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Some horror movies start as box office disasters… but over time, they earn a loyal fanbase and a legendary status. In this countdown, we’re looking at the top 10 horror films that initially bombed in theaters but are now celebrated as cult favorites. From misunderstood masterpieces to ahead-of-their-time nightmares, these are the horror underdogs that rose from the grave to claim their rightful place in horror history.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down art picks for the 10 horror movies that
00:09initially flopped at the box office before becoming cult classics.
00:1310.
00:14Halloween 3 – Season of the Witch
00:25They took an enormous gamble on Halloween 3, but unfortunately it didn't pay off.
00:39Michael Myers was one of the hottest names in horror by 1982, but he wasn't in this movie,
00:44which was a huge turnoff for fans of the first two.
00:46Not only that, the film departed from the slasher genre to tell a weird fantasy story about
00:51face-melting pumpkins, magic rocks, and Celtic rituals.
00:54The pivot to a standalone story would have been far better received if it had a different
01:08title altogether.
01:10But luckily, time has been kind to the film.
01:12Far removed from the hype and the initial marketing baggage, viewers could appreciate the movie
01:16on its own weird terms and came to love its dystopian vibe and absurd story.
01:20All you lucky kids with silver shamrock masks, gather round to a TV set, put on your masks,
01:26and watch.
01:279.
01:28Possession
01:29Well, but yet I can't exist by myself because I'm afraid of myself, because I'm the maker
01:36of my own evil.
01:37Weird movies often struggle commercially, and Possession is a very weird movie.
01:42The film contains disturbing imagery, grotesque body horror, and a highly graphic sex and death
01:46metaphor, which put off a good segment of the population.
01:49It was also way too strange and unclassifiable for general audiences, and many simply didn't
01:55know what to make of it.
01:56I used to be afraid of you, but I don't think I am anymore.
02:00There's nothing to fear except God.
02:06Whatever that means to you.
02:07And to make matters worse, Possession was butchered for its American release.
02:11About one-third of the entire movie was cut, making the already bizarre storyline borderline
02:16incoherent.
02:17But the full uncut version became available with the rise of home video and streaming,
02:21and it slowly came to be appreciated, especially amongst those who lack a little ambiguity with
02:26their horror.
02:27Possession was truly ahead of its time.
02:28You know, when I'm away from you, I think of you as an animal or a woman possessed,
02:33and then I see you again, and all this disappears.
02:38Number 8.
02:39Slither.
02:40Either you ever seen anything like that?
02:41You ever heard of anything like that?
02:44Huh?
02:45Me neither.
02:48Sometimes a movie is widely considered excellent but still underperforms.
02:52That's life.
02:53Gunn made his directorial debut with Slither, a fun and extremely gross slice of horror comedy
02:59that serves as an homage to 50s B-movies.
03:01Despite enthusiastic reviews, the mix of tones confused general audiences, with horror fans
03:06finding it too silly and comedy fans finding it too scary and gory.
03:10Are you alright?
03:12You need both of them things and you to get all womb-y.
03:16Oh, that's awesome!
03:18Universal also struggled to market the film effectively, with limited star power and trailers leaning too
03:22heavily into the gross-out horror without highlighting the wit or sense of fun, but it quickly became
03:28a favorite for horror nerds and midnight movie crowds and later gained popularity on DVD, with
03:32die-hard fans highlighting its remarkable creature effects and endlessly quotable lines.
03:37There are a slew of reasons why Fire Walk With Me didn't work on the hills of the mega-popular Twin Peaks.
03:44The show had a disappointing second season, which soured interest for more.
03:54The film failed to address its many lingering questions, serving instead as a prequel focused
03:59on the final days of Laura Palmer.
04:00Many beloved characters were completely absent.
04:01It was way too dark for some, especially compared to the film.
04:02The film's The Fire Walk With Me didn't work on the hills of the mega-popular Twin Peaks.
04:03The show had a disappointing second season, which soured interest for more.
04:08The film failed to address its many lingering questions, serving instead as a prequel focused
04:12on the final days of Laura Palmer.
04:15Many beloved characters were completely absent, it was way too dark for some, especially compared
04:30to the show's wackier tone, and for others, it was way too weird.
04:34More David Lynch than Twin Peaks.
04:35But now, those are exactly why people love it.
04:38Fire Walk With Me came to be appreciated as a bold, artistic wrist that didn't heed to
04:42expectations, and it's considered one of Lynch's defining works.
04:45Fire Walk With Me.
04:556.
04:56Annihilation.
04:57Our bodies and our minds will be fragmented into their smallest parts until not one part
05:05remains.
05:10Annihilation.
05:11By its very nature, this film probably wasn't going to do well.
05:15It's a challenging and abstract movie, leaning heavily into ambiguity and psychological horror,
05:20rather than the conventional sci-fi action that gets butts in seats.
05:23It was also plagued by poor marketing and internal strife, with financier David Ellison fearing
05:28that it was too intellectual for general audiences and asking that changes be made.
05:32You're a biologist.
05:33Isn't self-destruction coded into us, programmed into each cell?
05:41Scott Rudden had final cut privileges, and he kept it as is.
05:44As a result, Paramount sold the movie's international distribution rights to Netflix, greatly undercutting
05:48its potential at the box office.
