10 Horror Movie Villain Replacements Fans REJECTED

Villains can make or break any movie. Where the hell would we be without our Darth Vaders, HAL 9000s or Jokers to both captivate and antagonise viewers for decades?

Perhaps more so than in any other genre though, horror films need a good villain: either to make you empathise with the desperate protagonist, or more cynically to breed a franchise when a cinematic goldmine is hit.

Of course, horror fans have received plenty of these. Freddy, Jason and Michael are living legends, as well as some fresher faces such as Black Philip from The Witch, the evil sex demon from It Follows, and the Babadook from, well, The Babadook.

Given how the giants of the horror genre are the backbone of multiple entries in a series, it seems bizarre to mess about with them. Yet sometimes, for unfathomable reasons, studios or filmmakers think it’s a good idea to throw an icon out of the window.

These sequels or reboots - whatever form they take - are more often than not loathed by fans of the series in question. Sometimes we’re lucky in that the OG baddie gets restored to their rightful spot, and others? Well, let’s just say the franchise now leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

Jaws was lightning in a bottle. Stephen Spielberg’s first major film in 1975 was a phenomenon that made waves (aha) across the world. On top of all that, despite rarely being seen, the shark absolutely stole the show. Known on set as ‘Bruce’, the mechanical beastie became an adored and reviled icon of what lurks just beneath the surface of the ocean.

Whilst certainly not as good as the original, Jaws 2 was a moderate success with a ferocious fish to contend with. Then there came Jaws the Revenge.

Sporting an impressive 0% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes that absolutely reflects how poor it is, this film made casual watchers and fans alike baulk at this appalling entry.

The son of Bruce and Brucetta (yes that's really what fans nicknamed the shark in Jaws 2), the finned foe here was far from frightening. Clunky, slow and obviously a piece of machinery, this freaky fish was a laughingstock – tarnishing the terror of its predecessor.

If that wasn’t ridiculous enough, the shark followed the remaining Brody family from New York to the Bahamas due to a personal vendetta. Right....

One scene in particular, involving a banana boat, makes the shark look more like a stiff slug than one of planet Earth’s greatest predators. Playfully nibbling boats and that now infamous roar turned this once iconic villain into a very tiny fish. But at least it wasn’t in 3D like the follow up...