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Expectations can be a killer. Join us as we break down horror films that failed to meet audience expectations on release but are now loved for their bold choices and unique visions. We're looking at why 'The Mist's' ending is now iconic and how 'Seed of Chucky' was ahead of its time.
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00:00Expectations play a huge role in how we eventually feel about something, and scary movies are
00:05no exception. After all, it's quite discouraging to anticipate certain things from a horror
00:10film, only to discover that the trailers and other promotional hype misled you and the
00:14end product delivered on few, if any, of them. Even when no outside influences are involved,
00:20we can still hate a movie based solely on what we wanted versus ultimately what we got.
00:24The following entries here demonstrate precisely all of this, as while they were originally
00:30scorned by numerous genre lovers for one reason or another upon their initial release, we're
00:35betting that over time, they and you grew to love them a lot more for what they are, rather
00:40than what they're not. So with that in mind, I'm Ellie with WhatCulture, here with horror
00:44movies you probably hated the first time round, but loved the second.
00:49Halloween Ends
00:50This is probably the best example of hate turning into love in recent memory, as countless
00:56franchise fans have encouragingly shifted their opinions. To be fair, unlike predecessors
01:01Halloween and Halloween Kills, it's easy to find a lot of flaws throughout Halloween Ends.
01:06Primarily, viewers were upset about three main elements. The prioritisation of a brand new
01:11character, the lack of consistent and compelling final showdowns between villain Michael Myers
01:16and saviour Laurie Strode, and the corresponding lessening of Myers' screen time and scariness.
01:22That said, many former naysayers have come to deeply enjoy and respect how different it
01:27is. By emphasising intentionally intimate psychological drama over routine slasher tropes, Halloween
01:34Ends felt much fresher and bolder. Plus, each of the four main characters, Laurie, Michael,
01:39Corey and Laurie's niece, Alison Nelson, were developed in daringly interesting, if not entirely
01:45satisfying ways. Even the opening credits seem to predict audiences' inevitable change of heart,
01:51as it overtly mirrored the style of the comparatively atypical Halloween 3 season of
01:56The Witch, which has been similarly reassessed since its 1982 debut.
02:00The Babadook
02:01Jennifer Kent's 2014 directorial debut, The Babadook, is a superb illustration of allegory
02:08and symbolism in horror. Why? Because its titular creature is actually a manifestation of
02:13the confrontational bitterness and sorrow felt by matriarch Amelia and her son Samuel following
02:19the fatal car accident of family patriarch Oscar. Specifically, and somewhat understandably,
02:25Amelia becomes perpetually resentful and violent towards Samuel, who is undeniably annoying,
02:30needy, erratic, and all-around insufferable from the moment their journey begins. His unbearableness,
02:36coupled with the film being generally unfrightening in a traditional sense, resulted in a considerable
02:41amount of onlookers outright loathing Kent's vision. As is often the case, retrospective
02:46analysis of what The Babadook is really about and how well it succeeds at its depictions have
02:51substantially altered such negative appraisals. Today, Babadook enthusiasts see it as a beautifully
02:57constructed and touchingly earnest tale of grief, love, and connection between a mother and her child.
03:03As for Samuel's excruciating behaviours and Amelia's reprehensible responses to them,
03:07both are far more frightening yet necessary than what might be seen in a conventional monster movie.
03:13Seed of Chucky
03:14Simply put, the fifth entry in the Child's Play franchise, 2004's Seed of Chucky,
03:20was way too comedic for most aficionados upon their first screening.
03:24Granted, 1998's Bride of Chucky foreshadowed this change in tone,
03:28but it also stayed true to mastermind Don Mancini's scary origins.
03:32In contrast, Seed of Chucky fundamentally focused on absurd moments such as Chucky masturbating
03:38and cringeworthy nods to celebrities such as Red Man, John Waters, and Britney Spears.
03:43When the initial sting wore off, however, numerous watchers relished the continuously
03:47spirited chemistry between Chucky and his aforementioned bride, Tiffany,
03:52and by association, voice actors Brad Dourif and Jennifer Tilly.
03:56Plus, having Tilly play herself, alongside the film's mockery of Hollywood,
04:00doubled down on the meta-satire of its precursor.
04:03In hindsight, subsequent watches also earned Seed of Chucky distinction for being ahead of its time
04:08in terms of LGBTQIA inclusivity, which Mancini has always incorporated into the series to some degree.
04:15By giving Chucky and Tiffany's non-binary child, Glenn slash Glenda, agency over their identity,
04:21as well as showcasing their parents' support for them,
04:23the movie is often championed for giving a substantial section of the horror community
04:28the representation and acceptance it deserves.
04:31The Mist
04:31Although it's not as great as their prior collaborations,
04:341994's The Shawshank Redemption and 1999's The Green Mile,
04:392007's The Mist is nonetheless among the best motion pictures with which writer-director Frank Darabont
04:44and novelist Stephen King have ever been involved.
04:47It follows a familiar setup by placing a small group of distinctive and debatably stereotypical
04:53community members in a supermarket to fend off Lovecraftian monsters and their own growing
04:58frustrations and suspicions with each other.
05:00By every measure, it's exceptionally well done.
05:03Even so, it's easy to see why people detested it all those years ago.
05:07Beyond featuring the requisite trope of characters making overtly stupid and dangerous decisions,
05:12the ways in which religious zealot Mrs. Carmody indoctrinates her neighbours into cultish tribalism
05:18is infuriatingly ridiculous but realistic.
