Do these spine-tinglers deserve critical acclaim or bargain bins? See if you agree with the experts.
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00:00Horror movies are like heavy metal music. Both are loved by legions of loyal fans, but
00:05neither gets enough respect from the mainstream. Rather than critical review, it's the fans
00:10who are responsible for a horror film's popularity and demand in the market.
00:14Saw, a wildly popular movie that arguably changed the genre, earned a meagre 49% from
00:20critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Even absolute classics like John Carpenter's The Thing
00:25were originally panned by critics. Every now and then though, we enter bizarro world. Sometimes
00:31a scary movie manages to sit better with critics than their target demographics.
00:36So with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with WhatCulture here with 10 Horror Movies Loved
00:40by Critics but Hated by Audiences.
00:4310. The Blair Witch Project
00:45Let's be honest, in hindsight, The Blair Witch Project was original. It wasn't, however,
00:51entirely scary. The hype for this was huge, which likely contributed to the disappointing
00:5556% audience score. Critics showed up for the found footage pioneer, giving it a fresh
01:0187%. Critic Lloyd Rose of the Washington Post wrote that The Blair Witch Project was
01:06the scariest movie I've ever seen.
01:09The film does have ambience, and the disorientation of the cast as they foray deeper into oblivion
01:14is convincing. Viewers weren't as convinced. The pace was a bit slow, and some of the tension-building
01:20scenes lacked payoff. As one viewer stated on Rotten Tomatoes, so this is what all the
01:25fuss was about?
01:269. Coming Home in the Dark
01:28Here we find our protagonist couple, Alan and Jill, hiking with their two teenage sons.
01:34Two bizarre drifters, Mandrake and Tubbs, confront the family at gunpoint. Mandrake
01:39kills the two boys and takes the couple hostage.
01:42We come to find that this was not a chance encounter. The drifters were once residents
01:46in a school for troubled boys, where Alan was a teacher's assistant. During this time,
01:51Mandrake and Tubbs were abused by the staff of the school. Despite initial denials, Alan
01:55admits that he knew of the abuse, but did nothing. Critics believed the performances
01:59and script were strong enough to warrant a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Society at
02:05large wasn't convinced, offering Coming Home in the Dark only 44%.
02:108. Teeth
02:12Where to start with Teeth? It's about a young lady who has vagina dentata, or literal
02:17teeth sprouting from her nether regions. Who would guess that critics would rate it a fresh
02:2280%? Not the audiences, who gave it a paltry 45%.
02:26Teeth is the story of Dawn, a teen virgin who is a member of her high school's chastity
02:32club. Dawn preaches the word of abstinence to her fellow students and walks it like she
02:36talks it. All is well until Dawn meets Toby. Dawn and Toby admit a mutual attraction to
02:42one another. Dawn agrees to a dip with Toby at a local swimming hole. Now, our romantic
02:47tale turns bloody.
02:49Not surprisingly, Toby had ulterior motives. His attempt to force himself upon Dawn results
02:54in a bloody stump where his manhood once was. The idea is original, and the acting is commendable.
03:00While the film's fresh approach wowed critics, the world just wasn't ready for a man-eating
03:05well, you know.
03:07Number 7. VHS 94
03:09VHS 94 is the fourth instalment in the found footage horror anthology franchise. This time
03:16around, a SWAT team infiltrates an abandoned warehouse. Here they find the remains of what
03:21looks like a cult mass suicide, along with static-filled televisions. Naturally, one
03:26of the TVs begins to play, and our anthology begins.
03:30The film scored a surprising 90% by critics on Rotten Tomatoes, feeling it was more evenly
03:35scary than most anthologies. Fans? They chose the eject button, giving it only 45%.
03:42Number 6. Vivarium
03:45Tom and Gemma are a young couple looking to purchase a new home. They inquire about properties
03:49with a local real estate agent. Despite the agent's strange demeanour, they agree to tour
03:54an available house. The couple find themselves in an antiseptic-looking neighbourhood full
03:59of identical houses. The fun comes when they realise they are trapped in this labyrinthine
04:04suburb.
04:05As the story unfolds, we discover that our heroes have been abducted by aliens and placed
04:10in what is essentially a human fish tank. Critics scored Vivarium a solid 72%, praising
04:16the social commentary of the film, along with the set designs and performances by Jesse
04:20Eisenberg and Imogen Poots.
04:22The unsettling atmosphere and slow unravelling of the characters, however, failed to hit
04:26the mark with audiences. Viewers gave it a dismal 39%. In general, the public didn't
04:33connect with watching two people in misery for 90 minutes, only to have it end on an
04:37equally miserable note.
04:39Number 5. The Feast
04:41In The Feast, a wealthy and corrupt family arranges a business dinner at their estate
04:45for a local businessman and a farmer. When the help, a mysterious waitress named Caddy,
04:50arrives, her unnerving presence begins to poke holes in the synthetic fabric of the
04:55soulless affluent family.
04:57The Feast presents like a horror film, and there is plenty of blood and gore, but tastes
05:01more of a revenge tale. The social commentary is put on full display here, as we see the
05:06perspective of the killer and end up sympathising with her over the narcissistic victims. Overall,
05:12it's fun watching these awful people get their comeuppance, but the story falters a
05:16bit during the third act.
