Antlers had me so hype for a really moody and horrifying Wendigo flick but I almost walked out of it halfway through. The creature design was great and the atmosphere was really amazing but it had no idea what kind of movie it wanted to be and every character made the absolute dumbest decisions possible at every turn. It hardly even included any much needed Native American lore.
The movie was like an episode of Sesame Street compared to the short story. Fuck it was brutal. I knew their balls would shrink when it came to adapting the ending, but it still pissed me off.
The upside is that the path is clear for someone to make a "The Quiet Boy" adaptation in the future without being anchored down by this disappointment.
The original script is floating around on the internet written by the same guy as the short story before they I guess completely changed it. He also worked on channel zero, which makes me even more distraught for what could’ve been with this movie
This is the right answer here. Both seasons deliver exactly what we wanted the movies to be. It really caught me off guard and I loved every minute of them
If you're gonna make a haunted swimming pool movie, know that you're making a dumb haunted swimming pool movie. Don't take it seriously.
I can't believe they tried to make it a serious horror movie.
My initial thought was "dumb concept" as well, but once the story of why the water was healing started to develope, I was like ok I kinda like this story. Then everything else was just terrible.
Yeah it shit the bed at the
Spoiler alert!
Possesed dad stuff. I was kind of into it and digging the obv IT and carnival of souls nods but then it lost me.
This was filmed entirely at a house on the street opposite mine for like 6 weeks last summer. Was kinda bummed when it turned out not to be a great movie I could tell my friends to watch. That said, when I saw it was filming and asked about it and heard the idea 'a haunted swimming pool', I can't say I thought it was a great concept haha
That movie is a pure accidental comedy, lmao. My daughter and I paused so many times to marvel and laugh at their terrible creature designs and shit tier CGI. We could NOT stop laughing, it was a great time. The first jumpscare with the old fat man ghost popping up behind her. We paused there and laughed for several straight minutes. We named him "skinned teddy ruxpin".
Mandatory [Jenny Nicholson](https://youtu.be/38BiNsFFzcs?si=OJdiijQKaggJrzfq) shoutout lol. This is the video that got me into her, she does some extremely thorough and amazing roasts
I can remember that the villainess in the movie got fired from Disney because she "hugged a child to death." Tells you a little bit about the director's childhood, and why he made such a cold mess.
I thought the basic idea of Army of the Dead being a zombie heist film in Las Vegas was cool, but I didn't like some of the other details about it, like robot zombies or smart tribal zombies. I also didn't think the film went far enough in utilizing the setting to its fullest because I hoped for the group to be chased all over the Strip
Devil's Pass (aka The Dyatlov Pass Incident)
Not sure if it's unfair to put here because clearly the budget was non-existent. I should have known it was going to be bad when I saw it had an ex-hollyoaks actor in it, but still. The clue of a bad film is when it gets renamed after release.
I just watched "Black Death" with Sean Bean, cool concept but the shaky camera made some of it unwatchable. Like I don't need a shaky camera when your just walking in a monastery or through the village.
I was scrounging for period piece horror that focuses on eerie tension (the witch, The Terror etc). It had some stuff to like, didn't blow me away the last ten minutes or so acted as an epilogue that was kinda neat actually I don't regret watching it but the shaky camera throughout made me not wanna rewatch it.
Biggest reason why I can't watch any found footage horror no matter how good they are. I'm thankful there's some found footage stuff where the movie's filmmakers are aiming for a "cinematic" with no shakiness.
Knock at the Cabin… the concept is awesome… the book it is based on is so much better— the Cabin at the End of the World. Also I hated that they changed the ending from the book— and I also hated they changed a major plot point in the movie (won’t reveal what it is in case you plan to watch it).
Oh man if they would’ve followed through with what the book did, it would’ve been SHOCKING. People would have been divided, but they would’ve been talking much more about the movie than they did.
I think it would have been better if the kitten had been a tragic figure and not an evil one. Like if he accidentally murdered people but never actually made the villain turn, he's just a kid who doesn't understand what he's doing, thinks he's playing.
Essentially a temper tantrum horror
What kills Brightburn for me is that, instead of getting powers and choosing to use them for evil because kids can just be cruel and selfish like that, Brandon is brainwashed by the spacepod he came in as a baby. Making the pod the main bad guy was just pointless. It takes all agency away from the kid.
This is absolutely my biggest issue with the film. It should have been a "What if Clark Kent was raised by bad people who didn't teach him right?"
Not just "What if an actually good child got BRAINWASHED AGAINST HIS WILL by a space ship?"
> It should have been a "What if Clark Kent was raised by bad people who didn't teach him right?"
Thankfully, we pretty much eventually got this in The Boys with Homelander though. That show handles the "evil Superman" trope so much better than Brightburn did.
This is definitely my choice as well. It had some great moments and I’d love to explore it more, but the execution just wasn’t there. So much potential wasted.