05:21Then there's the unequivocally nihilistic ending that inevitably depresses each viewer
05:26while deviating significantly from King's more hopeful conclusion.
05:30After those initial gut punches wear off, though,
05:32future rewatches allow The Mist's sheer boldness and craftsmanship to shine through.
05:37That's true for the commendable technical aspects as much as it is for being able to accept
05:41and possibly enjoy who gets saved versus who gets slaughtered.
05:45It Comes at Night
05:46Centered around two sets of people who were forced to cohabitate a house during a pandemic
05:51how chillingly relatable in retrospect,
05:54It Comes at Night was marketed to be one of 2017's scariest supernatural films.
05:59With a title and trailer like that,
06:01who wouldn't expect something tangible and terrifying to appear once the sun sets?
06:06Instead, the eponymous It refers not to any sort of paranormal or otherwise unnatural being,
06:11but to the paranoia, division and ruthlessness that infects the characters' minds
06:15when they're forced to contend with unimaginable threats and uncertain circumstances.
06:20Admittedly, crowds had every right to feel deceived and upset when it ended,
06:24yet a revised outlook permits It Comes at Night to be cherished in a fresh and favourable light.
06:29With its mounting tension, dreamily abstract imagery and eternally resonant social observations,
06:34it's an engrossing and sobering look at the ugliness of humanity.
06:38Plus, its central thesis has been a part of entertainment for decades.
06:42For example, The Twilight Zone's The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street 28 Days Later
06:47and all versions of The Last of Us.
06:50Just because there isn't a traditional fiend doesn't mean there's nothing unalluringly
06:54and metaphorically fiendish to contemplate.
06:57The Black Coat's Daughter
06:58Arguably no other movie studio today is as synonymous with elevated horror as A24,
07:04and as such their projects are known for being slowly paced and conceptually ambiguous,
07:10at least during the opening two acts.
07:122015's The Black Coat's Daughter is a perfect example of this.
07:15For one thing, it divides itself into multiple timelines amidst juxtaposing multiple narratives,
07:21the ominously despondent winter break interactions of schoolmates Rose and Kat,
07:26and the mysterious trajectory of escaped mental patient Joan a decade later.
07:30That jumbled structure matched with The Black Coat's Daughter's leisurely stride,
07:34it takes a while for the plot to really get going,
07:37no doubt prompted many first-timers to ask themselves,
07:39what is the point of all this and where is this going?
07:42Luckily, mastermind Osgood Perkins pays off everything in artfully troubling fashion during the final third,
07:49with the connections between those three characters becoming cleverer and creepier
07:53as various bits of foreshadowing, stylistic parallels, and game-changing secrets are discovered.
07:58Once all The Black Coat's Daughter's implications are revealed,
08:01audiences can embark on a second screening,
08:03with a stronger appreciation not only for where it ends up, but for how it gets there too.
08:08The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
08:10Considering how unapologetically depraved and disturbing 1974's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is,
08:17it was reasonable to anticipate more of the same from Tobey Hooper's belated 1986 follow-up.
08:23Rather than offering another relatively grounded and unsettling journey into figurative hell though,
08:28The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 fully embraces the black comedy tone
08:32the director allegedly aimed to achieve with the original.
08:35From beginning to end, it's a pointedly colourful and droll picture that,
08:39while still grungy and gory, is unlikely to keep anyone up at night.
08:42In keeping with the overarching theme of this list,
08:45The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is also another instance of initially dismayed moviegoers
08:49savouring what they did get when they returned for an additional helping
08:53of Hooper's surreal shenanigans and satire.
08:55Be it the outrageous opening road tussle, the carnivalistic closing face-offs,
09:00or almost anything in between, it's a blast to watch.
09:03In particular, Caroline Williams' idiosyncratically courageous and irreverent stretch
09:08is an absolutely iconic final girl, Bill Moseley's cartoonishly bizarre Chop Tops
09:13deals every scene he's in, and Dennis Hooper as the vengeful Lieutenant Enright
09:18gives his most entertainingly unhinged and quotable performance next to his turn
09:22as Frank Booth in David Lynch's Blue Velvet from the same year.
09:26Possession
09:26Oh, where to start with the puzzlingly peculiar Possession?
09:31Released in 1981, the French-German film has been confusing and fascinating audiences
09:35for over 40 years, and for good reason.
09:38Preliminarily, it's a genuinely believable and evocative, if curiously stagey,
09:43examination of a married couple wrestling with infidelity, divorce,
09:47and the shared responsibilities of raising their young son.
09:50From there, it gradually evolves, or devolves, depending on your perspective,
09:54into a wholly unusual tour of surreal symbolism.
09:57We're talking cannibalism, doppelgangers, graphic homicides,
10:01Cronenberg-esque body horror, including Anna having sex with a tentacled creature,
10:05and perhaps most famously, a horrifyingly uncomfortable and inexplicable possession
10:10scene in a subway.
10:11Clearly, it's a profoundly challenging and adventurous excursion into avant-garde storytelling
10:16that leaves people bewildered and irritated when the credits roll.
10:20And yet, they can't help but return to it a second time, if not more,
10:24to fully process and appreciate all of its socio-political and interpersonal commentaries,
10:29captivating acting and stylish camera work.
10:32It's too much to digest in one viewing, but with each subsequent undertaking,
10:36possession reveals itself to be brilliantly audacious and absorbing.
10:40It's truly a one-of-a-kind creation.