8 Horror Movies Fans Once HATED... But Now LOVE

Expectations play a huge role in how we eventually feel about something, and scary movies are

no exception. After all, it's quite discouraging to anticipate certain things from a horror

film, only to discover that the trailers and other promotional hype misled you and the

end product delivered on few, if any, of them. Even when no outside influences are involved

we can still hate a movie based solely on what we wanted versus ultimately what we got

The following entries here demonstrate precisely all of this, as while they were originally scorned by numerous genre lovers for one reason or another upon their initial release

we're betting that over time, they and you grew to love them a lot more for what they are rather than what they're not

So with that in mind, I'm Ellie with WhatCulture here with horror movies you probably hated the first time round but loved the second

Halloween Ends This is probably the best example of hate turning into love in recent memory

as countless franchise fans have encouragingly shifted their opinions. To be fair

and like predecessors Halloween and Halloween Kills, it's easy to find a lot of flaws throughout

Halloween ends. Primarily, viewers were upset about three main elements. The prioritisation

of a brand new character, the lack of consistent and compelling final showdowns between villain

Michael Myers and saviour Laurie Strode, and the corresponding lessening of Myers' screen time

and scariness. That said, many former naysayers have come to deeply enjoy and respect how different

it is. By emphasising intentionally intimate psychological drama over routine slasher tropes

Halloween ends felt much fresher and bolder. Plus, each of the four main characters

Laurie, Michael, Corey and Laurie's niece, Alison Nelson, were developed in daringly interesting

if not entirely satisfying ways. Even the opening credits seem to predict audiences' inevitable

change of heart, as it overtly mirrored the style of the comparatively atypical Halloween 3 season

of The Witch, which has been similarly reassessed since its 1982 debut. The Babadook

Jennifer Kent's 2014 directorial debut, The Babadook, is a superb illustration of allegory

and symbolism in horror. Why? Because its titular creature is actually a manifestation

of the confrontational bitterness and sorrow felt by matriarch Amelia and her son Samuel

following the fatal car accident of family patriarch Oscar. Specifically, and somewhat understandably, Amelia becomes perpetually resentful and violent

towards Samuel, who is undeniably annoying, needy, erratic, and all-around insufferable from the moment their journey begins

His unbearableness coupled with the film being generally unfrightening in a traditional in a traditional sense resulted in a considerable amount of onlookers outright loathing Kent vision As is often the case retrospective ysis of what The Babadook is really about

and how well it succeeds at its depictions have substantially altered such negative appraisals

Today, Babadook enthusiasts see it as a beautifully constructed and touchingly earnest tale of grief, love and connection between a mother and her child

As for Samuel's excruciating behaviours and Amelia's reprehensible responses to them, both are far more frightening yet necessary than what might be seen in a conventional monster movie

Seed of Chucky Simply put, the fifth entry in the Child's Play franchise, 2004's Seed of Chucky

was way too comedic for most aficionados upon their first screening. Granted, 1998's Bride of Chucky foreshadowed this change in tone

but it also stayed true to mastermind Don Mancini's scary origins. In contrast, Seed of Chucky fundamentally focused on absurd moments such as Chucky masturbating

and cringeworthy nods to celebrities such as Red Man, John Waters and Britney Spears

When the initial sting wore off, however, numerous watchers relished the continuously

spirited chemistry between Chucky and his aforementioned bride, Tiffany, and by association

voice actors Brad Dourif and Jennifer Tilly. Plus, having Tilly play herself alongside the

film's mockery of Hollywood doubled down on the meta-satire of its precursor. In hindsight

subsequent watches also earn Seed of Chucky distinction for being ahead of its time in

terms of LGBTQIA inclusivity, which Mancini has always incorporated into the series to some degree

By giving Chucky and Tiffany's non-binary child, Glenn slash Glenda, agency over their identity

as well as showcasing their parents' support for them, the movie is often championed for giving a

substantial section of the horror community the representation and acceptance it deserves

The Mist. Although it's not as great as their prior collaborations, 1994's The Shawshank

Redemption and 1999's The Green Mile, 2007's The Mist is nonetheless among the best motion

pictures with which writer-director Frank Darabont and novelist Stephen King have ever

been involved. It follows a familiar setup by placing a small group of distinctive and

debatably stereotypical community members in a supermarket to fend off Lovecraftian monsters and

their own growing frustrations and suspicions with each other. By every measure, it's exceptionally

well done. Even so, it's easy to see why people detested it all those years ago. Beyond featuring

the requisite trope of characters making overtly stupid and dangerous decisions, the ways in which

religious zealot Mrs Carmody indoctrinates her neighbours into cultish tribalism is infuriatingly ridiculous but realistic Then there the unequivocally nihilistic ending that inevitably depresses each viewer while deviating significantly from King

more hopeful conclusion. After those initial gut punches wear off, though, future rewatches allow

the mist's sheer boldness and craftsmanship to shine through. That's true for the commendable

technical aspects as much as it is for being able to accept and possibly enjoy who gets saved versus

who get slaughtered. It Comes at Night. Centred around two sets of people who were forced to

cohabitate a house during a pandemic, how chillingly relatable in retrospect, It Comes at Night was marketed to be one of 2017's scariest supernatural films

