Horror is one of the most controversial and ever-changing genres of cinema. It is constantly updated to fit and evolve with trends, more so than most other genres. This ability to constantly change and experiment has made a number of horror films big hits with critics, but completely useless for the general public.
Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer and Audience Score are great visualizers of the differences in opinion between these two distinct groups. Especially considering both the longevity of the genre and the barrier to entry into horror in general, the distance between the two increases significantly in the horror genre. While this division has been a part of the horror genre for as long as horror has existed, modern experimentation with the genre has drawn attention to this divide.
1 ‘Witch’ (2015)
A24 Witch This is a historically accurate story of a devout Christian family set in the 1630s. After being expelled from their settlement, the family faces a torrent of mysterious powers and feuds after their newborn son disappears and their crops don’t grow. The film became a feature-length directorial debut. Robert Eggers and breakthrough role for Anya Taylor-Joyknown for her work in Menu And split.
Critics loved it Witch upon release, noting the film’s compelling visuals, historically accurate dialogue, and slowly building structure that unfolds masterfully towards the end. For viewers, however, this slower pace and increased focus on thought-provoking horror didn’t translate into an enjoyable horror movie. While Tomatometer critics for Witch is an extremely high 90%, the audience score is only 60%, which is two-thirds of the critics’ score.
2 ‘Malignant’ (2021)
Five years after the release spell 2director James Wan returned to the horror genre again with the original film Malignant. Malignant follows the story of Madison, a woman who is miraculously forced to personally experience visions of murder, only for these dream-like murders to actually happen. Madison and the others must catch the mysterious killer and find out why Madison is experiencing these truth-revealing visions.
Malignant this is an odd case for a horror movie, as some would say it doesn’t really start until the final act, when all the twists and turns are revealed and the movie becomes a complete thrill ride. For critics, this final twist, combined with some funny gore leading up to this final act, makes for a gripping and enjoyable experience. The audience, however, was simply not a fan of the outlandish twists towards the end and found the preparation for this final act boring and uninteresting. The tomatometer for this film is a respectable 76% while the audience rating drops to rottenness from 52%.
3 ‘Men’ (2022)
A new horror film from a famous director. Alex Garland, People follows the story of a young woman named Harper (played by Jessie Buckley). After Harper goes through a huge personal tragedy, she finds time to get out of town to relax and distract herself. While there, she experiences a series of increasingly bizarre experiences with the men of the village, and gets worse and worse as she has to face her fears.
Like Garland’s previous film, Annihilation, People much more about deeper themes and what’s under the surface than what we actually see on the screen. People has many working pieces and themes that critics have been able to appreciate, partly due to excellent performance Jessie Buckley And Rory Kinnear. However, audiences simply did not understand the film’s heavy symbolism and ambiguity, resulting in a low audience score of 39% compared to Tomatometer’s 69%.
4 “Empty Man” (2020)
One of the most humble and hidden gems released during the pandemic. Empty man tells about a small town in the Midwest where a group of teenagers went missing. The town’s locals soon become convinced that their urban legend, known as “The Hollow Man”, is behind the disappearances, and he soon falls into the hands of a retired cop to find the truth. The film has a more realistic and human-based twist on the supernatural being that horror film audiences have come to expect, making it a completely unique experience.
While critics didn’t get much attention during the pandemic, they could still give credit Empty man, resulting in a film tomatometer of 77%. Audiences, on the other hand, were unable to pull away from this twist and embrace this tried and true horror premise, resulting in audiences receiving a much lower 39%.
5 “It Comes at Night” (2017)
A24 It comes at night follows the story of a small family who hide in their abandoned house from an unnatural and indescribable creature that threatens to terrorize the entire world. When another family arrives at their home seeking help, they are all at risk and forced to face the consequences. Overall, the film does a great job of not directly showing viewers a creature or a specific thing to fear, instead hoping to stoke fears of the unknown and mystery.
