Managing expectations is always a difficult balancing act when it comes to film, as the tactics surrounding the lead-up and marketing leave many audiences with an impression that can be completely different from the movie itself. While this balance is often brought up under the guise of a film being a disappointment compared to the excitement that is advertised through a concept or trailer, even more fascinating is when it ends up being far better than it looked.
In no genre is this phenomenon more prominent than in horror, as its usage of low budgets and goofy concepts means that many films are simply written off by larger audiences who assume them to be basic and underwhelming slop. Thus, it only makes it that muchmore impactful when a horror film actually rises above its perceived qualityand surprises audiences with genuine scares, brutal violence, and all the other aspects that make up a great horror feature.
10’Renfield' (2023)
Directed by Chris McKay
Renfieldwasn’t entirely written off during the lead-up to its release, yet audiences were far from excited that a film toutingNicolas Cageas Count Dracula was shaping up to be a seemingly generic horror action-comedy, moreBullet TrainthanNosferatu. However, the film’s exhilarating approach to hyper-violent action and overall creativity with its characters and worldbuilding make it a much more enjoyable experience than the initial trailers made it out to be.
Cage obviously steals the show with a hammy, over-the-top performance as Dracula, butNicolas Hoult’s turn as Renfield is also a genuine treat, embodying a more neurotic yet kindhearted take on the character in the modern era. It isn’t without its occasional faults and slow points, yetthe consistent positives make the filma far cry from the disaster that it was shaping up to be in the eyes of die-hard horror fans. As far as studiohorror comedies of the 2020sare concerned,Renfieldis a surprisingly fun time that isn’t afraid to delve into content that is simultaneously gruesome and hilarious.
9’Saw VI' (2009)
Directed by Kevin Greutert
The massive onslaught of sequels among the most popular horror hits is always a dominant aspect of the genre, with many of these sequels losing their luster and quality when reaching the fifth and sixth entries in the series. This facet had largely been associated with theSawfranchise, with each entry growing more convoluted as they attempted to connect to the original film while also becoming completely nonsensical with their trap designs. However, whileSaw VIappeared to be more of the same, following up on the dismalSaw V, it wound up being one of the best films in the series.
A lot of the surprising strengths ofSaw VIcome from the change in director toKevin Greutert, who was previously the editor of each entry in the Saw franchise up until this point. Greutert’s close ties to the series gave him an edge and a fundamental understanding of what makes the series work so well,leaning into the absurd fun of the series without ever alienating the audience. It also helps thatSaw VIhas a distinct theme and message that separates it from the other yearly entries that blur together, taking its focus squarely on the issues of corrupt health insurance.
8’Speak No Evil' (2024)
Directed by James Watkins
The originalSpeak No Evilwas one of the most shocking, painful, and even disturbingly comedic horror experiences of the modern era, with the Danish film quickly making waves as one of thebest horror films of the 2020s. However, like many great international horror films before it, the announcement of an American remake of the film released so closely to the original had many already assuming the film would completely fail to recapture the greatness of the original.
While it certainly isn’t as good as the Danish original,James Watkins’sSpeak No Evildoes enough todistinguish itself as a standalone experiencefrom the original film, sporting a committed villain performance fromJames McAvoy. The film is certainly less bleak than the original, shifting the dour original ending for a more high-tension final act that transforms the film into a high-stakes thriller. Considering just how poorly other American remakes of foreign horror films have been,Speak No Evilmanages to beunexpectedly high in quality.
Speak No Evil
7’Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey II' (2024)
Directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield
The originalWinnie the Pooh: Blood and Honeyis one of the most dull and painfully boring horror experiences of recent memory, ushering in a new wave of lazy, public domain horror films that each manage to be worse than the last. However, as the originator of the trend, it was only inevitable thatBlood and Honeywould receive a sequel that would make use of a higher budget and their new wave of popularity. While many assumed that this sequel would be just as bad as the original,Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey IIactivelytakes steps to improve upon the original’s faults.
While the original film served only to use the classic characters for their inherent notoriety,Blood and Honey IIleans into the comedic absurdity of these children’s icons as killers, making for a much more absurd and goofy time. Nearly everything is a considerable upgrade over the original, from the now actually half-decent-looking costumes to the pacing and kills keeping audiences engaged. It’s far from a truly great horror film, butBlood and Honey IIis a step in the right direction for the “cinematic Pooh-niverse.”
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2
6’The Pope’s Exorcist' (2023)
Directed by Julius Avery
While once a widely explored and massively exceptional subgenre of horror, the exorcism supernatural horror film has largely fallen out of favor among audiences, with many moderndemonic possession filmsrelying on tired clichés and cheap scares. By all accounts,The Pope’s Exorcistappeared to be yet another by-the-numbers exorcism film. However, the high-energy execution and strangely compelling performance fromRussell Crowemake the film a wildly fun time.
