10 Classic Films Critics Originally Hated

Horror maestro John Carpenter was on the cusp of mainstream glory when The Thing hit the big screens. Despite its sturdy reputation as a horror masterpiece these days, The Thing was a financial and critical stinker initially. E.T. the Extra Terrestrial had captured viewers' imaginations, and interest in a dark, diabolical take on alien life was at an all time low. Critics smashed the film for its grisly violence, gross out effects and bleak tone. Film magazine Cinefantastique even nominated it as the most-hated film of all time.

Carpenter's multiple-film contract with Universal was binned, as was his directing gig on 1984's Firestarter. He has since blamed the film's failure on the economic recession in the US at the time causing a general disinterest in meaner-spirited, edgier cinema.

Like so many of the entries on this list, The Thing finally had its day in the sun on home video and television. Horror buffs re-assessed it as the Lovecraftian peak of the cosmic horror genre. Its iconic end scene remains one of the creepiest and most debated conclusions in cinematic history,