So many horror movies came out this year, and for the most part, they were all good. Whether I went to the actual theater to watch them or waited for their digital drops, I watched them all.
However, with such a heavy slate, I let word of mouth influence my decision to skip some horror movies based on negative reactions. That’s not to say I’ll never watch these movies; they just fell lower on my watchlist. In fact, I almost didn’t watch Passenger based on public opinion, but I’m glad I ignored the hate; it was a fun ride, albeit wholly derivative.
I might not get to the movies below this year since so many new ones are dropping in the next three months, but rest assured, I’ll get to them and form my own opinion. When a new movie from the Poohniverse gets more thumbs up than a Silent Hill sequel, your watch time priorities tend to change. I used the Rotten Tomatoes popcorn meter rating as an example of what the public thinks of these widely panned films. However, the overall public consensus was what influenced me.
Here’s what I skipped:
Return to Silent Hill — 28% Popcornmeter
James Sunderland is drawn back to the eerie town of Silent Hill after receiving a mysterious letter from Mary, the woman he loves and thought he’d lost. What he finds is a town swallowed by darkness and populated by grotesque creatures, forcing him deeper into a nightmare where memory, grief, and reality become increasingly difficult to separate. Directed by Christophe Gans, the film draws its story from the acclaimed video game Silent Hill 2.
Psycho Killer — 35% Popcornmeter
After her husband is brutally murdered, a Kansas highway patrol officer sets out to find the man responsible. Her pursuit soon reveals that she’s dealing with a sadistic serial killer whose plans—and capacity for cruelty—go far beyond a single murder. Georgina Campbell stars in the cat-and-mouse horror thriller, written by Se7en screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker.
The Strangers: Chapter 3 — 49% Popcornmeter
Maya’s nightmare isn’t over yet. After surviving previous encounters with the masked killers known as the Strangers, she finds herself pulled even deeper into their cycle of violence and headed toward a final confrontation with the people who have relentlessly terrorized her. Madelaine Petsch returns as Maya for the conclusion of director Renny Harlin’s Strangers trilogy.
The Mortuary Assistant — 18% Popcornmeter
Rebecca Owens begins working at a mortuary only to discover that tending to the dead isn’t the most frightening part of the night shift. When a demonic presence targets her, Rebecca must determine which corpse is possessed and perform a ritual to stop the entity—all while continuing the decidedly creepy business of embalming bodies. The supernatural horror film is based on the popular video game of the same name.
Chum — 11% Popcornmeter
A Mediterranean celebration turns deadly when members of a wedding party encounter not one but two predators: a bloodthirsty shark in the surrounding waters and a sinister fisherman determined to make their getaway a nightmare. Trapped between danger on land and beneath the waves, the friends are forced into a fight for survival as secrets and mistrust begin tearing the group apart.
