Every Blumhouse Movie Ranked Worst To Best

It shouldn't be a surprise that one of the worst-reviewed Blumhouse Productions movies in history hailed from writer-director duo Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. From the creative team behind such reviled comedies like "Disaster Movie" and "Meet the Spartans," 2013's "Best Night Ever" is a comedy that chronicles the raunchy exploits of a gaggle of ladies at a bachelorette party. Critics failed to find any laughs in this found-footage film's runtime.

Even divorced from the world of spoof comedies that the filmmakers had been entrenched in for years, critics found "Best Night Ever" to suffer from faults similar to ones in titles like "Epic Movie." To most critics, the jokes came off as clumsy rather than hysterical, while the performances were by and large panned for being lifeless. Even worse, the shaky camerawork of the found-footage cinematography conceit made certain critics as sick as the "Best Night Ever" protagonists experiencing a hangover. In trying to make the next "Bridesmaids" or "The Hangover," Seltzer and Friedberg merely delivered the nadir of Blumhouse entertainment. "Best Night Ever"? According to the critics, not quite.

In 2019, Blumhouse Productions' "The Gallows" finally got a sequel. A customary development for horror movies and especially Blumhouse titles, "The Gallows Act II" arrived four years after its predecessor, long after the initial film had faded from the mind of moviegoers. Even the most ardent "Gallows" fans had moved on from this 2015 feature. However, had this sequel managed to deliver something extraordinary with its story of a drama student awakening an evil spirit through a viral internet challenge, it wouldn't have mattered, and "The Gallows Act II" could've excelled with audiences based on its own merits.

Unfortunately, "The Gallows Act II" was torn apart by critics, who largely found it to be even worse than its predecessor. The biggest problems highlighted through reviews were a deficiency in scares and peculiar narrative choices, namely an especially divisive twist in the third act. The late sequel was routinely dismissed as instantly forgettable. With such anemic reviews, "The Gallows Act II" finally dropped the curtain on the "Gallows" as a horror franchise.

Romantic comedies often have quite strange premises. It just goes with the territory and can often be a fun way to capture the ludicrous nature of love. But "The Accidental Husband" has an especially peculiar premise even by the standards of this genre. The plot here concerns Patrick (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who exacts revenge on radio DJ and romantic expert Dr. Emma Lloyd (Uma Thurman), who inspired his fiancée (Justina Machado) to break up their engagement. His plan? To hire a neighborhood kid to use his computer hacking skills to create a fake marriage certification between himself and Lloyd. This bonkers concept puts Lloyd's plans to get married to another man (Colin Firth) in jeopardy. Hijinks ensue.

This strange premise was just one of many aspects of "The Accidental Husband" that was lambasted by critics, who took the film to task for its lack of creative screenwriting and especially for the tepid performances. Both Thurman and Morgan were routinely criticized for having zero chemistry as well as fumbling the instances when their characters engage in broad comedy. Even Firth, a veteran of rom-coms, failed to lend any sense of fun to the proceedings. Even with one of the more outlandish plots in the land of modern romantic comedies, "The Accidental Husband" was a critical nightmare.

"Super Troopers" director Jay Chandrasekhar went back to the point of conception for his 2012 comedy "The Babymakers," which hinges its plot on a sperm bank robbery. A rare foray into comedies for Blumhouse Productions, "The Babymakers" wasn't nearly successful enough, either critically or financially, to make the company want to return to this genre often. In terms of how it fared in its reviews, the film is one of Chandrasekhar's weaker-reviewed titles. It's worth remembering that this distinction was achieved despite this man helming such comedy turkeys as 2005's "The Dukes of Hazzard."

There were almost as few laughs in the almost-exclusively negative reviews for "The Babymakers" as there were in the movie itself as people performed an autopsy on this comedy that was dead on arrival. Sara Stewart of the New York Post, for instance, noted one critical flaw of the movie was that Olivia Munn's character, Audrey, got very little to do in terms of comedy and was mostly around to embody a stereotypical wife character. Others criticized the movie for overdoing its lewd humor to the point that instances of raunchiness became tedious rather than shocking. One thing was for sure: "The Babymakers" wouldn't be the next "Super Troopers."

