10 Horror Movies That Weren't What Anyone Expected
3. It Comes at Night
Audiences should've probably been clued in to expect anything but the ordinary from It Comes at Night, given that it was directed by Trey Edward Shults (Krisha). However, the marketing absolutely sold it as a post-apocalyptic horror film in which a family hiding in a forest has to contend with the titular "it" - presumably creatures of some kind.
Of course, It Comes at Night isn't that movie at all, instead being a quiet, dread-filled exercise in atmosphere that features no supernatural monsters whatsoever, focusing more on the overwhelming paranoia of the central characters trying to survive on a disease-ravaged Earth.
Though Shults' film was well received by critics, the audience response was decidedly more polarising, ultimately landing a "D" CinemaScore due to many feeling that the trailers sold them an entirely different movie.
It Comes at Night remains a contentious movie to this day, though love it or hate it, most will agree it wasn't what they expected going in.