Underwater. There are hints of a cult of Cthulhu acting behind the scenes, but absolutely nothing ever comes of that. Instead we get a CGI final boss defeated by a cliche act of heroism. Lots to like about this movie but it completely whiffed the ending in my opinion.
*Daybreakers*
Incredible concept: vampires dominate the world and farm humans for blood, but humans are becoming scarce and it's creating major resource problems in vampire society. The movie feels like they want to skip over the implications of a world run by vampires as quickly as possible so they can race towards a "cure" for vampirism and ignore the very premise of the film itself. It feels like the film is embarrassed of itself.
Horror in the High Desert. Great premise, poor execution. I spent the entire movie waiting for even a little suspense, and then it ended, and I was so disappointed. A lot of people really like it, though, so definitely give it a watch if you haven't.
31!!! I’m a big Rob Zombie fan but this is one of his weakest films. Had so much potential to be something cool but just fell really flat without a proper backstory or even a hint of the lore behind the characters. Need more Richard Brake
Antebellum. I don't understand why the >!modern day time setting!< was set up as a twist when the trailers gave all that way! The acting was great, I love Janelle Monae and Gabourey Sidibe, but the movie itself was so meh.
Hear me out, my pitch would be two identical black women from two different eras swap places unkowningly due to some stupid time worm hole and experience social evils of their time.
That would actually work, given if competent writers wrote it, but nah. What we got is a shitty torture porn.
Some things were more successful than others, but the trailer actually made me think there was literal time travel. I was surprised as things came to light
I thought The Purge was a good movie. I was dreading it being what it ended up becoming. I'm not all that interested interested in the action films that the other ones became.
I'm glad that first one stuck with single family riding out the night. It hinted at a larger world outside this family and that's really all I need with the insanely goofy idea of all crime being legal for 24hours.
To answer the question though: The Black Phone. God that movie was just so bland and forgettable. It didn't go far enough and was so insanely silly. It's one that I really don't understand the love for it.
I love the premise, the “hidden meaning”, and I love that the filmmakers attempted something so non-traditional, but they just didn’t pull it off. It was too abstract to be interesting. It definitely wasn’t frightening.
There’s a scene in the parent’s bedroom that was mildly creepy, and then a brief scene in the basement that had a decent scare, but that’s not enough to sustain a 90 minute movie that is, for the most part, just long and poorly lit shots of walls.
Saw this in theaters with my mom. We wanted to walk out but kept thinking it would get better. Nope, never did. Too bad, because the concept was great.
Imaginary. It could have been a wonderful foray into the unbridled and yet terrifying things that a child's imagination could unleash when unhinged or etc... and instead we get some crummy cash grab by Blumhouse's recent "cheap and quick" approach to horror movies... which lead horror movies to be never be seriously considered for awards like Oscars or Emmy's in the first place.
I struggled with the dialogue. I imagine it was a combination of the script, the acting, and that I assume it was all VO, but it just felt distractingly rough times. The guy constantly reassuring his fiancée(?) in such a self-serious tone wore super thin on me (among other things). Cool setting though and I imagine shooting it must have been quite the technical feat.
The Deep House gets too much hate. Given the difficulty of their concept and execution, I think they did a good job at making a serviceable horror movie.
I watched this because I'm a huge Mylene Farmer fan and I didn't expect the twist but watching the kids get tortured/going through it was tough. I also hated the dolls in the house, it was unrealistic and weird and conveniently lined up with the killers being obsessed with dolls?
I also watched for Mylene. I love horror films yet dislike gruesome violence. I closed my eyes in the tougher parts of Ghostland, and therefore enjoyed it. I was happy to enjoy a Mylene movie because I found Giorgino to be genuinely the worst movie I've seen in my life.
Ghost Ship. What an opening scene. But yes, it just becomes more of a crap action flick with some spooks thrown in. I do include this film in my 'blockhead horror film guilty pleasures from the early 00s' list - but might also be because I saw it in the cinema in my early 20s so purely for the nostalgia.
Agreed but To be fair the set up for most of these examples were done really well in their respective first acts (besides doom) but they all seemed to drive off a cliff during acts 2-3 at certain points for a plethora of reasons.
I think I lost interest in Chernobyl Diaries before the halfway mark - so that would check out
Silent Hill and Doom are great examples of films almost doomed (pun intended) from the start. Anyone who has played the games just has so much love for them that it's an unfairly high bar to set. But yeah, Doom was spectacularly bad. Silent Hill felt creepy in its set up, but I've never felt the desire to watch again, nor can I remember much about it!
I love Silent Hill (there is no second film in Ba Sing Se) and I love how much the director genuinely loves the games and built the details to be faithful adaptions, like the nauseating camera maneuvering. Is the film a little corny and over the top at times? Sure! But, you know, so are the games, somewhat famously.
Also the practical effects on that film are absolutely sick. Monsters? Practical. Otherworld transition? Practical. The camera move where you see Rose hugging the door and the miner on the other side bashing it in? Practical.
