10 More Horror Movies That Lied About Their Premise

Ten further films which bent the truth somewhat with their supposed plot.

Titane 2021
Neon

No genre of cinema likes to keep audiences on their toes quite as much as the murky world of horror. So much of the appeal of horror is that a film will shockingly veer right when you were adamant things were heading left, and such twists and turns are synonymous with the genre.

Still, while a twist or turn is one thing, there are those other horror offerings which aren't exactly full and transparent in their trailers or in how their loose plot details are laid bare.

Last year saw us cover 10 Horror Movies That Lied About Their Premise, and now it's time to explore a further ten horror features that weren't entirely honest with their initial synopsis or marketing push. Of course, not being fully truthful with your premise isn't always necessarily a bad thing - after all, you don't want to give everything away - and the following movies, for better or worse, certainly caught audiences off-guard with what was ultimately served up.

With that in mind, then, here are ten further horror features that bent the truth somewhat with their initial plot description or promo material.

10. The Boy Isn't Just Your Average 'Spooky Doll' Movie

Titane 2021
Lakeshore Entertainment

If looking at the synopsis for 2016's The Boy, you're led to believe that this is very much a 'spooky doll' sort of affair.

As is detailed, this is a film where Lauren Cohen's Greta is tasked with looking after a porcelain doll named Brahms. This task is dished out by the Heelshires as they put out an ad for a live-in nanny to look after Brahms while they are on vacation, with it shown how this doll is the family's way of coping with the death of the real Brahms 20 years prior.

Despite Greta thinking this a little odd, it's a well paying gig and she simply has to adhere to a list of rules where it pertains to Brahms. Of course, when those rules aren't stuck to, all kinds of creepy things start to happen, as Greta begins to think the doll is possessed.

After all of this setup, the final act has the shocking reveal that Brahms is still alive and is an adult who lives in the walls of the Heelshires' home. With that, it becomes apparent that The Boy was never a spooky doll sort of film, and this was merely the 'in' for a wider story about the Heelshires faking their son's death in order to cover up the fact he'd brutally murdered a young girl when he was just 8 years of age.

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 dayjob, 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.