The greatest legacy left behind in 2015's erotic thriller "The Boy Next Door" is a moment where 19-year-old Noah Sandburn (Ryan Guzman) hands Claire Peterson (Jennifer Lopez), as a romantic gesture, a first edition of "The Iliad." Meant to convey the affection Sandburn now feels for his older lover, the moment only inspires befuddlement from viewers over how this kid was able to secure the first edition of a book published back in the eighth century B.C. and first published in English in the 1500s. Supposedly secured at "a garage sale," the moment became a go-to punchline so prominent and widespread that director Rob Cohen eventually had to comment on it. This inexplicable moment may make "The Boy Next Door" sound like the next campy masterpiece perfect for midnight screenings, but unfortunately, it was one of the rare moments in the film to get any kind of affection from moviegoers.

Criticism for "The Boy Next Door" primarily revolved around how it isn't sleazy enough despite its genre and premise. Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com, for instance, noted that the film's climax, set in a burning barn, is just what the whole film should've been in terms of delivering tense melodramatic trash. Unfortunately, Lemire saw the rest of "The Boy Next Door" as just being tedious when it needed to be juicy or naughty. Not even the presence of a first-edition copy of "The Iliad" could spruce up the disappointingly humdrum vibes of "The Boy Next Door."

With 2020's "This Is the Night," writer-director James DeMonaco opted to go for something more intimate and personal compared to his earlier forays as a filmmaker. DeMonaco had leaped into a new level of notoriety for creating the "Purge" franchise and for directing the first three installments in that saga. However, no man can live on "Purge" alone, and thus DeMonaco set off to make "This Is the Night," a quasi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama set in 1983. If done right, this would be the movie that showed off DeMonaco's artistic chops while delivering poignancy and insights into the human condition.

Unfortunately, DeMonaco didn't quite prove as effective at those pursuits as he was at coming up with new twisted masks for people to wear during The Purge. "This Is the Night" scored largely negative marks from critics, with the biggest complaint being its contrived screenplay. While praise was offered to the cast, which includes Bobby Cannavale, Frank Grillo, and Naomi Watts, critics were largely uninterested in the results of DeMonaco going in more thoughtful directions as an artist. Going the personal route did not make "This Is the Night" the next wistful masterpiece meditating on formative adolescent experiences.

After he delivered the massive sleeper hit "Paranormal Activity," all eyes were on director Oren Peli and what he would do next. Turned out, though, just as "Activity" was taking the world by storm, he was already hard at work on his follow-up directorial effort. In November 2009, Variety reported that Paramount Pictures had bought up the distribution rights to "Area 51," a found-footage horror movie that Peli had already finished shooting. However, the film languished on a shelf for years and was finally given an unceremonious release in May 2015. After all that waiting, it turned out "Area 51" was a dud bad enough to make it understandable why Paramount kept it buried for so long.

The scant few reviews that have been published for "Area 51" have mostly knocked it for refusing to do anything new with the found-footage horror genre as well as for a lengthy first act that proves extraneous to the overall story of a group of teens breaking into a government facility. Worst of all, there was a repeated sentiment that the film failed to show off anything new in Peli as a filmmaker — "Area 51" was just more of the same schtick audiences saw in the original "Paranormal Activity." Tragically, "Area 51" became a quintessential example of a director suffering from a sophomore slump.

The original "Sinister" from 2012 was not an instant masterpiece but got its fair share of praise and even scored a bit of a cult following. Even those mild accomplishments evaded the grasp of its sequel, "Sinister 2." Releasing in August 2015, "Sinister 2" was trashed by critics, with Wesley Morris of Grantland even going so far as to say that the film is evidence of when audiences should just say no to cash-grab horror sequels. Such a declaration emerged thanks to, among other flaws that Morris harped on, a bunch of evil kid characters who were more bratty than unnerving as well as suffocating an occasionally engaging lead performance from James Ransone underneath a nonsensical narrative.

Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, lambasted "Sinister 2" for failing to either live up to the grimy nature of its predecessor or come up with a uniquely compelling atmosphere. There was no shortage of negative comments thrown at "Sinister 2," with even the cinematography coming under fire from the likes of Keith Uhlrich of The A.V. Club, who noted how making everything so overlit undercut the attempts at creating a foreboding atmosphere. Scarier than any of the chilling home movies featured in the pair of "Sinister" movies is the idea that "Sinister 2" was supposed to function as effective horror cinema.