This low-key approach has done wonders for critics, helping the film reach a high 88% on the tomatometer. On the other hand, audiences did not embrace this approach to fear and film making, thinking that the film lacked meaning and there was no tangible threat that audiences could see on screen. As a result, the audience score dropped significantly compared to the tomatometer, reaching a much lower 44%.
6 “Bones and All” (2022)
Bones and all is the latest film from the critically acclaimed director Luca Guadagnino (famous call me by your name). It follows Maren’s young love story (played by Taylor Russell) and Lee (playing Timothy Chalamet), two young cannibals who find each other and fall in love during their journey through America. While the cannibal premise is odd, the film strikes a balance and a way to humanize these characters and draws many parallels to queer stories.
While critics were able to grasp Guadagnino’s signature directorial style and melancholy atmosphere, audiences simply couldn’t get past the grotesque premise. Tomatometer reaches 82%, while the audience’s score is slightly higher than what is considered rotten - 62%.
7 “We” (2019)
After a successful directorial debut with Get outit was simply impossible for Jordan Peelethe next movie to live up to the hype and expectations. Even though massive hard fighting, Us still proved to many people, especially critics, that Peel was a true master when it came to contemporary horror. The fascinating story of the Wilson family and their plight against mysterious doppelgangers has managed to stand on its own against the likes of Get out.
While critics certainly loved Peel’s sequel, many viewers simply couldn’t help but see it as a downgrade from the masterpiece that was Get out. The open perspective and critical praise helped Nam reach 93% on the tomatometer while audiences nearly ruined the film, dropping to 60%.
8 “Crimes of the Future” (2022)
New from the master of body horror, David Cronenberg, Crimes of the future The action takes place in a dark and bleak society of the future, where humans have evolved to no longer feel pain. Thanks to these newfound abilities, people are increasingly increasing and modifying their bodies for curiosity, amusement and pleasure. We follow famed artist Saul Tenser (played by Viggo Mortensen) and his partner Caprice (plays Lea Seydoux) as they are investigated and contacted by a mysterious organization.
Crimes of the futureThe premise and worldbuilding is as unique as it is disgusting, captivating many critics who fell in love with the world Cronenberg created. However, many viewers couldn’t get past the high level of body horror and gore, and its clash with the film’s deeper themes and symbolism. While critics were far more favorable to the film, resulting in an 80% on the tomatometer, audiences were not so kind, giving the film a low 50%.
9 “Endless Pool” (2023)
The last film from David Cronenbergson, Brandon Cronenberg, infinity pool follows the story of a couple who find themselves on vacation in an isolated island resort. While there, they soon discover the unsettling underside of corporal punishment on an island where crimes committed are punishable by death. Despite this, the island offers a workaround to allow people to pay for a clone to replace their death, resulting in a sub-community of those who adore the sight.
infinity poolThe strange and unique premise only scratches the surface of the many themes of nepotism, power dynamics, and the mixture of anti-rich that critics have fallen in love with. However, viewers found this combination of styles and themes not very intimidating, but simply confusing and annoying. While critics were favorable to the film with an 86% tomatometer, audiences were much less kind to the film, which received a rotten 51%.
10 “Skinamarink” (2022)
Skinmarink is the latest low-budget horror sensation that costs just $15,000 and brings in 60 times its budget. The film is very loose and enigmatic with its plot and storytelling, instead taking on the low-key analogue horror approach seen more often online. This unique approach to cinematic horror attempts to conjure up feelings and visuals of childhood fear and discomfort and has spent most of its time in the completely unknown.
Critics spoke openly about the strange and confusing nature Skinmarink, but still mostly praised the film for its unique approach and ability to set an otherworldly, unsettling tone. However, audiences were not as open to the film’s unique style, unable to find the real reason for any intrigue, and found themselves simply bored and uninterested. While critics gave the film high enough to score 70% on the Tomatometer, the public’s negative reaction resulted in a low audience score of 43%.
Source: Collider
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