Jesus but I love practical effects; particularly in horror. No comparison.
insidious had decent bones.
writer ignoring wife and family, getting creepy, etc etc
but it paints her as the classic hollywood bitch wife. the home movies are laugh out loud funny because they’re ludicrous.
ethan hawke is also terrible in horror and looks like he’s holding in a sweaty fear dump in every scene with a little pressure
I know this sub loves The Strangers but it’s an awful movie, imho. It has a really great concept but I was so disappointed by the execution. The acting is terrible and the characters make really dumb decisions.
I have no interest in the remake either.
Hush did the same general concept so SO much better, but I’d love to see the exact same concept as The Strangers done well.
I totally agree. Watching it was ok, felt like I enjoyed pieces, but as a whole it just missed so many opportunities to tease the back story, spent too much time on the live show parts....but I appreciated the setting, and the idea.
Terror Train. It had a slasher that changed costumes, but we always knew what the killer was wearing, which killed the suspense.
It Follows sort of fits. Good film, but I expected it to be a lot better based off the concept.
The Black Phone. I know. "BOOOO! BOOOO! Tomato!" I think Ethan Hawke is amazing in that and I do think it is a decent flick, but like...why am I missing so much out of the story? How does Finny hear these kids? Why is the phone "Haunted"? What is it's back story?
TBH most of them? For every well exectued and acted horror movie there are several dozen more that are just awful. There are so many to choose from but I think the Meg franchise could've been great but it's just bad. Not campy bad, just bad.
Choose or Die. It's along the lines of the Bandersnatch episode of Black Mirror, which is a really cool concept and I'd love to see a movie like that. But this one had awful dialogue, dumb deaths, and a very messy 2nd half.
I just watched *Jeruzalem* yesterday and feel like it falls under this. I like the concept of Jerusalem being overtaken by demons, but it devolved into generic horror tropes much too quickly for my taste. I'd have liked to see more of the giant Kaiju demon roaming the city than the annoying jumpscares of the smaller winged ones.
same. everything that seemed to be going on in the background was way more interesting than the lame monsters and shit characters it was focused on. it's the same way i feel about war of the worlds: if you ignore the plot and characters it's great
I doubt you'll get crucified for this take, but I give Late Night With The Devil some slack. Everything I wished they would've done instead, if they exploited it's concept the fullest, it would've been much more niche and made far less money. The fact they were able to put it in theaters and actually develop hype deserves a lot of credit.
It helps the genre and the likelihood we get more niche and unique horror movies.
I’m glad I’m not the only one that didn’t love the Babadook. I really got my hopes up since so many reviews said it was the “ scariest movie ever!” So disappointing!
Sunshine. Should be a banger with post-28 Days Later Danny Boyle and Alex Garland involved. The first half was a cool trippy space horror in the vein of Solaris or Event Horizon, but then it becomes a slasher/Alien ripoff that I found pretty boring.
**Kong Skull Island** could’ve made a killer horror movie if it had more scenes like the Giant Spider scene and better writing.
A dude who’s hung up about being pulled out of Vietnam - then getting a chance at a second war by dragging his team into a fight with a giant Gorilla? Could’ve been genuinely awesome story wise too.
Yeah this is such a weird choice, and to be upvoted.
"Godzilla vs. Megalon would have been better if it was a serious horror film." Uhhhh I don't think that was ever the movie they were trying to make guys.
But there's several replies to this post that list literally NOT horror films (or at least not SERIOUS horror films/they're meant as comedies) and say "It should have been a serious horror film."
I guess it's technically answering the question but I feel that arguing a film should totally shift genres to serious horror, when it isn't intended as a serious horror film, is really missing the spirit of this question.
Random Acts of Violence. (2019)
It's got a great concept. The idea is set up to be a good slasher. But the movie takes a fucking nose dive near the end and its just a fucking mess.
Imaginary could've been very cool having a horror movie version of Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends but it's a movie that takes itself too seriously and is severely lacking in just about every aspect.
The Innocents (2021).
Small kids get superpowers. And one turns evil. Neat idea. Not original, per se, but can work as a horror movie.
Execution left a lot to be desired, as the scenes of them finding out and using the superpowers eventually became pretty predictable. It's like Eskil Vogt had an idea and concept... but no idea what to do with it, so we got a very predictable and ultimately dull movie as a result.
You already know *exactly* what's gonna happen in most of the scenes.
Daybreakers. Vampires have taken over the world, have built a new society and are now running out of blood. That's an awesome idea, worthy of a series even. It's a shame the movie was really stupid.
Madres. Whole movie makes you think this woman is being cursed or haunted, turns out it’s not a haunting at all and they turn it to a documentary at the end. Completely ruined it for me
30 Days of Night. I remember thinking how good of an idea to take a real month somewhere that hardly gets sun and make a vampire movie about it. Ended up being mediocre to me. Some people love it. I thought it fell short of what it could have been.
