10 Horror Movies Loved By Critics But Hated By Audiences
6. Vivarium
Vivarium taps into the psychological horror we all share of being trapped in a situation with no foreseeable way out. Now add in the caveat of having to raise an alien child while stuck in an empty, faux suburbia. This is one of the heady ones. Strap in.
Tom and Gemma are a young couple looking to purchase a new home. They inquire about properties with a local real estate agent. Despite the agent's strange demeanor, they agree to tour an available house.
The couple find themselves in an antiseptic-looking neighborhood full of identical houses. The fun comes when they realize they are trapped in this labrinthyian suburb. As the story unfolds, we discover that our heroes have been abducted by aliens and placed in, what is essentially, a human fish tank.
Critics scored Vivarium a solid 72%, praising the social commentary of the film along with the set designs and performances by Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots. The unsettling atmosphere and slow unraveling of the characters, however, failed to hit the mark with audiences. Viewers gave it a dismal 39%. In general, the public didn't connect with watching two people in misery for 90 minutes only to have it end on an equally miserable note.