Maybe I’ll finally check out Black Friday on Starz or Hunter Hunter on Hulu. I’m damn sure not going to pop in my Now and Then DVD and wonder where I went wrong in my assessment.
Do you have a favorite Devon Sawa performance? Let’s compare notes (even he doesn’t think it’s his best) at @misssharai.