10 Horror Movies Hated By Critics But Audiences Loved
4. Jason X
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 19%
Look, nobody was expecting critics to vibe with Friday the 13th... in Spaaaace! - especially back in 2001, where film critics were decidedly less willing to admit their fondness for schlock - but 19%? Really?
Even accepting that Jason X's far-flung sci-fi premise was simply too much for most critics to accept, they didn't have much kind to say about the plot, characters, or overall script, feeling that it marked a desperate nadir for the struggling slasher series.
And in fairness, at the time of Jason X's release fans weren't hugely enamoured with it either, with the film earning an unremarkable "C" CinemaScore and flopping at the box office.
Yet over the last two-plus decades, Jason X's esteem has steadily grown among the horror community, enough that many celebrate it today as a boldly bonkers, campy slasher classic, and even one of the better entries into the Friday the 13th franchise.
In an era where audiences seem to be more accepting of wild "what if?" storytelling and alt-universe tales, it's easy to see why new generations of horror fans are considerably more accepting of this shaggy dog of a movie.
It's certainly not smart and the VFX have aged like warm milk, but it's got charm for days and boasts arguably the best kill in the entire series, when Jason (Kane Hodder) freezes poor Adrienne's (Kristi Angus) face in a vat of liquid nitrogen and smashes it to pieces on the nearby desk. Glorious.