10 Critically Reviled Horror Movies (That Weren't Actually That Bad)

Joseph Kahn can’t seem to catch a break, with the music video veteran’s two attempts at making a major mainstream movie flopping despite later becoming cult classics (his most recent attempt, 2017’s battle rap dramedy Bodied, avoided cinemas upon release). 2004’s action satire Torque is still worth a watch, but the director’s singular vision really shines in 2011’s demented Detention.

An insanely kinetic, overstuffed, and endlessly ambitious mash-up/parody/ pastiche of countless genres, the film is ostensibly a slasher at first, only to delve into teen comedy, coming-of-age drama, time travel sci-fi, and even a Freaky Friday style body-swap story at various points. It’s no surprise that critics abhorred the movie’s ironic wit and mile-a-minute pace, as well as the detached meta-commentary coming from most of the characters who are—aware they’re in a film? Possibly not aware? Who knows, really.

And if you accept that attitude as your guiding light through this flick, you’ll be rewarded with a movie years ahead of its time, whose tone-switching and genre-bouncing presentation feel like the cinematic equivalent of scrolling through social media during a masked murderer’s killing spree.