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

1. John Carpenter Finally Gives Fans A New Movie

The Ward
ARC Entertainment/XLrator Media

Throughout the 1970s and '80s, John Carpenter was one of the most prolific filmmakers in the industry, delivering classics such as Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, The Fog, Escape from New York, The Thing, and Big Trouble in Little China.

By the late '90s, Carpenter's enthusiasm had begun to wane, the quality of his output had become far more mixed, and the legendary Horror Master essentially retired from the director's chair after 2001's Ghosts of Mars.

As is ever the case, this very much left audiences wanting more and dreaming of Carpenter helming another film at some point. Even more so, those fans dreamt of somewhere, somehow seeing the New Yorker direct one more horror movie.

So, when Carpenter was back in the game with 2011 horror picture The Ward, there was excitement around the horror community. One of the greatest directors in cinema history? Returning from retirement? To helm a creepy, chilling supernatural tale? Fantastic!

Full disclosure, your writer absolutely has a soft spot for The Ward, but unfortunately so many of those giddy by this Amber Heard-fronted film's arrival ultimately slated the picture because the psychiatric hospital-set thriller didn't match the quality of, say, Halloween or The Fog.

Watch Next


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.