2. Heavenly Creatures (1994) - Splatter Movie Maestro Peter Jackson's Drama About... Friendship?
In retrospect this might not seem all that odd, given that Peter Jackson has gone on to direct movies like The Lovely Bones, but at the time he really did seem like a super inappropriate choice for this dark drama about a friendship between two girls that goes horribly wrong. Heavenly Creatures was Jackson's fourth movie after he'd excelled in the comedy, farce and splatter genres - his previous movie before this one was called "Braindead," and involved a demon baby, and a lawnmower that chopped up zombies. Very different, you'll agree (also: search Meet The Feebles to weigh what kind of territory Jackson was working in before this one). Heavenly Creatures is, believe it or not, the only movie on this list to have resulted in something worth your time: whereas the term "inappropriate directors" has been used negatively in all other instances, here the term inappropriate merely refers to Jackson's standing at the time. It wasn't thought that he could have pulled this off, especially given the serious tone that carries this movie (about two friends who decide to murder one of their moms) from beginning to end. It was great, transformative work, and Jackson proved that being a seemingly inappropriate directorial choice for a picture doesn't always end in terrible critical reviews.