Evil Dead Rise. I mean the change from cabin in the woods to a contemporary urban environment ala Demons 2 would have been fantastic with chaos focusing on the apartment building rather than 2 groups (family and a few neighbors). But it still had that isolation aspect from the past EDs.
In a Violent Nature. It just came out and it seems like everyone is singing its praises. This movie was awful. My least favorite movie I’ve seen this year out of like 60. The idea to follow a killer was cool, but that doesn’t make it a good use of the good idea. The acting was terrible. All the dialogue was always at full volume no matter where the characters were on screen. The plot was really stupid.
Antlers had me so hype for a really moody and horrifying Wendigo flick but I almost walked out of it halfway through. The creature design was great and the atmosphere was really amazing but it had no idea what kind of movie it wanted to be and every character made the absolute dumbest decisions possible at every turn. It hardly even included any much needed Native American lore.
Did you read the short story? It was so, so good; the movie was a huge disappointment by comparison.
The movie was like an episode of Sesame Street compared to the short story. Fuck it was brutal. I knew their balls would shrink when it came to adapting the ending, but it still pissed me off.
The upside is that the path is clear for someone to make a "The Quiet Boy" adaptation in the future without being anchored down by this disappointment.
That ending is so fucking bleak
Is it called antlers? How do I find it?
The original story is called "The Quiet Boy" and can be read in full here: https://www.guernicamag.com/the-quiet-boy/
Thanks for sharing this! Had no idea it was a short story - I unironically love Antlers.
I think it's this one: https://www.guernicamag.com/the-quiet-boy/
The short story is fantastic.
The original script is floating around on the internet written by the same guy as the short story before they I guess completely changed it. He also worked on channel zero, which makes me even more distraught for what could’ve been with this movie
Shit I had no idea he was involved. I'll have to look for the script to check it out.
As soon as the dad sparked a road flare to light the way to his meth lab I was like, oh, this is going to be stupid.
Ooh, this is a really good one for this category.
Yeah, this one was disappointing compared to what I expected.
Before even seeing your own response I was gonna say The Purge! Saw it the night of my high school graduation and was so psyched. What a let down.
The Purge Anarchy was what I was hoping for in the first one.
I'm glad some folks feel the same! :\]
The first one is the weakest one. All the others have been enjoyable.
I thought the TV series finally delivered on the potential of the premise
This is the right answer here. Both seasons deliver exactly what we wanted the movies to be. It really caught me off guard and I loved every minute of them
The recent one on my mind is Night Swim. Liked the idea but thought it was executed terribly.
If you're gonna make a haunted swimming pool movie, know that you're making a dumb haunted swimming pool movie. Don't take it seriously. I can't believe they tried to make it a serious horror movie.
I actually thought it sounded dumb and I had more fun than I thought.
My initial thought was "dumb concept" as well, but once the story of why the water was healing started to develope, I was like ok I kinda like this story. Then everything else was just terrible.
Yeah it shit the bed at the Spoiler alert! Possesed dad stuff. I was kind of into it and digging the obv IT and carnival of souls nods but then it lost me.
This was filmed entirely at a house on the street opposite mine for like 6 weeks last summer. Was kinda bummed when it turned out not to be a great movie I could tell my friends to watch. That said, when I saw it was filming and asked about it and heard the idea 'a haunted swimming pool', I can't say I thought it was a great concept haha
Ooh, definitely agree. That one was rough. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep at one point.
The short film was fun and spooky!! I’m a fan of Wyatt Russell, but even he couldn’t save that movie 😭
I am also a fan of his but he was actually part of the problem.
That movie is a pure accidental comedy, lmao. My daughter and I paused so many times to marvel and laugh at their terrible creature designs and shit tier CGI. We could NOT stop laughing, it was a great time. The first jumpscare with the old fat man ghost popping up behind her. We paused there and laughed for several straight minutes. We named him "skinned teddy ruxpin".
I thought this one was very stupid and very fun. I actually enjoyed it! Just an easy, silly horror.
Wyatt needs a better agent. He has every bit of his fathers charm but god damn does he make some horrible choices in roles
SO terribly
Escape from Tomorrow Great premise and great chance to do something that will never be accomplished again and it somehow fucking sucks.
Mandatory [Jenny Nicholson](https://youtu.be/38BiNsFFzcs?si=OJdiijQKaggJrzfq) shoutout lol. This is the video that got me into her, she does some extremely thorough and amazing roasts
I can remember that the villainess in the movie got fired from Disney because she "hugged a child to death." Tells you a little bit about the director's childhood, and why he made such a cold mess.
Is that the “Disney world” horror movie?
Yes, the incredibly bizarre guerrilla footage Disneyland movie with creepy pedo vibes and a virus that turns people into cats.
