10 Awful Horror Movies That Threw Away Brilliant Premises

Though Richard Kelly made a name for himself with Donnie Darko, his follow-up, Southland Tales, barely received a theatrical release due to its disastrous reception. Despite that, Kelly's third film looked like it could put him back on the map. That would be The Box, which has a simple but immediately mesmerising premise.

In this 2009 film, Norma and Arthur Lewis are trying to deal with their mounting debt when they're suddenly gifted a box with a red button. If the button is pressed within 24 hours, the family will receive $1 million, seemingly fixing their financial troubles. However, pressing the button will also cause someone they don't know to die.

Upon hearing that fascinating moral dilemma, a lot of movie fans will want to watch The Box. Sadly, this mystery drama was yet another Richard Kelly blunder, and apart from the scenes involving the button, the rest of the picture is an incoherent clunker. Next to nothing is explained, the performances are underwhelming, and the tension is bogged down by the slow pacing and a series of implausible circumstances - and when aliens are thrown into the mix, viewers are likely to roll their eyes and switch off.