Don't believe the critics, these horror films are well worth your attention.
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00:00Forever a genre that has been absolutely dragged by critics, horror has always had a tough time
00:05being taken seriously. Considered by some to be irredeemably low-brow or lacking in any real
00:11merit, the genre is more often than not subject to intense scrutiny just for existing. And in
00:17some instances, it's easy to understand why, but in others, maybe we should just lighten up a
00:22little. I'm Amy from WhatCulture, and here are 10 Bad Horror Movies Everyone Gets Wrong.
00:2910. Valentine
00:31Much like how Halloween brought the genre to life before it, Scream successfully reanimated
00:36the bloated corpse of the slasher genre, and seemingly overnight, moviegoers were bombarded
00:40with all manner of stalk-and-slice films that were keen to get in the box office cash. Most
00:46of these were somewhat warmly received by fans and critics, with films like Cherry Falls and
00:50I Know What You Did Last Summer still being praised to this day. Sadly, Valentine has never
00:55been so lucky. Panned by critics on release due to it bearing too many similarities to older
01:00slasher films, the film sits at a woeful 12% on Rotten Tomatoes. Well, if you've seen the movie,
01:06you'll know that that's a grotesque over-exaggeration of its supposed badness.
01:11Sure, it's not exactly going to win over those at the Academy, but taken for what it is,
01:15Valentine is a competently made slasher that's full of nasty little surprises along the way.
01:20Taking us back to a time when slasher films weren't so reliant on meta-humour and snarky
01:25dialogue, it captures the audience's imagination, and it deserves some credit for that.
01:299. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 – Freddy's Revenge
01:33Of all the films on this list, Freddy's Revenge is easily the most well-known example of a
01:38supposedly poor film undergoing a reappraisal decades after its release. Its homoerotic
01:43undercurrents and the subversion of the final girl trope are often singled out as its strongest
01:48elements. Aside from those two aspects, though, Freddy's Revenge still has a whole lot to offer
01:52for fans of the genre. With numerous gruesome special effects sequences, mean-spirited kills,
01:58and one of Robert Englund's most menacing performances, this film really is nowhere
02:02near as inept as the reputation might have you believe. Several critics at the time were highly
02:07dismissive of the film, with some even going so far as to refer to it as tedious and humourless.
02:12It may not be able to fully hold its own when compared to the likes of Craven's original,
02:16or in fact the vastly superior Dream Warriors, but Freddy's Revenge is a solid entry into the
02:2180s slasher canon that has far more going on under the hood when compared to its contemporaries.
02:268. Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Next Generation
02:30Given just how far the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series has fallen from grace,
02:34it's remarkable that its fourth entry is still considered the worst. And don't get me wrong
02:38here, it's not exactly a great film, but when compared to the likes of Leatherface and Texas
02:43Chainsaw 3D, it's a borderline masterpiece. The film opens on a nudge-wink text screen that
02:49jokingly alludes to the previous movies, before essentially launching headfirst into a highly
02:54cynical and darkly funny retelling of the film's first events. Penned by the same writer as the
02:59original film, The Next Generation lampoons many of that film's ideas, as well as taking aim at
03:04the declining state of the genre at the time. For example, through Leatherface's ineffectiveness and
03:09the bizarre ending which implies the film's events have been orchestrated by a mysterious businessman.
03:14In retrospect, it's surprisingly satirical, but sadly it's so bogged down in retreading
03:19the original that many of its more zany ideas are lost in translation. But really,
03:24which of these was the worst movie, this one or the newest 2022 Texas Chainsaw Massacre? You tell me.
03:307. Halloween 2, 2009 Rob Zombie's first stab at a Halloween movie
03:36did yield mixed results, but for the most part it succeeded in what it set out to do,
03:41to reinvent the Halloween franchise and take it in a completely different direction.
