10 Knock Off Horror Movies That Are Worth Watching
These horror flicks aren't original but that doesn't change the fact they're awesome.
Jaws is regarded as the first blockbuster since it was the first movie to earn $100 million. When studios noticed Steven Spielberg's film was making a killing at theatres, they immediately wanted a piece of the action. Although Jaws performed well because it was suspenseful, well-paced, atmospheric, and terrifying, other studios just focused on one thing: the shark. In an attempt to capitalise on a popular trend, a slew of monster flicks came out in the 1970s and 1980s like Mako or Orca that were blatant rip-offs of Jaws.
More often than not, these imitators are so poorly put together, it's obvious they were rushed out just to make money. Sadly, this is a practise that has gone in Hollywood for decades. Countless trashy slashers have shamelessly copied the formula of Halloween, hoping to match its legacy. Found footage features are churned out all the time, trying to replicate the success of The Blair Witch Project.
Even though these imitations look like carbon copies of vastly superior films, some are better than they should be. Occasionally, they're better than the movie they're copying! The knock-off horrors on this list aren't going to get any points for originality but they're still worth checking out.
10. The Good Son
Knocked Off - The Bad Seed
In the early 1990s, Macaulay Culkin was everywhere. He wasn't just the biggest kid in Hollywood; he was one of the world's most famous people. Hits like Uncle Buck, My Girl, and Home Alone helped turn the child actor into a superstar.
But after playing the role of the mischievous troublemaker half a dozen times, you can understand why he wanted to take on a more challenging role. This mentality inspired Culkin to play a serial-killing teenager in the 1993 thriller, The Good Son. In the film, Mark, (who's played by a teenage Elijah Wood), stays with his aunt and uncle after his mother dies. Even though his cousin Henry welcomes him with open arms, Mark finds him to be unstable. As Henry starts to act more unhinged, Mark suspects his cousin is preparing to do something terrible to his family.
Unsurprisingly, critics couldn't help comparing The Good Son with the 1954 drama The Bad Seed which also focused on a murderous child. Even though The Bad Seed is superior in terms of suspense and atmosphere, The Good Son is still worth watching, solely to see Macaulay Culkin portraying a character more insidious that we're accustomed to.