Horror Experts On Their Favorite Genre Performances That No One Talks About
Emmett J Scanlan in Lore – Damon Hall
Lore is a show on Amazon Prime Video which shows the real-life horror stories of the past. Lore covers a load of amazing and haunting stories like Robert the Doll and his story, as well as the real stories of the people who thought werewolves were living amongst them. This show has a new topic and new set of characters each episode, showing us the lore of places all over.
My personal favourite is in the first episode of the second season when we’re introduced to William Burke, an Irish immigrant who moves to Scotland. William is a graverobber, selling bodies to a doctor who performs autopsies. But William and his friend end up becoming murderers when they realize the fresher the body, the more it is worth.
Emmett stands out in this performance more than anyone. We see what starts off as a normal man, who seems like an everyday bloke we would run into, become an emotionless murderer who only cares about one thing in this small world: making money without caring how he gets it. Throughout the episode, we see him turn into an animal who kills without a second’s thought as he is driven by greed without an ounce of shame.
Emmett’s performance really stands out to me as he is extremely believable in this role. His character takes pride in his work, delivering the bodies like he is delivering art. He seems to hold no empathy for those he has killed, even those he knows, and he acts like he has done nothing wrong. His performance is very adaptive. It is not like he is playing one emotion but rather multiple. We see him angry, sad, happy, confused, sickened, frustrated, embarrassed, shocked… But most importantly, we see him proud. Despite having all these emotions, he shows no empathy to his fellow man and woman, treating his kills like a work of art so that he doesn’t leave a mark on his victims…as that will affect his profit.
He really does deliver an Oscar-winning performance and it is a shame more don’t know of his performance. His character, despite being a graverobbing murderer, comes across somewhat charming in his performance. Even though I know he is a despicable person, I cannot help but like him!
For this reason, I feel more people should know of this performance as it is probably one of the best ones I have seen. He takes pride in a character that is both charming and terrifying!
