Horror films have cult followings for a reason. Whether the antagonist is considered a gay icon or people genuinely like to be scared, the genre has a way of pulling the audience in on a deeper level than other genres. Movie-lovers can enjoy a film for how it makes them feel or think, but a horror film can leave audiences terrified for days. The beauty of the horror genre is that even with the residuals of a film, they can inspire a person to think more deeply.
Yet even if a horror flick like Us or Paranormal Activity causes the audience to philosophize, that doesn’t necessarily mean film critics will walk away with the same musings. In fact, the entirety of the horror genre is divisive among fans, but it’s more divisive between critics and audiences. Plenty of massively successful horror films are split between critics and audiences, with one group loving a film while the other one abhors it. Among these divisive films are The Blair Witch Project and Saw, two of the most successful horror films. Below are more divisive horror movies among fans and critics that are quite shocking.
10 Ma (2019)
After being left by her husband in Ma, Erica and her daughter Maggie move back to her hometown. Maggie quickly makes friends with Haley, Darrell, Chaz, and Andy. The group of teens convinces a vet tech named Sue Ann into purchasing them alcohol. She welcomes the group into her home to drink safely, but her true motivations are to torture the teens, who just so happen to be the children of the people who tormented her when she was a teenager.
What Makes It Divisive
Ma is a fantastic horror film, as far as the fans are concerned. Critics of the film, however, felt less than enthusiastic. The main problem with Ma for film critics is that the plot doesn’t have an even flow. For this reason, critics feel that Ma could be hauntingly better. That said, fans would disagree as they found the film extra chilling and largely impactful on the genre. Even Octavia Spencer, who portrays Sue Ann, explained the impact of the film to Variety: “These types of roles haven’t really been available to women of color. And I think it’s about time that changes.”
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9 Malignant (2021)
In the early-90s, in Malignant, a renowned doctor and her colleagues remove a cancerous lump from their patient, Gabriel. Nearly 30 years later, a pregnant woman named Madison is attacked by her abusive husband. During her attack, she hallucinates that someone attacks her husband and tries to attack her. She ends up at the hospital, where it’s revealed that she had a growth when she was younger that was actually her parasitic twin.
What Makes It Divisive
Malignant received mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike. For audience members who enjoyed the film, they felt that Malignant is exactly what you’d expect from director James Wan: a perfect balance of thrills, chills, and laughs. But the critics who didn’t like the film felt that the twist ending was the only part of the film they enjoyed. Meanwhile, fans who didn’t like the film thought it should have been a comedy due to its lack of gore or thrill.
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8 Hereditary (2018)
Hereditary
- Release Date
- June 7, 2018
- Director
- Ari Aster
- Cast
- Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd, Zachary Arthur
- Rating
- R
- Main Genre
- Horror
- Genres
- Horror, Documentary, Mystery, Thriller
Annie (played by Toni Collette) recently lost her mother in Hereditary. To work through the grief, she starts attending a counseling group focused on the loss of a loved one. When Charlie and Peter, Annie’s children, attend a party, Charlie has an allergic reaction. On their way to the hospital, she is decapitated after leaning her head out the window. This leads Annie to find alternatives to grieving, like conducting a séance that leads to her son, Peter, being possessed by a demon king.
What Makes It Divisive
Hereditary is divisive between critics and fans for the simple reason that fans were too critical of the film. This comes as no surprise since fans of the genre have specific requirements for it. Sometimes, a film can be too campy for fans, and they’ll flood the review forums with 1-star reviews (or the lowest score available). Critics, however, absolutely loved the film. From the gore to the messages of parenthood and grieving, critics raved about Hereditary’s one-stop horror flick.
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7 The Covenant (2006)
In The Covenant, Caleb, Pogue, Reid, and Tyler are known as the Sons of Ipswich, a small town on the Massachusetts coast. They are the descendants of four powerful witch families, and at the age of 13 begin the Ascending process, or the honing of their skills. During a high school party, the Sons encounter two teens who are new to town, Sarah and Chase. Drama begins to unfold when Sarah and Caleb start dating. Her roommate ends up in a coma, which the Sons determine is the work of a magic much darker than what they use.
What Makes It Divisive
The Covenant is one of those divisive films that isn’t ubiquitously loved by fans, but the fans are more loving towards it than the critics. The consensus among fans is that the storyline has perfectly timed twists and reveals. Fans also loved that the film was reminiscent of other witchy projects like The Craft and Charmed. Yet critics of the film felt much differently. In fact, throughout review sites like Rotten Tomatoes, MetaCritic, and IMDb, the movie has scores so low, it’s actually brutal. For example, many of the reviews slam the film for having five teen boys be at the center of something so petty as a family feud.
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6 Saw (2004)
Saw
- Release Date
- October 1, 2004
- Main Genre
- Crime
- Genres
- Crime, Horror, Mystery
- Director
- James Wan
- Cast
- Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Ken Leung, Dina Meyer, Mike Butters
In Saw, Adam, a photographer, wakes up chained to a bathtub in the corner of the room. In the opposite corner is Lawrence, a doctor, who is chained like Adam. The men, fully awake but unaware of how they got there, discover a lifeless body between them. As Adam and Lawrence try to break free from the room, Lawrence has a haunting realization: he and Adam have been selected as the latest targets of the serial killer known as Jigsaw.