05:18Critics praised the commentary on social cast and their impact, giving The Feast a rating
05:22of 82%. Not bad for a movie that made just over $8,000 at the box office. The fans only
05:28scored it 52%, which is less surprising for a movie that made just over $8,000 at the
05:33box office.
05:34Number 4. You Are Not My Mother
05:36Made in 2021, this Irish film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to
05:42favourable reviews. It even won the runner-up spot for the People's Choice Award, Midnight
05:47Madness.
05:48Those in attendance were the only people who chose it, as it garnered a bleak 42% on Rotten
05:53Tomatoes. Critics stood by the film, giving it a fresh 88%.
05:58You Are Not My Mother artfully tackles the trope of someone is not who they are supposed
06:02to be. It is the story of Sha, a teen girl who lives a glum existence in an old, dusty
06:08home with her disabled grandmother and depressed mother. After Sha's mother Angela disappears,
06:13she returns not quite herself. She vacillates between giddy and grotesque. Sha begins to
06:19understand that something unnatural is happening, and it has something to do with her. Sha's
06:24grandmother explains that fairies sometimes replace human babies with changelings. She
06:29says Sha was a changeling when she was a baby, and suspects Angela may be in her changeling
06:33form.
06:34Feeling like a lower-budget version of us, You Are Not My Mother's happy ending was
06:38not enough to satisfy the viewing audience, with one viewer review stating,
06:43So slow. Worst movie ever.
06:463. Relic Stop us if this sounds familiar. A family's
06:51widowed matriarch goes missing. When she returns, that's right, she's not what she seems.
06:57In this case, sisters Kay and Sam are left to negotiate the growing horrors that accompany
07:01their grandma Edna's return. As things progress, Edna deteriorates physically and mentally
07:07while the girls seek to help Edna and stop whatever malevolent forces are at play. Whatever
07:12the force is, it leaves a black, mouldy bruise on Edna's chest. The mould eventually turns
07:17to rotten flesh, and Edna peels the flesh off, revealing her true form, a rotting corpse
07:21that appeared earlier in Kay's dream.
07:24In a predictable move, the film ends with Sam noticing a small, black, mouldy spot on
07:28Kay's neck.
07:30If Relic were the first of its kind, its audience score may have been higher. It's been there
07:35forever, and the fact that it had done that concept left viewers cold, garnering only
07:38a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics were more forgiving, believing the cinematography and
07:44unsettling story earned a surprising 92%. Despite a powerhouse production team including
07:50Jake Gyllenhaal and the Russo brothers, Relic failed to connect with an audience who have
07:54already been on too many similar rides.
07:582. It Comes at Night In a post-apocalyptic world, Paul and his
08:02family have survived a cataclysmic disease that ravaged most life on Earth. Believing
08:07that more people equals a higher chance of survival, Paul's wife convinces him to allow
08:12a wandering man and his family to share their home. The tension of the film lies solely
08:17in the gradual mistrust between the families. Like the final act of John Carpenter's The
08:21Thing, our gang succumbs to paranoid finger-pointing as their fear of infection mounts.
08:27In a commentary on the limits of human compassion, Paul ends up killing the host family, convinced
08:32the father was infected by the horrid disease. In true narrative karma, the film ends with
08:36Paul and his wife displaying early symptoms of the disease.
08:40It Comes at Night often feels like a long straight road to nowhere, and audiences weren't
08:45much pleased with the payoff. The film only earned a 44% rating from viewers on Rotten
08:50Tomatoes. The experts saw it differently, touting the bare-bones approach and slow-boil
08:55tension as assets, and gave it a very respectable 87%.
09:00Number 1. Shadow in the Cloud
09:03With Chloe Grace Moretz at the top of the cool sheet and a screenplay co-written by
09:07Max Landis, Shadow in the Cloud had some good things going for it. The concept is original,
09:13and there are some quality monster scenes. Audiences just didn't get behind a film
09:17that is equal parts war movie, social commentary, and creature feature.
09:21Channeling classic Twilight Zone, the bulk of the movie takes place during World War
09:252 on a B-17 bomber. Officer Maude Garrett spots a winged gremlin attached to the outside
09:32of the plane, but nobody believes her. The secret mission she is on turns out to be Maude
09:37sneaking her baby on board in an attempt to flee her abusive spouse. The gremlin eventually
09:42breaks into the plane, wreaking havoc and attempting to take the baby.
09:46In the final battle, Maude lands the plane, kills the creature, and safely escapes with
09:50her child as the B-17 erupts in flames. Critics appreciated it as a fun, action-packed genre
09:56flick, gifting the film a Rotten Tomatoes score of 77%. Audiences panned the film for
10:02being too much sizzle and too little steak. Smart fans derided the technical errors regarding
10:08aviation and physics, along with the 80s synth music set to a 1943 background. In some ways
10:14too much, in other ways not enough. The end result was a 32% audience score.
10:21And that concludes our list. If you can think of any that we missed, then do let us know
10:24in the comments below. And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap
10:28that notification bell. Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there at WhatCulture,
10:32and I can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild. I've
10:36been Ellie with WhatCulture, I hope you have a magical day, and I'll see you real soon.