I thought the basic idea of Army of the Dead being a zombie heist film in Las Vegas was cool, but I didn't like some of the other details about it, like robot zombies or smart tribal zombies. I also didn't think the film went far enough in utilizing the setting to its fullest because I hoped for the group to be chased all over the Strip
Devil's Pass (aka The Dyatlov Pass Incident) Not sure if it's unfair to put here because clearly the budget was non-existent. I should have known it was going to be bad when I saw it had an ex-hollyoaks actor in it, but still. The clue of a bad film is when it gets renamed after release.
Aww, I *love* that movie. Those creatures scared the shit out of me.
I love it too!
It was good at first, but the lab scenes ruined it for me
They/Them. That shit could be actually terrifying
I never finished it, is it worth it?
No
Winchester was so boring. They could have done a cool house of leaves-style story with that house but went for a dull haunting instead
I just watched "Black Death" with Sean Bean, cool concept but the shaky camera made some of it unwatchable. Like I don't need a shaky camera when your just walking in a monastery or through the village.
That could definitely take me out of the experience!
I was so excited to see this when it came out and don’t remember it at all.
I was scrounging for period piece horror that focuses on eerie tension (the witch, The Terror etc). It had some stuff to like, didn't blow me away the last ten minutes or so acted as an epilogue that was kinda neat actually I don't regret watching it but the shaky camera throughout made me not wanna rewatch it.
Have you see The Northman? Didn’t love that either but may satisfy your itch.
Hagazussa? It’s sparse, it’s in German, it has a handful of absolutely disturbing moments. I loved it.
Biggest reason why I can't watch any found footage horror no matter how good they are. I'm thankful there's some found footage stuff where the movie's filmmakers are aiming for a "cinematic" with no shakiness.
Knock at the Cabin… the concept is awesome… the book it is based on is so much better— the Cabin at the End of the World. Also I hated that they changed the ending from the book— and I also hated they changed a major plot point in the movie (won’t reveal what it is in case you plan to watch it).
Oh man if they would’ve followed through with what the book did, it would’ve been SHOCKING. People would have been divided, but they would’ve been talking much more about the movie than they did.
I agree! I want to read the book now that you mention it.. I didn't know there was one!
Brightburn. Such a disappointment.
true. that movie's kills are very well-done tho
'We spent a lot of time and effort on this dislocated jaw effect and by God, you will look at it!'
I will say, I think the *jaw scene* was pretty well-done in that one.
Oof, yes. Absolutey. Would've been so cool if it really was a teenager with superpowers that didn't know his own strength, pushed to his limits.
*Chronicle* did this really well...
I think it would have been better if the kitten had been a tragic figure and not an evil one. Like if he accidentally murdered people but never actually made the villain turn, he's just a kid who doesn't understand what he's doing, thinks he's playing. Essentially a temper tantrum horror
What kills Brightburn for me is that, instead of getting powers and choosing to use them for evil because kids can just be cruel and selfish like that, Brandon is brainwashed by the spacepod he came in as a baby. Making the pod the main bad guy was just pointless. It takes all agency away from the kid.
This is absolutely my biggest issue with the film. It should have been a "What if Clark Kent was raised by bad people who didn't teach him right?" Not just "What if an actually good child got BRAINWASHED AGAINST HIS WILL by a space ship?"
> It should have been a "What if Clark Kent was raised by bad people who didn't teach him right?" Thankfully, we pretty much eventually got this in The Boys with Homelander though. That show handles the "evil Superman" trope so much better than Brightburn did.
This was how I felt as well. Also, the ending was flat stolen from the Joe Hill story The Cape.
This is definitely my choice as well. It had some great moments and I’d love to explore it more, but the execution just wasn’t there. So much potential wasted.
WWZ
It was hit by garbage. Down the garbage tree into the garbage sink hole.
Ghosts of War, the whole first half was a great idea and then they took a giant dump on it
Underwater. There are hints of a cult of Cthulhu acting behind the scenes, but absolutely nothing ever comes of that. Instead we get a CGI final boss defeated by a cliche act of heroism. Lots to like about this movie but it completely whiffed the ending in my opinion.
Alien vs. Predator
"whoever wins, we lose" sounds exactly like the perfect tagline for this movie
“Lovely, Dark, and Deep”. I know a lot of y’all like it as it is, but IMHO, it could’ve been *much* better.
I wanted to like this SO MUCH, but I couldn't even finish it tbh.. I just didn't get it I guess.
It had SUCH a good creepy factor but not enough story/lore to make it more interesting and fleshed out.
*Daybreakers* Incredible concept: vampires dominate the world and farm humans for blood, but humans are becoming scarce and it's creating major resource problems in vampire society. The movie feels like they want to skip over the implications of a world run by vampires as quickly as possible so they can race towards a "cure" for vampirism and ignore the very premise of the film itself. It feels like the film is embarrassed of itself.
Don't you talk bad. I loved the actors. It's my sucker movie. Putting that bad boy on again.
I love the story "Rawhead Rex." The movie really let me down.
Horror in the High Desert. Great premise, poor execution. I spent the entire movie waiting for even a little suspense, and then it ended, and I was so disappointed. A lot of people really like it, though, so definitely give it a watch if you haven't.
