10 Horror Movies That Turned Out Nothing Like You Were Promised

9. The Conjuring

The Conjuring 2
Warner Bros.

To put the obvious out there from the get-go, James Wan's The Conjuring is generally viewed as one of the best horror pictures of the past decade. Still, that doesn't mean that the film ultimately varied from what we were initially promised.

Ahead of The Conjuring's release, the promotional push and trailers all heavily centred on the Annabelle doll. Heck, the final poster for Wan's 2013 effort was Annabelle looking directly at you while a dark figure sat on a rocking chair.

When the movie starts, what we initially get is a look at Annabelle in action, tormenting a couple of trainee nurses as Ed and Lorraine Warren look to assist these traumatised sorts. From there, The Conjuring quickly changes track, with the main focus of the film switched to the Perrin family and the spooky goings on in their new home.

The tale of the Perrins is a fantastic one to watch play out, with family matriarch Carolyn slowly possessed by the nefarious Bathsheba, yet The Conjuring undoubtedly turned out to very much not be the movie we were all expecting it to be - with the Annabelle doll utilised as a subplot.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.