05:50Annihilation would underperform, but that didn't stop its many ardent fans from adorning its
05:55unbashed weirdness.
05:56It came here for a reason.
05:58It was mutating our environment.
06:01It was destroying everything.
06:04It was making something new.
06:135.
06:14Near Dark
06:19You know, they need to make more western horror movies.
06:24Near Dark is a fun blending of the genres, with memorable performances from a stacked cast,
06:28a fresh and subversive take on vampires, and innovative direction from Kathryn Bigelow.
06:33She brought something new to the genre with an atmospheric mood, brilliant use of lighting,
06:38and a dust-sweeping American aesthetic.
06:40Jesse, there's something I'm meaning to ask you.
06:43Yeah, what might that be?
06:44How old are you?
06:46Let's put it this way.
06:47I fought for the South.
06:49The South.
06:54We lost.
06:55But people didn't see that at the time.
06:58Literally, they didn't see it.
06:59The genre-bending confused audiences and marketing teams alike, and the movie received
07:03almost no promotional push.
07:04It was also released soon after The Lost Boys, which greatly overshadowed Near Dark with its
07:09popular stars and glample aesthetics that appealed to the MTV generation.
07:13So, now you know what we are, and now you know what you are.
07:20You'll never grow old, Michael, and you'll never die.
07:26Number 4.
07:27Grindhouse.
07:28I have no leg!
07:29How you do?
07:30What do you think?
07:31Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez got together and took us back to the 70s with
07:47Grindhouse.
07:48It was an homage to the gritty and goofy exploitation era, a double build that combined Rodriguez's
07:53Planet Terror with Tarantino's Death Proof and featured a number of fake trailers.
07:59Unfortunately, general audiences had no idea what to make of this.
08:06Not the weird tone of the movies, not the intentionally crappy filmmaking, and probably
08:11not the 190-minute runtime.
08:13Luckily, home video did wonders for Grindhouse.
08:16Planet Terror and Death Proof were split up and given their own separate releases, which
08:20helped word of mouth.
08:21And many of the fake trailers have since been made into real movies, including Machete and
08:25Thanksgiving.
08:26Watch out!
08:27Scoop!
08:28Scoop!
08:29Scoop!
08:30Scoop!
08:31Scoop!
08:32This way!
08:33This way!
08:34Go!
08:35Number 3.
08:36The Blob.
08:37Listen to me, Briggs.
08:38Think for a minute.
08:39Do you suppose an army of guys in plastic suits show up every time a meteor falls?
08:42It's not often that a remake surpasses the original.
08:44The Blob is a rare exception.
08:46But the film was marketed like a typical monster movie with little effort made to highlight
08:50its inventive, effects, edgy tone, and modern updates to the original story.
08:54The thing on that man's hand killed him and then it killed Paul.
09:00And whatever it is, it's getting bigger.
09:03To many people, this just looked like a campy and dated creature feature from a bygone era.
09:08It also faced some serious competition at the box office, including Die Hard and Who Framed
09:13Roger Rabbit, both of which were enormous hits.
09:15But horror lovers eventually came to appreciate the movie's subversive storytelling and incredible
09:20practical effects, with some of the kill scenes becoming legendary among horror enthusiasts.
09:24You need a schematic of the sewer system.
09:26We'll contain it down there.
09:27I want that organism alive.
09:29What about the civilians?
09:31They're expendable.
09:392.
09:40Event Horizon
09:56This is one of those instances where critics and general audiences do not see eye to eye.
10:00Event Horizon was lambasted upon release, with many critics hating the film and giving it
10:05negative reviews.
10:06That certainly didn't help its box office prospects.
10:08Neither did the poor marketing or stiff competition from the likes of Air Force One and Men in Black.
10:13While some people enjoyed it, word of mouth wasn't nearly strong enough to overcome the
10:17initial negativity.
10:18It shows you things, horrible things.
10:22What does?
10:23The dark inside me from the other place.
10:27I won't go back there.
10:29I won't.
10:30But the film found new life on DVD and late night cable, with horror lovers warming to its
10:35unique genre-bending Lovecraftian elements and striking visuals.
10:38The production design on this movie is just second to none.
10:40Oh my god.
10:41What happened to your eyes?
10:42Where am I going?
10:43We won't need eyes to see.
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11:061.
11:07The Thing
11:08There is no greater example of a horror movie flop turning into a classic.
11:16The Thing is widely regarded as one of the best horror movies ever, with its unique setting,
11:21fun story, incredible cast and some of the best practical effects ever put to screen.
11:25And in 1982, people hated it.
11:27They hated its nihilistic tone, its downbeat ending, its so-called underdeveloped characters,
11:45and especially its gore.
11:47Word of mouth was, shall we say, not the greatest.
11:50But worst of all, The Thing suffered what is probably the worst theatrical timing of all
11:54time, coming out just two weeks after E.T.
11:57That alone crushed any and all hopes of The Thing performing well at the box office.
12:01Why don't we just wait here for a little while and see what happens?
12:10Do you enjoy these films or do you think they were right to bomb?
12:14Let us know in the comments down below and don't forget to like and subscribe for more
12:17WatchMojo videos.
12:22See you.
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