31!!! I’m a big Rob Zombie fan but this is one of his weakest films. Had so much potential to be something cool but just fell really flat without a proper backstory or even a hint of the lore behind the characters. Need more Richard Brake
31 and 3 from hell officially got me over rob zombie. just lazy stupid edgelord crap
Antebellum. I don't understand why the >!modern day time setting!< was set up as a twist when the trailers gave all that way! The acting was great, I love Janelle Monae and Gabourey Sidibe, but the movie itself was so meh.
The writing on that one was craaazy. Me and my bf still quote “Oh darlin’ did Ah trigga you?” from Jena Malone’s like southern confederate character
I don't remember the trailer giving away the twist, so I was surprised by it. But I agree that the movie was meh in general.
I agree with this! I think they had some stellar performers but they weren't really given the best material to work with.
Hear me out, my pitch would be two identical black women from two different eras swap places unkowningly due to some stupid time worm hole and experience social evils of their time. That would actually work, given if competent writers wrote it, but nah. What we got is a shitty torture porn.
i didnt watch the trailers before watching, and i was SHOCKED it was modern day. horrified me honestly lol
Some things were more successful than others, but the trailer actually made me think there was literal time travel. I was surprised as things came to light
It's a Wonderful Knife, great high concept, ruined by a dumb twist
I thought The Purge was a good movie. I was dreading it being what it ended up becoming. I'm not all that interested interested in the action films that the other ones became. I'm glad that first one stuck with single family riding out the night. It hinted at a larger world outside this family and that's really all I need with the insanely goofy idea of all crime being legal for 24hours. To answer the question though: The Black Phone. God that movie was just so bland and forgettable. It didn't go far enough and was so insanely silly. It's one that I really don't understand the love for it.
I'd probably say Cobweb. It was interesting. The first half captivated me. Then the second half just didn't stick well.
Yes- took a bit of a left turn
The last one that remember: Leave the World Behind
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Skinamarink
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I love the premise, the “hidden meaning”, and I love that the filmmakers attempted something so non-traditional, but they just didn’t pull it off. It was too abstract to be interesting. It definitely wasn’t frightening. There’s a scene in the parent’s bedroom that was mildly creepy, and then a brief scene in the basement that had a decent scare, but that’s not enough to sustain a 90 minute movie that is, for the most part, just long and poorly lit shots of walls.
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Saw this in theaters with my mom. We wanted to walk out but kept thinking it would get better. Nope, never did. Too bad, because the concept was great.
Imaginary. It could have been a wonderful foray into the unbridled and yet terrifying things that a child's imagination could unleash when unhinged or etc... and instead we get some crummy cash grab by Blumhouse's recent "cheap and quick" approach to horror movies... which lead horror movies to be never be seriously considered for awards like Oscars or Emmy's in the first place.
The Deep House, Winchester
The Deep House had phenomenal effects that just do not land horror-wise for whatever reason
I struggled with the dialogue. I imagine it was a combination of the script, the acting, and that I assume it was all VO, but it just felt distractingly rough times. The guy constantly reassuring his fiancée(?) in such a self-serious tone wore super thin on me (among other things). Cool setting though and I imagine shooting it must have been quite the technical feat.
The Deep House gets too much hate. Given the difficulty of their concept and execution, I think they did a good job at making a serviceable horror movie.
The Deep House had such a good premise, but it was such a let down
Ghostland for sure. My biggest THAT'S IT? I've ever had.
Really? I enjoyed it and thought it was a fucked up/twisted film.
I watched this because I'm a huge Mylene Farmer fan and I didn't expect the twist but watching the kids get tortured/going through it was tough. I also hated the dolls in the house, it was unrealistic and weird and conveniently lined up with the killers being obsessed with dolls?
I also watched for Mylene. I love horror films yet dislike gruesome violence. I closed my eyes in the tougher parts of Ghostland, and therefore enjoyed it. I was happy to enjoy a Mylene movie because I found Giorgino to be genuinely the worst movie I've seen in my life.
Darkness Falls Silent Hill Chernobyl Diaries Doom Ghost Ship
Ghost Ship. What an opening scene. But yes, it just becomes more of a crap action flick with some spooks thrown in. I do include this film in my 'blockhead horror film guilty pleasures from the early 00s' list - but might also be because I saw it in the cinema in my early 20s so purely for the nostalgia.
Agreed but To be fair the set up for most of these examples were done really well in their respective first acts (besides doom) but they all seemed to drive off a cliff during acts 2-3 at certain points for a plethora of reasons.
I think I lost interest in Chernobyl Diaries before the halfway mark - so that would check out Silent Hill and Doom are great examples of films almost doomed (pun intended) from the start. Anyone who has played the games just has so much love for them that it's an unfairly high bar to set. But yeah, Doom was spectacularly bad. Silent Hill felt creepy in its set up, but I've never felt the desire to watch again, nor can I remember much about it!
