10 Horror Movies That Almost Had TERRIBLE Titles

Like a slasher killer needs an eye-catching weapon, a good horror movie needs a title that fits.  

Some of the most iconic horror flicks can pull you in simply with their names. You'd be crazy to hear gnarly titles like Drag Me to Hell, The Silence of the Lambs, 28 Days Later, or A Nightmare on Elm Street and not want to know what those films were about. They get your blood pumping and quickly sell the idea of what to expect.  

But what if these beloved titles never existed?   

Sadly, it's a real risk, as a film's pre-production period is a time of great flux where things shift and mould constantly. A movie's title can change at any time up until - and sometimes even after - the film's release. With that in mind, it's frightening to think of how many iconic horror monikers came close to not existing. 

The following movies lucked out in this regard, as they all ended up getting blessed with eye-catching titles that audiences couldn't ignore. However, it was touch and go for all of them, as each one came inches away from receiving god-awful titles. 

A point that you'll see a lot in this list is that sometimes less is more. The name Alien is a fine example of that, as this single-word title somehow holds everything it needs to in a tight package. You know what you're in for, what you'll be dealing with, and how the flick will make you feel.  

However, the movie's first title didn't have that same kind of magic. Not by a long shot.  

Alien's original working title was Star Beast, as revealed in the documentary The Beast Within: Making Alien. It's a name that lends itself so well to campy sci-fi that a semi-recent episode of Doctor Who used it. 

The name doesn't have any of the simplistic yet compelling mystique of the franchise's eventual title. Thankfully, one of the writers, Dan O'Bannon, realised this and switched course as soon as he could.  

Let's be honest, it's not like the sci-fi genre is starved for franchises beginning with the name Star, so you should be thankful they changed it before it was too late.