10 Promising Horror Movies That Totally Sucked

We might be in a revivalist period for horror movies - at least in terms of box office performance and major studio attention, but it's not all plain sailing on Crystal Lake just yet.

The release of Paramount’s Rings movie proved that the pressure to make box office hits with wide appeal (and franchise potential) is taking a toll on the horror genre.

The New York Daily News called Rings an “inexcusably dull horror rehash” while Consequence Of Sound claimed it was “too heavily beholden with current trends to truly exploit the potential it displays.” Ambition is being sucked away by the need to conform, resulting in a slew of disappointments.

The Task, Dream House and The Darkest Hour, all underwhelming pictures from 2011, won’t ring many bells either, but neither will they go on to an afterlife as a cult favourite. They’re not interesting enough to merit rediscovery or bad enough to be really worth watching, they’re just boring failures.

Slick, calculated and utterly forgettable, some horror films in recent years have promised the world but delivered Newark, New Jersey.

Coming from the director that brought us State Of Grace (1990) and Heaven’s Prisoners (1995), and starring Jessica Alba in the cast for some reason, if nothing else we thought The Veil could be fun. Maybe it could be the sort of horror you watch one, have a decent time of, and then never think about it again. You've had your fun at least.

Disappointingly though the film provided no such enjoyment. The Veil is so turgid, in fact, that Blumhouse let it slip out unnoticed on DVD.

The film takes place twenty-five years after a mass suicide at the Heaven's Veil cult.

Years later, the sole survivor returns to the site with a camera crew, who discover videotapes dating back to 1985. So it’s another horror movie about watching people watch tapes, and about as interesting as it sounds.

But cults are usually interesting, they give you lots to work with - especially with their charismatic leaders. However the film's cult head, “Jim Jacobs” (who do you suppose he’s based on?), doesn't live up to his potential. In fact, it’s difficult to take the guy seriously when the person he reminds you of most is Val Kilmer in True Romance. Eccentric rather than frightening, he’s one of several missteps the film makes with what should've been an easy premise to deliver on.