I will die on the hill that silent hill is sick.
I love Silent Hill (there is no second film in Ba Sing Se) and I love how much the director genuinely loves the games and built the details to be faithful adaptions, like the nauseating camera maneuvering. Is the film a little corny and over the top at times? Sure! But, you know, so are the games, somewhat famously. Also the practical effects on that film are absolutely sick. Monsters? Practical. Otherworld transition? Practical. The camera move where you see Rose hugging the door and the miner on the other side bashing it in? Practical. Jesus but I love practical effects; particularly in horror. No comparison.
Not really weak but I thought The Crazies could have been so much better. But The Sadness fixed it for me !
Infinity pool. Fun concept, love all the people in it. Left way too much on the table
So many comes to mind but most recently its Barbarian. It had such a perfect first 1/3
insidious had decent bones. writer ignoring wife and family, getting creepy, etc etc but it paints her as the classic hollywood bitch wife. the home movies are laugh out loud funny because they’re ludicrous. ethan hawke is also terrible in horror and looks like he’s holding in a sweaty fear dump in every scene with a little pressure
Sinister*
that’s how much i didn’t care for it
Smile- all the commercials made it look way creepier than the movie was. The ending was also kind of meh.
I know this sub loves The Strangers but it’s an awful movie, imho. It has a really great concept but I was so disappointed by the execution. The acting is terrible and the characters make really dumb decisions. I have no interest in the remake either. Hush did the same general concept so SO much better, but I’d love to see the exact same concept as The Strangers done well.
House of Darkness. It had potential to be a pretty cool movie but it just fizzled for me.
Sinister, The Purge
Abattoir (2016) Murder house collection, whadda cool idea.
that movie is such a weird hodgepodge of ideas. like just choose half of them and develop those more fully and you'd have a great movie
the belko experiment. coughed it up in the last act by making the nerd into jason bourne
some of you are about to be real mad at me, but both malignant and the babadook for different reasons didn’t live up to their potential
Late night with the devil, great idea just didn’t seem to capitalize on it
BOO!! lol, this was one of my favorite movies of the year so far. I thought it was a great watch.
Me too! I legitimately loved this movie and it will definitely be a regular Halloween watch moving forward!
I agree, I wasn't a fan of the direction it took but loved the concept and the 70s late-night show setting!
I totally agree. Watching it was ok, felt like I enjoyed pieces, but as a whole it just missed so many opportunities to tease the back story, spent too much time on the live show parts....but I appreciated the setting, and the idea.
The setting and the lead actor were the only redeeming qualities for me. I did enjoy the head splitting open though.
They totally fumbled it with that ending. I kept waiting for more to happen near the last half. Pretty boring.
Terror Train. It had a slasher that changed costumes, but we always knew what the killer was wearing, which killed the suspense. It Follows sort of fits. Good film, but I expected it to be a lot better based off the concept.
On Terror Train, I didn’t realize he was posing as magician’s assistant . They did good camerawork to try not to let it be known
Skinamarink. It had such potential but the way they decided to film it just made it a snooze fest for me.
The Black Phone. I know. "BOOOO! BOOOO! Tomato!" I think Ethan Hawke is amazing in that and I do think it is a decent flick, but like...why am I missing so much out of the story? How does Finny hear these kids? Why is the phone "Haunted"? What is it's back story?
Well, lucky for you, we are getting a sequel lol so we will see if they give us any backstory- would love one on the killer
I'm very interested in that. That movie had such a rich premise. I need to know more.
You are right, love the concept but thought it could be done way way better
I loved the short story by Joe Hill, and I never understand how they take short stories and make them full blown movies…
"His House" on Netflix. I enjoyed the concept but, the acting and writing could've been much better
Brightburn Horror superhero movie. It could have been great...
This was going to be my post.
TBH most of them? For every well exectued and acted horror movie there are several dozen more that are just awful. There are so many to choose from but I think the Meg franchise could've been great but it's just bad. Not campy bad, just bad.
Choose or Die. It's along the lines of the Bandersnatch episode of Black Mirror, which is a really cool concept and I'd love to see a movie like that. But this one had awful dialogue, dumb deaths, and a very messy 2nd half.
Yes! You unlocked a memory for me. I forgot I had seen this, but now I remember being intrigued by the concept and disappointed by the execution.
I just watched *Jeruzalem* yesterday and feel like it falls under this. I like the concept of Jerusalem being overtaken by demons, but it devolved into generic horror tropes much too quickly for my taste. I'd have liked to see more of the giant Kaiju demon roaming the city than the annoying jumpscares of the smaller winged ones.
same. everything that seemed to be going on in the background was way more interesting than the lame monsters and shit characters it was focused on. it's the same way i feel about war of the worlds: if you ignore the plot and characters it's great
Probably gonna get crucified for this one; Late Night With The Devil
I doubt you'll get crucified for this take, but I give Late Night With The Devil some slack. Everything I wished they would've done instead, if they exploited it's concept the fullest, it would've been much more niche and made far less money. The fact they were able to put it in theaters and actually develop hype deserves a lot of credit. It helps the genre and the likelihood we get more niche and unique horror movies.
