15 'WTF Did I Just Pay To See' Horror Movies
Leaving you in a state of horrified bewilderment...
Horror, with its vast network of different subgenres, is perhaps cinema's most diverse genre.
There are so many different ways horror filmmakers approach their work - some stick to the tropes and play things out as you'd expect while others... do things a little differently. These horror movies take audience expectations and throw them in the trash, giving a proud middle finger to conventions and totally embracing the WTFness lurking in the genre's depths, in turn providing either a seminal piece of horror cinema or something you may have regretted watching in the first place.
The following 15 horror movies are all great examples of this. They don't follow the flock at all and make for memorably bizarre viewing experiences. They vary both in quality and in content - from dreamlike surrealist cinema to crazy Asian curios, from bats**t-crazy horror sequels to jaw-droppingly weird horror epics. The key thing that unites them all? All of these films are a great big load of WTF - bizarre, strange and idiosyncratic excursions into horror that'll leave audiences picking their jaws off the floor.
Not all of them in a good way, mind you...
15. Evil Dead II
Evil Dead II is one supremely weird horror flick - in a good way, that is. Even if it doesn't quite live up to the unbridled brilliance of its predecessor, it is WTF cinema of the very best kind. There is a good reason this remains one of the most acclaimed horror sequels out there.
To start with, it's a sequel that breaks all of the rules. It is both a sequel and a remake, retelling the entire story but with only two of the first film's characters and furthermore, it completely changes genre. While the first film was a masterpiece of straight-faced, dark horror this sequel is instead a gloriously wacky horror-comedy filled with campy scares and quotable one-liners.
From a corpse doing an impromptu dance to protagonist Ash's (Bruce Campbell) unforgettable fight with his own, possessed hand, Evil Dead II is a wild ride, a delightful explosion of creativity that completely levelled up and redefined the entire franchise forever.
To echo the film's most iconic line: "Groovy!"