The Pope’s Exorcistis a perfect example of howexecution and tone can transform any cinematic experience. The story doesn’t stray too far away from classic possession story conventions, but the approach to filmmaking makes it feel wholly original. The filmleans into its most exhilarating and high-energy attributes, almost feeling like the possession movie equivalent of a blockbuster Marvel film, with the goofy Italian accent performance by Crowe grounding the experience and directing it into a self-aware angle.
The Pope’s Exorcist
5’Clown in a Cornfield' (2025)
Directed by Eli Craig
With the ease of access for creating horror films being at an all-time low, it can be difficult for any original independent horror film to stick out and entice audiences into checking them out over the latest studio horror film. Thus, many of these independent horror films rely on fleeting trends to capture the attention of audiences, withClown in a Cornfieldlargely being perceived as an attempt to capitalize on the “killer clowns” stories, only years late to the party.
However, while its combination of goofy title andminuscule $1 million budgethad many assuming it would be an immediately forgettable experience,Clown in a Cornfieldisa surprisingly great crowd-pleaserwith compelling characters, fun kills, and a great twist on slasher conventions. The filmplays into the very notions of how it is perceived: a generic slasher film with a clown killer, and creates an obvious yet compelling twist that is deeply important for modern times.
Clown in a Cornfield
4’Happy Death Day' (2017)
Directed by Christopher Landon
Happy Death Day’s massive shift between perceived quality and actual great content proved to be a case of mismanaged expectations and marketing. Indeed, many assumed the film to be a generic slasher based on how it was marketed and presented. In reality,Happy Death Daywound up beinga satirical comedic take on slasher conventionsas a whole, perfectly utilizing its time-loop concept to create vicious kills and entertaining comedy.
The film was so successful that it not only spawneda short-lived franchiseof comedic time-loop slashers but also catapulted the career of directorChristopher Landon, who would find great success with an array of other charming horror comedies. Still, it’s allshocking thatHappy Death Dayconnected with audiencesso quickly and effectively through word of mouth, as the build-up to the film’s release did not strike nearly as much enthusiasm or excitement.
Happy Death Day
3’The Empty Man' (2020)
Directed by David Prior
WhileThe Empty Manseems to be nothing more than yet another horror mystery procedural that simply had the bad luck of releasing amid the pandemic, the film hides a sinister yet highly impacting terror beneath the surface. It becomes clear while watching that the studio couldn’t advertise its best attributes in traditional marketing. Indeed, a lot of what makesThe Empty Manwork so well is how it plays with expectationswhile remaining highly unpredictable with its pacing and deeply intelligent with its messaging.
Fromits opening sequence,The Empty Manhas an unparalleled ability to completely unnerve audiences and keep them on the edge, surrounding itself ina dynamic mystery before it unleashes a twist of pure dreadthat ties everything together in its ending. While initially largely overlooked by audiences,The Empty Manquickly garnered a cult following and became one of the best horror hidden gems of the 2020s, only garnering a larger audience as more and more come to understand its horror mastery.
The Empty Man
2’Malignant' (2021)
Directed by James Wan
While directorJames Wanhas proven himself time and time again to be a pillarstone visionary in the world of horror,Malignantseemed to be little more than repetitive of his other films through its trailers. There seemed to be little interesting aboutMalignantthat wasn’t explored to death inThe ConjuringandInsidiousfilms, yet it assuredly and defiantly proved exactly why James Wan is such a celebrated master of horror.
Malignant’s initial acts seem to be the exact slow-paced horror that people came to expect from Wan, yet with a strange, campy energy that made the whole thing feel off and hard to take seriously. It later shows its hand during itschaotic third act twist, with a massive reveal that not only transforms it into a chaotic horror thrill ride but also retroactively makes the campy tone make sense.Malignantmakes forone of the most singular horror experiences from Wanthat is unlike anything else he directed, which is exactly why it’s such an immediately memorable time.
1’The First Omen' (2024)
Directed by Arkasha Stevenson
An inescapable phenomenon of modern horror has been the non-stop barrage of reboots and prequels to classic horror films, with many of these often paling in comparison to the original. So, whenThe First Omenwas announced, the first inThe Omenseries in over 15 years and a direct prequel to the first film, many were quick to write it off as yet another generic, cash-grab reboot. However,The First Omenis not only a genuinely terrifying and expertly well-crafted revamp of the franchise, but it isarguably even better than the all-time classic original.
The First Omenperfectly recaptures the energyand pain of the original film and evolves it to the dynamics of the modern world, simultaneously feeling like a flashback to classic cinema and a scathing takedown of today’s society. It quickly gained notoriety asone of the biggest horror surprises of recent memory, seemingly coming out of nowhere to be a defining classic of the modern era that next to nobody was expecting to actually be good.