03:45When the time came for the sequel, Zombie himself had no intention of returning,
03:49but he eventually relented when offered creative freedom. And oh my god does his
03:54disdain shine through. Halloween 2 is a much darker, meaner, and genuinely antagonistic
03:59film that reveals the nihilism and misery that Zombie had in mind. Unlike other slasher sequels
04:04where the characters are able to move on, the survivors of Michael's previous rampage are
04:08shown to be highly damaged as a result. The script does tend to buckle under its own weight,
04:13but as an exploration of trauma, survivor's guilt, and the way in which violence perverts everything
04:18around it, I'm not going to say it's wholly ineffective. Audiences were likely expecting
04:22something more akin to previous Halloween entries, but they were presented with something perhaps
04:26more oppressive and misanthropic than they were really expecting. It's certainly got its flaws,
04:31but it's hard to label it as a truly bad movie. Like seriously, there are much worse movies out
04:36there. 6. Seed of Chucky
04:39Upon release, Seed of Chucky was blasted for its overly silly tone and lack of horror,
04:43which is somewhat surprising when you consider that the child's play series has always pitched
04:48its tent in that part of the woods. There's certainly a kernel of truth to these accusations,
04:52however, as Seed is more reliant on gross-out gags and meta-humour than any semblance of actual
04:57scares or suspense. What it lacks in genuine horror, though, it makes up for in its sheer,
05:02unabashed weirdness and dedication to its characters. Moving the action to the bright
05:06lights of Hollywood, Chucky and Tiffany find themselves resurrected by their unnatural
05:11spawn, Glenn. Having parenthood forced upon the pair allows for us to peel back the layers of
05:15their psyche, and understand them slightly better as characters, with Tiffany's maternal nature
05:19becoming more apparent whilst Chucky's hardwired lust for killing is an affront to his new
05:24responsibilities. It's every bit as ludicrous as it sounds, and taken on its own, Seed of Chucky is
05:30a gloriously goofy good time, and remains largely misunderstood by many.
05:345. Tusk
05:36It can be hard to think of any redeeming qualities for this movie when you consider
05:39that its plot is literally a guy being kidnapped and turned into a big walrus.
05:44There's not much more I can say, is there? But considering the origins of Tusk trace
05:48back to a joke premise that Kevin Smith pitched on his much-loved podcast,
05:52it does make sense that many people would also write this film off as a joke without
05:56ever thinking to watch it. The thing is, as much as it's easy to write off a film about a man
06:00walrus, the actual product is incredibly disturbing, and may be one of the only
06:05horror films that succeeded in making me feel genuinely sick just from a single frame.
06:09This is mostly down to the numerous gore gags and nauseating scenes in which protagonist Wallace
06:15Bryant is mutilated and repurposed into a human-walrus hybrid, all of which is further
06:20punctuated by Howe's harrowing backstory, which we're carefully drip-fed alongside all the
06:24brutality. It's rare that a film can bolster such a unique and bizarre premise and deliver
06:29on it tenfold by balancing the ludicrous nature of its narrative with several scenes that make
06:33the audience wince. It's most certainly not a film for everybody, but for those that can
06:38get aboard its unashamedly weird wavelength, there's plenty of gruesome delights to be found.
06:444. Black Christmas 2006
06:47The fact that Black Christmas has been remade twice now is a shocking example of just how far
06:51the horror genre is willing to sink. The 2019 version was an ill-conceived train wreck that
06:56sought to be topical as opposed to terrifying, but the often-overlooked 2006 film is something
07:01of a lost treasure. Where the original film relied on atmosphere and persistent dread to
07:06unnerve its audience, this 2006 iteration goes for the jugular and offers up an orgy of brutal
07:11violence and appallingly bad taste. This may not butter everyone's crumpet, nor did it so upon
07:17release, but if you're in the mood for a nasty festive slasher film then you really can't go
07:21wrong with this. The plot is fairly loose and the characters definitely lack depth, but everything
07:26else on display is so deliriously deranged that it's easy to simply shut your brain off and enjoy.