What Makes It Divisive
For a film that kicked off a gruesome horror franchise that still exists today, it’s shocking that the film is divisive. Even if the first installment is considered the best in the ten-part franchise by Screen Rant, the first Saw is more beloved by fans than critics. Fans love the twists and gore of the film, claiming it’s one of the best horror films of all time. Yet critics feel drastically different about Saw: they believe the film brings a new level of gore to the horror genre, but consider the sadism of Jigsaw to be more mean-spirited rather than full-fledged villainy.
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5 Us (2019)
Adelaide and her parents went to visit the Santa Cruz boardwalk when she was a child in Us. In a funhouse, she encounters her doppelgänger and loses her ability to speak. Over 30 years pass and Adelaide returns to Santa Cruz with her husband, Gabe, and their children, Zara and Jason. While settling in for the night, the lights in the house go out and Jason alerts his family to a quartet standing outside the house. The quartet happen to be the family’s doppelgängers, called The Tethered.
What Makes It Divisive
The second horror film from director Jordan Peele received rave reviews from critics, but fans were less than enthusiastic about the film. Love from critics stems from pure awe of Peele intricately weaving a disturbing political narrative that matches the terror felt throughout the film. Us also won the Bram Stroker Award for Best Screenplay, proving the fans wrong. Criticism from fans stems from a massive misunderstanding of the political narrative. Audience reviews on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes collectively admit that the film’s story is original, but backtrack by saying it’s actually terrible.
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4 The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Blair Witch Project
- Release Date
- July 14, 1999
- Director
- Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
- Cast
- Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams, Bob Griffith, Jim King, Sandra Sánchez
- Rating
- R
- Main Genre
- Horror
In The Blair Witch Project, film students Josh, Mike, and Heather set out to discover if the Blair Witch is a myth or reality. During their preliminary interviews, locals recount the story of a little girl named Robin and how the forest was haunted. She was missing for three days in the forest and when she reemerged, she spoke of a woman who floated. The students document everything, from interviewing the locals to camping in the forest. Josh wanders off and when his friends catch up to him, it’s up to the viewer to determine if the legends are true or if a serial killer is living in the forest.
What Makes It Divisive
The Blair Witch Project is yet another horror film that critics loved but audiences hated. One of the main criticisms from fans was the film’s lack of excitement built in the film. Since the film is shot like a documentary, this was unusual for horror fans at the time. Yet critics loved the innovation as it made the events that unfolded even more haunting. They claimed the first-person perspective of the documentary feel was a chilling reminder that curiosity can indeed kill.
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3 Hannibal (2001)
Clarice Starling, an FBI agent, has finally caught serial killer Jame Gumb in Hannibal. But she cannot celebrate as her supervisors believe she rushed the operation, which resulted in five deaths. She is eventually contacted by the only survivor of cannibal/serial killer Hannibal Lecter, Mason Verger, who uses her as a pawn to draw him out. While Clarice searches for Hannibal, he is happily living in Italy as a museum curator. Mason, on the other hand, has put out a bounty on Hannibal and bribed an official within the Justice Department to frame Clarice.
What Makes It Divisive
Horror sequels are truly difficult to conquer, especially with an antagonist as gruesome, creepy, and chilling as Hannibal Lecter. The main fault of the Silence of the Lambs sequel, according to critics, was that Clarice interacted the most with Jame and Mason, who are secondary antagonists in the film. Additionally, critics felt that while Anthony Hopkins, who portrays Hannibal, gave a brilliant performance, Hannibal was overall lacking in narrative beats and suspence. Fans who loved the film were enthralled by the shift in pace.
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2 Paranormal Activity (2007)
Paranormal Activity
- Release Date
- October 16, 2009
- Director
- Oren Peli
- Cast
- Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong, Ashley Palmer
- Rating
- R
- Main Genre
- Horror
- Genres
- Horror, Mystery
In Paranormal Activity, a young couple has recently moved into their new house in San Diego, California. Kate tells her husband, Micah, that she has been followed around by a spirit since childhood. In response, Micah installs a camera in the bedroom to document if the spirit is in fact real. They contact a psychic who reveals that Kate has been followed by a demon who wants to see her suffer. Despite the imminent danger, Micah pursues the demon via Ouija board, which only exacerbates their problems.
What Makes It Divisive
With fans and critics being on near opposite ends of the spectrum, Paranormal Activity is one of most divisive horror films ever made. Even though the film is based on a real house, as House and History explains, it didn't entirely intrigue horror fans, who disliked the film greatly. Fans felt that the mockumentary style of the film made it boring and the scares less effective. Yet the mockumentary format of Paranormal Activity is why critics loved the film.
1 Skinamarink (2022)
Skinamarink
- Release Date
- November 4, 2022
- Director
- Kyle Edward Ball
- Cast
- Jaime Hill, Lucas Paul, Ross Paul, Dali Rose Tetreault
- Rating
- Not Rated
- Main Genre
- Horror
- Genres
- Horror
Kevin, according to his sister Kaylee, goes on sleepwalking episodes and often injures himself in Skinamarink. Their father takes Kevin to the hospital, which is the last time the children see him. Kevin and Kaylee wake up the following morning to discover that not only is their father gone, but that their house has no doors. Both children attempt to go about their day, but strange occurrences continue to happen, causing Kevin to call the emergency line, only for the phone to become a toy.
What Makes It Divisive
Skinamarink is yet another horror film that critics loved and fans abhorred. The negative reception from fans is rather simple: it lacked substance. Audiences felt that Skinamarink spent too much time on the floor becoming the ceiling versus anything truly haunting. Critics, on the other hand, loved the film. Some critics felt the children being scared, using flashlights, and calling the emergency line was almost nostalgic.
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