With a title and trailer like that, who wouldn't expect something tangible and terrifying to appear

once the sun sets? Instead, the eponymous It refers not to any sort of paranormal or otherwise

unnatural being, but to the paranoia, division, and ruthlessness that infects the characters

minds when they're forced to contend with unimaginable threats and uncertain circumstances

Admittedly, crowds had every right to feel deceived and upset when it ended

yet a revised outlook permits it comes at night to be cherished in a fresh and favourable light

With its mounting tension, dreamily abstract imagery, and eternally resonant social observations

it's an engrossing and sobering look at the ugliness of humanity. Plus, its central thesis has been a part of entertainment for decades

For example, the Twilight Zone's The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street 28 Days Later and all versions of The Last of Us

Just because there isn't a traditional fiend doesn't mean there's nothing unalluringly and metaphorically fiendish to contemplate

The Black Coat's Daughter Arguably no other movie studio today is as synonymous with elevated horror as A24

and as such their projects are known for being slowly paced and conceptually ambiguous

at least during the opening two acts. 2015's The Black Coat's Daughter is a perfect example of this

For one thing, it divides itself into multiple timelines amidst juxtaposing multiple narratives

the ominously despondent winter break interactions of schoolmates Rose and Kat and the mysterious trajectory of escaped mental patient Joan a decade later

That jumbled structure matched with the Black Coat's Daughters' leisurely stride, it takes a while for the plot to really get going

no doubt prompted many first-timers to ask themselves, what is the point of all this and where is this going

Luckily, mastermind Osgood Perkins pays off everything in artfully troubling fashion during the final third

with the connections between those three characters becoming cleverer and creepier as various bits of foreshadowing stylistic parallels and game secrets are discovered Once all the Black Coats Daughters implications are revealed audiences can embark on a second screening with a stronger appreciation not only for where it ends up but for how it gets there too

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 Considering how unapologetically depraved and disturbing 1974's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

is, it was reasonable to anticipate more of the same from Tobey Hooper's belated 1986 follow-up

Rather than offering another relatively grounded and unsettling journey into figurative hell though

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 fully embraces the black comedy tone the director allegedly aimed to achieve with the original

From beginning to end, it's a pointedly colourful and droll picture that, while still grungy and gory, is unlikely to keep anyone up at night

In keeping with the overarching theme of this list, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is also another instance of initially dismayed moviegoers

savouring what they did get when they returned for an additional helping of Hooper's surreal

shenanigans and satire. Be it the outrageous opening road tussle, the carnivalistic closing

face-offs, or almost anything in between, it's a blast to watch. In particular, Caroline Williams

idiosyncratically courageous and irreverent stretch is an absolutely iconic final girl. Bill Mosley's cartoonishly bizarre Chop Tops deals every scene he's in, and Dennis Hooper

as the vengeful Lieutenant Enright, gives his most entertainingly unhinged and quotable

performance next to his turn as Frank Booth in David Lynch's Blue Velvet from the same year

Possession Oh, where to start with the puzzlingly peculiar Possession? Released in 1981

the French-German film has been confusing and fascinating audiences for over 40 years

and for good reason. Preliminarily, it's a genuinely believable and evocative, if curiously stagey, examination of a married couple wrestling with infidelity, divorce

and the shared responsibilities of raising their young son. From there, it gradually evolves

or devolves depending on your perspective, into a wholly unusual tour of surreal symbolism

We're talking cannibalism, doppelgangers, graphic homicides, Cronenberg-esque body horror, including Anna having sex with a tentacled creature, and perhaps most famously

a horrifyingly uncomfortable and inexplicable possession scene in a subway. Clearly, it's a profoundly challenging and adventurous excursion into avant-garde storytelling

that leaves people bewildered and irritated when the credits roll. And yet, they can't help but return to it a second time, if not more

to fully process and appreciate all of its socio-political and interpersonal commentaries

captivating acting and stylish camera work. It's too much to digest in one viewing, but with each subsequent undertaking

possession reveals itself to be brilliantly audacious and absorbing. It's truly a one-of-a-kind creation