These Awesome Horror Movies Were Critical Failures
When Badly Reviewed Horror Movies Are Actually Great Films!
Critics hate horror movies. And that hatred is why many see the genre a the ultimate in disrepute and exploitation. Critics pan horror movies as a knee-jerk reaction to the seedier elements. And they ignore the genre’s craft, ingenuity and trenchant social commentary. So many badly reviewed horror movies are actually incredible films. It might take a while for these film’s reputations to come around, but, in the end, quality can’t stay hidden. So here’s a list of badly review horror flicks that are actually awesome. Some critics now view some of these previously panned movies as the classics they are. But others on this list have reputations that have never quite recovered.Psycho (1960)
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is now considered, if not the best horror film of all time, then definitely top 5. It is the original slasher film. SPOILER ALERT: In killing off Janet Leigh, its biggest star, 30 minutes into the film it shocked audiences and forever changed what was possible in cinema.
On its original release, however, critics savaged the film. Audiences flocked to it, and critics changed their tune, but the fact remains one of the greatest masterpieces in film history was described by Time Magazine (and countless others) as ‘merely gruesome’.
Peeping Tom (1960)
[dx_custom_adunit desktop_id=”RTK_K67O” mobile_id=”RTK_5yk0″]
While Psycho became one of Hitchcock’s biggest hits, Peeping Tom ruined the career of legendary director British Michael Powell. It is crucial that both of these films were released in 1960, a time when social and cultures mores were changing dramatically. These two films are also the greatest argument for the blind-spot most critics have for horror.
Today it consistently ranks as one of the best British films of all time.
The Thing (1982)
John Carpenter’s The Thing is a flawless film. The way it uses its Antarctic location and the premise of an alien-monster which kills and then imitates its prey, hiding in plain sight, is masterful. However, on its original release critics hated it and audiences stayed away in droves.
It was a failure for horror master John Carpenter, which is insane given how immaculate a film it is.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Another one of the greatest, if not the single-greatest, horror movies of all time. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has influenced as many movies as Psycho, and is a pre-cursor to the American independent film boom later in the century. On its initial release, however, critics couldn’t get passed the gore. That’s not the last time you’ll hear that critique.