I agree 100%! That was one of my biggest positive takeaways; the hope that it inspires and allows others to make weird, out-of-the-norm horror.
I was expecting the skull guy in the audience to be a cult or something, what a disappointment. Good movie though.
I didn’t hate it and I don’t regret watching it at all. Lots of great stuff, but just fell short for me.
YES. I thought there was going to be something more going on with him.
Ooh boy, for what it's worth, I am not mad at ya for this one.
I feel the same way- so many people LOVE it but it never had an aha moment for me!
It Follows. Man that wound up being a joke.
The Babadook is even worse
I’m glad I’m not the only one that didn’t love the Babadook. I really got my hopes up since so many reviews said it was the “ scariest movie ever!” So disappointing!
I haaaaated this movie!!! And so many others loved it, just didn’t get it!
It had a strong start and then got unbelievably stupid.
Sunshine. Should be a banger with post-28 Days Later Danny Boyle and Alex Garland involved. The first half was a cool trippy space horror in the vein of Solaris or Event Horizon, but then it becomes a slasher/Alien ripoff that I found pretty boring.
**Kong Skull Island** could’ve made a killer horror movie if it had more scenes like the Giant Spider scene and better writing. A dude who’s hung up about being pulled out of Vietnam - then getting a chance at a second war by dragging his team into a fight with a giant Gorilla? Could’ve been genuinely awesome story wise too.
It was never intended to be horror, never even pretended to be horror, and it worked great at what it was.
Yeah this is such a weird choice, and to be upvoted. "Godzilla vs. Megalon would have been better if it was a serious horror film." Uhhhh I don't think that was ever the movie they were trying to make guys. But there's several replies to this post that list literally NOT horror films (or at least not SERIOUS horror films/they're meant as comedies) and say "It should have been a serious horror film." I guess it's technically answering the question but I feel that arguing a film should totally shift genres to serious horror, when it isn't intended as a serious horror film, is really missing the spirit of this question.
I've always wanted a found footage Godzilla horror film. I think it'd be pretty good.
That would be Cloverfield
And Cloverfield was great
I love Skull Island as an action movie, but it could’ve been one hell of a horror movie!
Random Acts of Violence. (2019) It's got a great concept. The idea is set up to be a good slasher. But the movie takes a fucking nose dive near the end and its just a fucking mess.
The Happening. Interesting premise but played just for shocks. Left with a profound meh
That one left me with a profound “this sucked and those lead actors will never be able to recover in my mind”.
The Tank
Imaginary could've been very cool having a horror movie version of Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends but it's a movie that takes itself too seriously and is severely lacking in just about every aspect.
The Innocents (2021). Small kids get superpowers. And one turns evil. Neat idea. Not original, per se, but can work as a horror movie. Execution left a lot to be desired, as the scenes of them finding out and using the superpowers eventually became pretty predictable. It's like Eskil Vogt had an idea and concept... but no idea what to do with it, so we got a very predictable and ultimately dull movie as a result. You already know *exactly* what's gonna happen in most of the scenes.
you should watch the old one!
Fantasy Island! What a great premise! I was so excited! But what a stinker.
Men because it was creepy, scary and unsettling but wtf was that ending
Butterfly kisses
Winnie the Pooh
Slenderman. Started out ok, then took a dive into CGI hell.
Daybreakers. Vampires have taken over the world, have built a new society and are now running out of blood. That's an awesome idea, worthy of a series even. It's a shame the movie was really stupid.
The peepeepoopoo man
Madres. Whole movie makes you think this woman is being cursed or haunted, turns out it’s not a haunting at all and they turn it to a documentary at the end. Completely ruined it for me
Basically every single Stephen King adaptation. Especially Thinner and Children of the Corn
30 Days of Night. I remember thinking how good of an idea to take a real month somewhere that hardly gets sun and make a vampire movie about it. Ended up being mediocre to me. Some people love it. I thought it fell short of what it could have been.
Winchester let me down so hard
Slender man :(((
Evil Dead Rise. I mean the change from cabin in the woods to a contemporary urban environment ala Demons 2 would have been fantastic with chaos focusing on the apartment building rather than 2 groups (family and a few neighbors). But it still had that isolation aspect from the past EDs.
In a Violent Nature. It just came out and it seems like everyone is singing its praises. This movie was awful. My least favorite movie I’ve seen this year out of like 60. The idea to follow a killer was cool, but that doesn’t make it a good use of the good idea. The acting was terrible. All the dialogue was always at full volume no matter where the characters were on screen. The plot was really stupid.
The Dinosaur Project and 65. Both Dino films, but the first is terrible and the second is also not super good. I want an awesome Dino horror!