Horror movies are not everyone’s cup of tea. Most moviegoers want a relaxing experience that allows them to get lost in stunning visuals, engaging stories, and happy endings. Horror movies rarely check these boxes.
Despite these, we have seen examples of horror movies captivating a broader audience and generating a lot of buzz in the past. But recently, there have been a few, if any, horror movies like that, at least judging by their box office performance.
What’s Wrong with New Horror Movies?
For a horror movie to be successful, especially with casual fans, it needs to be original. This includes introducing something the moviegoers haven’t seen before or providing a new and exciting take on the existing horror movie concepts.
New horror movies come short in creativity department. They are predictable and lean on horror clichés, which the audience has seen countless times. Add the poor writing, rehashed plot lines, mediocre acting, and overuse of jump scares, and it isn’t a surprise that the interest in horror movies is declining.
“Locked” and “Ash” Are Two Latest Examples
“Locked” and “Ash,” a pair of highly-anticipated releases that arrived on big screens in March, are a great example of what’s wrong with new horror movies. Despite featuring high-profile cast, Bill Skarsgård and Anthony Hopkins in “Locked” and Eiza González and Aaron Paul in “Ash,” and being aggressively promoted, both movies flopped at the box office.
“Locked” rehashes the concept of a protagonist being trapped in a small space, only with a different location. Additionally, being a remake of the Argentinean movie “4×4,” it fails to build upon its source material. “Ash,” on the other hand, delivers a sci-fi version of horror that the audience has seen countless times before and seen it done a lot better.
Horror Movies Were Never Box Office Darlings
Horror movies have always faced a steep hill to bring audiences to cinemas. Even some of the genre’s most famous titles, like Event Horizon, Dead Alive, and The Thing, did poorly at the box office before becoming cult classics. However, they were all innovative flicks and crafted so well that they stood the time. It appears that horror movies are just not made like that anymore.
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