10 Horror Movies That Squandered HUGE Potential
8. World War Z
There was much initial excitement when an adaptation of Max Brooks' beloved zombie novel World War Z was announced, and the potential of adapting the novel's various short stories into a cinematic undead anthology spoke for itself.
But of course, that's not what Hollywood did, instead using the World War Z branding to tell a mostly original, standalone story centered around a retired UN investigator, Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), fighting to save his family and cure the zombie plague.
It's often said that World War Z is a passable zombie movie but a terrible adaptation of its beloved source material, but even that's arguably a pretty charitable account.
Sure, it's surprising how watchable the end result is given the shoot's infamous production issues, but from its generic action-thriller treatment to the sanitised PG-13 rating, this is a thoroughly toothless, blandly forgettable blockbuster.
Despite grossing $540 million worldwide, this one's had little cultural staying power, and after years of attempts at developing a sequel, it was finally cancelled in 2019.
World War Z was probably always better suited to the anthology TV series treatment anyway, and of all the films on this list, it's probably the ripest for a reboot in that regard.