10 Cancelled Horror Movies We'll Never Get To See

Even though horror has been a staple of the entertainment industry since the dawn of cinema, not every slasher, zomcom, or creature feature makes it to the cinema or streaming platforms. In fact, many projects are canned before they reach production, while others get dumped in mid-development.

Though the genre can be excessively violent and disturbing, controversy rarely contributes to the film in question's cancellation. Although it's disheartening when a director or studio closes the book on a property, there are times when it's in everybody's best interest. Even if a horror is shaping up to be pretty spectacular, you can't blame producers for getting cold feet if there are legal issues, budget concerns, or just a general lack of interest.

And yet, each feature on this list has qualities that should entice any veteran of the genre. Now, that's not suggesting every entry here was destined for greatness. In fact, some of them would've been downright terrible. Nevertheless, certain movies on this list sound so weird, horror purists would still want to check them out, regardless of their quality.

These films may never see the light of day, but we can still pine for what could've been.

World War Z had such a chaotic production, there were times when it looked like it would never be released. Not only was the undead thriller repeatedly delayed, the entire third act had to be reshot, ballooning the budget to $269 million and making it the most expensive horror movie ever. Because of this, not even Brad Pitt's star power seemed like it could salvage this mess.

Against the odds, WWZ earned over half a billion and was the most financially successful movie of Pitt's career. Following the zombie extravaganza's success, a sequel was greenlit by Paramount Pictures, with David Fincher chosen to direct.

The follow-up reportedly had a more grounded and global approach to the zombie outbreak, exploring more political and military elements from Max Brook's novel that were left out of the first film. However, things fell apart when Fincher left to focus on his TV drama, Mindhunter. 

Although China is a major market for Hollywood, they have a strict ban on depicting zombies in movies, minimising the chances of WWZ2 turning a profit - the first instalment wasn't released in China either - and with Paramount focusing on financially viable products like Mission: Impossible and A Quiet Place at the time, it wasn't a surprise when World War Z 2 got the chop.