7 Horror Movies With Criminally Low Rotten Tomatoes Scores

These underrated horror movies have far lower approval ratings on Rotten Tomatoes than they should have. Since the dawn of cinema, horror has been one of the most popular genres of entertainment, providing frights and thrills aplenty and getting our blood and adrenaline pumping. However, while some horror movies such as His House, Get Out, The Babadook, Bride of Frankenstein, The Ring, Psycho, and many more have achieved high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, other iconic horror flicks haven’t fared so well.

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Horror isn’t for everyone, but fans of the horror genre often hark back to some of these seven movies as among the best, most effective, and most memorable horror movies around. Nevertheless, all but one have lower than 40% approval ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, which are all far lower than what the movies deserve. From the minds of the likes of Paul W. S. Anderson, James Wan, Joseph Zito, and more, these horror movies are criminally underscored on Rotten Tomatoes.

7) The Fourth Kind (2009)

Presented as a pseudodocumentary, The Fourth Kind follows psychologist Abbey Tyler (Milla Jovovich) who is interviewed as she recounts her experiences with an alleged alien abduction several years prior. From filmmaker Olatunde Osunsanmi (Star Trek: Discovery), The Fourth Kind fostered a truly creepy atmosphere, compelling performances, and a unique framework, taking a more psychological approach to the horror genre. The movie deserves far more than its 18% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and even the audience agree with a 41% rating, proving that, although not the best horror flick, The Fourth Kind is more impactful than its score suggests.

6) The Covenant (2006)

Renny Harlin’s (Die Hard 2) dark fantasy horror movie from 2006 has an abysmal 4% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to a whopping 62% from the audience. The Covenant followed four high school boys who come to understand their magical powers, passed down from their colonial witch ancestors. Overuse of these powers can cause accelerated aging, insanity, and even death, leading to some horrific outcomes. While critics argue the movie is poorly executed with “wooden acting [and] laughable dialogue,” The Covenant has earned a cult following of viewers with less high-brow expectations that actually find appreciation in the movie.

5) Event Horizon (1997)

A horror movie with a difference, Event Horizon brings us into space as a crew of astronauts in 2047 are sent to recover the long-missing Event Horizon ship that appears in the orbit of Neptune, but find horrific happenings unfolding on-board. Event Horizon’s space-faring story gives it a grandeur and a unique perspective that many horror movies are missing, and proves how great the grounded performances from the likes of Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, and more really are. Event Horizon only has a 36% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it deserves much more for its unforgettable performances, strong visual effects, and escalating thrills.

4) Resident Evil (2002)

\Despite being one of the most notable and well-known horror movies in history, Resident Evil still only holds a 36% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie, adapted by Paul W. S. Anderson from the video game series of the same name, kick-started a film franchise that is still going strong today, and once again starred Milla Jovovich as Alice, who joins Umbrella Corporation commandos on a mission into a secret underground facility to contain the outbreak of the T-virus, which transforms those infected into violent zombies. With stylish action, supreme pacing, a strong performance from Jovovich, a firm appreciation of horror as a style, and an important legacy in the genre, Resident Evil deserves a much higher rating than it has achieved.

3) Silent Hill (2006)

While Resident Evil is a controversial adaptation of the video game series, Silent Hill has received huge praise for adapting its source material faithfully. Despite delivering a terrifying atmosphere, a clean and unique artistic style from Christophe Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf), and achieving cult classic status, Silent Hill still only has a 33% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to a 63% rating from the audience. Radha Mitchell delivers a strong performance as Rosa Da Silva, a mother who seeks a cure for her daughter’s sleepwalking infliction by taking her to the ghost town of Silent Hill. Nightmarish, horrifying, and high-octane, Silent Hill deserves much more recognition.

2) Saw (2004)

Exploring a nonlinear narrative following the mystery of the Jigsaw Killer, who tests his victims—namely photographer Adam (Leigh Whannell) and oncologist Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes)—by trapping them in deadly “games” where they must inflict pain on themselves to survive. While the original Saw movie has an 84% rating from the audience on Rotten Tomatoes, critics awarded it only 50%, which is shockingly low for such a culturally significant movie. Many consider this low score to be genre bias, as Saw presented a dark and twisted narrative involving true horror moments but with an emotionally rich backbone that launched a huge media franchise, so the original movie deserves a significantly higher critics score.

1) Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

The fourth instalment in the long-running Friday the 13th film series, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter follows masked serial killer Jason Voorhees (Ted White) who returns to Crystal Lake to continue his killing spree after seemingly being killed in Friday the 13th Part III. Originally intended to be the final movie in the series, The Final Chapter provided a cathartic finale to Voorhees’ spree with masterful special effects, iconic slasher moments, stronger character development than previous instalments, and a serious, grounded tone that means it deserves far more than its 25% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Friday the 13th series is one of the most notable additions to the horror genre, but The Final Chapter is a needlessly-low-rated piece of the story.

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