10 Horror Movies That Squandered HUGE Potential

Coming up with a great idea for a new movie is just the start of the process - you then need to follow through with a strong script that's filmed by a skilled director and talented cast. 

That is to say, making any movie that lives up to the potential of its premise, regardless of genre, is basically a miraculous confluence of talent and luck.

All the same, it can be immensely frustrating when a film has so much promise in the bones of its idea, yet most of that promise ends up being tossed aside with a mediocre, even genuinely terrible execution.

And that's sadly the case with these 10 horror films, each of which had a killer idea at their core, yet for one of many reasons, they ended up squandering that concept.

Perhaps it was the result of an undercooked script or pesky meddling at an executive level, but whatever the cause, these films all fell far short of their incredible promise. 

In some cases it simply left fans hoping that another filmmaker might mount their own attempt at a similar concept. Here's hoping...

Brightburn has one of those banger horror movie concepts that every writer in Hollywood probably wishes they came up with - what if Superman was an evil kid?

An R-rated Dark Superman movie produced by James Gunn and written by his brothers Brian and Mark? The potential for this one speaks for itself, and yet, Brightburn ultimately feels like a thin first draft of a much better movie.

Psychological complexity and moral ambiguity are in short supply throughout, with the film largely using its R rating to coast on some brutal gore, all while protagonist Brandon (Jackson A. Dunn) remains a frustrating cipher all the way to the sequel-baiting conclusion.

There are definitely some neat ideas within Brightburn, but it also goes the easy, predictable route far too often, and simply lacks the sophistication of movies penned by James Gunn himself.

It'd certainly be intriguing to see another filmmaker take a crack at the same concept sometime down the line, because it's just too damn good to toss away on one mediocre movie.