10 More Horror Movies That Gave Fans EXACTLY What They Wanted (And They Hated It)

Because we film fans can be a fickle, picky bunch.

by Andrew Pollard
The Ward
ARC Entertainment/XLrator Media

Few film fandoms are quite as passionate as horror fans. And as with any fans of anything, sometimes the horror community can be a fickle one.

Following on from our 10 Horror Movies That Gave Fans EXACTLY What They Wanted (And They Hated It), it's time to reflect on a further ten times that horror hounds were largely given what they demanded, only to reject that film for one reason or another.

At times, that dream of what we wish for is far better than that dream actually becoming a reality. In other instances, a long hoped for character return or change of approach are bungled badly in a way that just sours the whole thing.

Due to that initial list, that means Freddy vs. Jason, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, Annabelle, House IV: The Repossession, I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, the Scream and Texas Chainsaw Massacre pictures of 2022, Lost Boys: The Tribe, The Driller Killer, and Alien vs. Predator are all off limits here.

So, with that in mind, then, here are another ten horror movies that gave audiences what they demanded, but rather than praise and plaudits, these features were universally dumped on by the masses.

10. Nicolas Cage As Dracula Can't Save Renfield

The Ward
Universal

While Vampire's Kiss largely went under the radar upon its release in 1989, that film and certain imagery from it garnered renewed attention in subsequent years as Nicolas Cage's career took off and threw him into superstardom.

Of course, Vampire's Kiss is the horror-comedy which famously produced the image of Cage wearing a dodgy set of fake fangs, which in turn had many wanting to see Nic one day take on a vampiric role. Over 30 years after that film was released, fans finally got their wish when Cage played Count Dracula in Renfield earlier this year.

Unfortunately, Renfield bombed hard at the box office, taking home $26 million from a $65 million budget.

Plot-wise, the Chris McKay-helmed offering placed its focus on the titular R.M. Renfield - the immortal servant of Dracula - and his relationship with the intense Count. While Renfield weighs up his life and the prospect of romance, the short-tempered vampire demands R.M.'s complete attention.

To be fair, Cage's Dracula is a brutal, bloody force of nature when called for, but the muddled tone and weak story of Renfield means that this long-awaited Nicolas Cage turn was stuck in a film that was bang average at absolute best.

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.