07:31It doesn't try to be the original film, and it's safe to say that if this film wasn't associated
07:36with Bob Clark's festive classic, it would have amassed a much bigger following by now.
07:403. Jason X
07:43It's a well-worn horror trope that when a franchise is floundering with sequel fatigue,
07:47the only logical next step is to launch its main villain into space. Trust me,
07:52it works every time. Well, to say that it worked here might be a bit of an exaggeration,
07:57but it certainly did something. The Friday the 13th franchise may have begun its life as a set
08:01of somewhat serious and gruesome suspense thrillers, but as time went on the series
08:05leaned into its own ridiculous nature, and that is arguably why it's endured as long as it has.
08:10This movie is the pinnacle of the franchise poking fun at itself, be it through cheeky
08:14nods to previous entries, or its gleaming self-awareness that lets the audience in on the
08:19joke. It doesn't take itself seriously in the slightest, and once you give yourself over to
08:23its schlocky charms, you're going to have a good time with it. The late-era Friday the 13th films
08:28are a mixed bag, for sure, so it's understandable as to why many fans weren't appreciative of the
08:33film's overt campiness. But you know, it's hard to call any movie an objectively bad movie when
08:38you're launching a supervillain into space. 2. A Cure for Wellness
08:43Easily one of modern horror's most unsung treasures, A Cure for Wellness has had cult
08:47classic written all over it since the day it was unleashed. This spiralling,
08:51gothic oddity has enthralled and befuddled audiences in equal measure with its gargantuan
08:56length, dizzying tonal shifts, and truly horrific imagery. But the common consensus seems to be that
09:01the film isn't particularly good. And whilst it's certainly a matter of opinion, I'm going to say
09:06your opinion's wrong. The film has lots of saving graces, you've just got to open your eyes to them.
09:11It's likely that many folks were drawn into the trailer's promise of a medical malpractice and
09:16body horror focus, but they were instead greeted with something more old-fashioned,
09:20something that took heavy inspiration from the European horror films of decades gone by,
09:24even down to those films penchant for truly nauseating gore shots.
09:28Given where modern horror's been going for the past few years, it's easy to understand why A
09:32Cure for Wellness was so easily binned when people wanted cerebral terror over old-fashioned
09:37gothic atmosphere. And whilst the plot isn't exactly going to win any awards, it does have
09:42a compelling central mystery that'll keep you guessing right up until the end.
09:461. Twin Peaks Firewalk With Me
09:49Few shows can claim to be as important or as groundbreaking as Twin Peaks was for its time.
09:54Its unequivocal strangeness captured the minds and hearts of millions, even if they didn't quite
09:59understand what was going on. But despite the adoration that so many have for the series,
10:03its subsequent film adaptation has never fared so well, with many even going so far as to say
10:08it's the worst part of the Twin Peaks canon. Which is strange, when you consider the latter
10:13half of Season 2 still exists. Analysis of the show aside, Firewalk With Me is a largely
10:18misunderstood film. On the surface, it's merely a prequel, but it really should be viewed as its
10:22own separate entity. Not only because it's in a completely different medium, but tonally and
10:27stylistically, it's a far cry from the show's soap opera-gone-wrong approach. It's also callously
10:32cruel and deeply disturbing, a film that's anchored by a show-stopping performance by
10:37Sheryl Lee that really deserves to be seen and appreciated for what it is. Submerge yourself
10:42in its darkness and you'll definitely see what the fuss is all about. Suspend your disbelief
10:46for a bit. You might have some fun. And that is actually the last entry on
10:50this list of 10 Bad Horror Movies Everyone Gets Wrong. Did you actually enjoy any of these? For
10:55me, it's a cure for wellness. I can see so much good in that movie that apparently no one else
11:00can? Let us know in the comments down below. And remember to check out WhatCulture.com for more
11:05lists and articles like this every single day. As always, I've been Amy from WhatCulture,
11:09and I'll catch you next time.