15 Horror Films That Prove Hollywood Hates You

10. Gothika

prom night 2008
Columbia Pictures

Just like Geoffrey Rush in House On Haunted Hill and F Murray Abraham in 13 Ghosts (or Thir13en Ghosts, whatever), Halle Berry signed up for a horror film from Dark Castle and instead received a cable movie writ large.

In Gothika, her mental health worker wakes up in one of her own padded cells accused of murdering her husband which, unbeknownst to her, she did, because she’s been possessed by the ghost of a young girl hubby murdered. Not a very helpful ghost, mind you – when asked a simple, straightforward question like “What do you want?”, the girl instead responds with another “Boo!” moment.

She must’ve seen The Sixth Sense, where Mischa Barton tried to get Haley Joel Osment to track down her killer by scaring the bejesus out of him. Or maybe she was thinking of Stir Of Echoes, where a murdered girl wanted Kevin Bacon’s help bringing her killer to justice. Then there was What Lies Beneath’s spook, who used Michelle Pfeiffer to get back at Harrison Ford, and we can’t forget Feardotcom (discuss), whose Murdered Girl used the internet to take revenge on Stephen Rea.

And they say ideas are anathema in Hollywood. 

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Contributor

Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'