The horror genre is incredibly subjective and what terrifies one person may completely fall flat for another. Critic reviews are frequently a helpful way to gauge a film's success, but even poorly rated genre movies still manage to win audiences over. Horror is an incredibly powerful storytelling genre that doesn't always receive the respect it deserves when it comes to accolades and awards.
It's always important to form one's own opinion rather than just parrot the most popular take. There is no shortage of horror movies that get trashed by critics only to light up the box office and become huge commercial hits among fans.
10 Hostel
Release Date: 2006
Eli Roth's Hostel series perfectly reflects the violent impulses that were prevalent during 2000s-era horror movies. This decade is filled with movies that follow the same basic structure where a bunch of teens escape for a relaxing vacation, only to find themselves hunted, captured, and tortured beyond belief.
Roth's Hostel attempts to do more with this lurid subgenre and the movie's sequel even applies a surprising feminist slant to its gore. Critics weren't crazy about this splatterfest, but Hostel's commercial success helped it become a horror trilogy.
9 Saw
Release Date: 2004
James Wan and Leigh Whannell's Saw franchise helped define 2000s horror with a new entry in the series marking Halloween every year for close to a decade. Audiences are set for Saw's tenth installment in 2023, but the horror franchise's enduring reputation would be impossible without the strong foundation that's established in the original.
Saw became reduced to gratuitous torture traps, but the original movie is actually quite sparse with its violence and benefits from its closed-room mystery. The first Saw is like an art house film in comparison to its sequels, but it still received a lukewarm reception from critics.
8 Troll 2
Release Date: 1990
Troll 2 has such a playful reputation for being the worst movie of all time that there's even a documentary on the topic. Young Joshua and his family travel to the tiny town of Nilbog, which turns out to be a hotbed for deadly goblins.
Few people would categorize Troll 2 as a "good" movie, but there are a few horror movies that are more entertaining to watch with a group of friends. The poor acting and shoddy production values are easy to criticize in a professional review, but it's ideal for those who just want to have some fun.
7 Leprechaun In The Hood
Release Date: 2000
Nobody involved with Leprechaun expected the quirky slasher movie to become an extensive franchise that's lasted 25 years. Each Leprechaun sequel gets progressively ridiculous, especially after he heads to space in the fourth film. The fifth Leprechaun movie, Leprechaun in the Hood, was attacked by critics for its sloppy storytelling and offensive stereotypes.
Leprechaun in the Hood falls into the "so bad that it's good" category, which has turned it into an odd cult classic. There's even a direct sequel, Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood, which doubles down on this mayhem.
6 Jason X
Release Date: 2002
Friday the 13th's Jason Voorhees is one of horror's most iconic characters, and he's come a long way since his slasher roots at Camp Crystal Lake. Friday the 13th has always resonated more with audiences than critics, but there's extra derision reserved for Jason X, which sends the signature slasher villain to outer space. Horror sequels set in space were surprisingly common in the '90s and early 2000s.
Jason X has a very tongue-in-cheek tone that lovingly leans into its own stereotypes in subversive ways. Jason X is hardly high art, but its bold premise and memorable setpieces have helped make it one of Friday the 13th's most popularsequels.
5 Halloween III: Season Of The Witch
Release Date: 1982
John Carpenter's Halloween is a pivotal piece of slasher cinema, and Michael Myers is still one of horror's most menacing murderers. The first two Halloween movies tell one story that naturally concludes, and a standalone anthology approach was planned moving forward.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch kicks off this trend with a dark tale about Druids, consumerism, and killer Halloween masks. Season of the Witch has since been praised as standout '80s horror, but critics were initially confused over the lack of Michael Myers. Halloween III faced such intense criticism that Halloween 4 features the subtitle, The Return of Michael Myers, just so there's no confusion.
4 House Of Wax
Release Date: 2005
Before helming modern blockbusters like Jungle Cruise and Black Adam, Jaume Collet-Serra got his big break on 2005's House of Wax, which is actually more of a remake of Tourist Trap than the '50s Vincent Prince vehicle. In House of Wax, a group of college students get lost and decide to check out a creepy wax museum, only to find themselves all with one-way admissions.
Critics trashed House of Wax, reducing it to a generic slasher movie and focusing on the film's inclusion of Paris Hilton. There are actually some highly effective setpieces that come out of this film that have stuck with audiences for decades.
3 Return Of The Living Dead Part II
Release Date: 1988
George A. Romero's formative zombie film, Night of the Living Dead, inspired several surprising horror franchises. Return of the Living Dead explores a noxious gas that has mysterious resurrecting abilities that results in some very punk rock undead obstacles.
Return of the Living Dead Part II effectively builds upon its predecessor's framework, but critics still weren't generous toward this unique exploration of the undead. Alternatively, audiences who had fun with the first movie wer even more entertained by the heightened antics in this sequel.
2 The Strangers
Release Date: 2008
Horror's home invasion subgenre has proven to be extremely popular over the past two decades, and one of its most striking examples is The Strangers. The small-scale domestic attack celebrates the random nature of violence and how evil can attack innocent people without warning.
While hardly a critical darling, The Strangers is essential home invasion horror. It took a decade for the first Strangers sequel, Prey By Night, to come together. However, audiences will soon be getting a large dose of this franchise in the form of a new Strangers trilogy.
1 Scream 3
Release Date: 2000
The self-aware Scream franchise helped resurrect the failing slasher genre during the late '90s. Decades later, Scream is more popular than ever after its unprecedented box office numbers for Scream (2022) and Scream VI. Scream 3 concludes the franchise's initial trilogy, but the Columbine High tragedy in '99 led to a wave of sanitized horror movies that were afraid to show blood and onscreen violence.
Scream 3 is largely set in Hollywood studio backlots as it satirizes the film industry and franchise as a whole rather than directly lampooning horror movies. There's a broader Scooby-Doo energy to Scream 3 that felt off to most critics but has been reclaimed by fans.