"The Lazarus Effect" had a way bigger cast than usual for a Blumhouse horror movie made on the cheap. Headlined by future "Booksmart" helmer Olivia Wilde, 2015's "The Lazarus Effect" also features indie darling Mark Duplass, Evan Peters, beloved character actor Ray Wise, and even Donald Glover a year before "Atlanta" began airing on FX, all playing researchers trying to raise the dead. The combination of all these talented performers would make one think that "The Lazarus Effect" couldn't be that bad, that surely something entertaining must emerge with all these artists collected on one set. Unfortunately, "The Lazarus Effect" manages to waste not only its cast, but also its director, David Gelb, who was previously responsible for the acclaimed 2011 documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi."

None of these people, though, could salvage a horror movie that was widely dismissed by critics as being a run-of-the-mill exorcism horror film. Keith Phipps of The Dissolve, for one, was disappointed in many parts of "The Lazarus Effect," including how so much of the story took place in a dreary basement lab. He also remarked that adhering to a PG-13 rating dulled the edges off strained attempts at frightening the audience while questioning why a cast of this caliber was wasted on a movie this forgettable. No amount of big-name actors could salvage a horror movie this bad.

Primarily, Blumhouse has focused on horror movies, with occasional detours into dramas and documentaries. But believe it or not, one of the earliest projects from Blumhouse was a family movie. And not just any kid-friendly feature, it was the 2010 comedy "Tooth Fairy." Starring Dwayne Johnson as a hockey player turned into the titular mythological figure, "Tooth Fairy" was a departure from most Blumhouse movies with its target demo, while its atrocious reviews were a sharp contrast to the praise that's greeted the most beloved Blumhouse projects.

"Tooth Fairy" was mostly raked over the coals for taking a concept as strange as "The Rock becomes a tooth fairy" and turning it into something mundane. The familiar plot beats and emotional moments felt so lazy for a film with a ludicrous starting concept. Lazy humor and unimpressive visual effects only further reinforced the negative reception of this production. "Tooth Fairy" is now an outlier in the Blumhouse canon, and the dismal reviews it received indicate that the company won't be returning to family movie terrain anytime soon.

The concept of turning the 1980s cartoon "Jem and the Holograms" into a movie makes the mind reel with the possibilities of all the fun that could entail. The source material was so unabashedly goofy — the stories of a band of lady musicians who also work as spies — that one could see it easily becoming an irresistible camp masterpiece. Unfortunately, 2015's "Jem and the Holograms" was executed as a super low-budget Blumhouse movie and one grounded deep in reality to boot. There was no room for ridiculousness or high-concept flights of fancy, just melodrama ripped straight out of a Disney Channel Original Movie.

This flaw was often repeated in the scathing reviews that greeted "Jem and the Holograms," with many of these assessments also bemoaning that potentially funny source material and talented actors were wasted on such generic material. The film's reputation has only gotten worse in the years since considering director Jon M. Chu has gone on to make movies like "Crazy Rich Asians" and "In the Heights." The superb direction and visual energy in those projects only underline how lifeless "Holograms" is. This feature couldn't even be bothered to deliver a fun soundtrack of nifty girl power anthems or rebellious rock ditties. No matter how you slice it, "Jem and the Holograms" just came up ridiculously short.

One of the earliest projects to emerge from the Blumhouse Productions banner, "The Darwin Awards" was a comedy about a disgraced detective (Joseph Fiennes) working alongside an insurance investigator (Winona Ryder) to investigate peculiar ways that people have perished. Wacky antics ensue. Interestingly, "The Darwin Awards" served as a harbinger for the kind of cinematography early Blumhouse movies would predominately employ. This feature from Finn Taylor, much like other comedies such as "Drop Dead Gorgeous" or "This Is Spinal Tap," was shot like a documentary. Though not the exact same thing as the found-footage mold that titles like "Paranormal Activity" would adhere to, "The Darwin Awards" did help establish Blumhouse's affinity for handheld camerawork.

Unfortunately, that was one of the few distinctive things about the movie, as it otherwise was widely rejected by critics. Like many comedies that miss the mark, "The Darwin Awards" was faulted for failing to bring the laughs and for thinking a one-note gimmick premise was enough to sustain a whole feature. More specific to this film, "The Darwin Awards" was also criticized by writers like Eric D. Snider for being anchored by a forgettable lead performance by Fiennes. Blumhouse would up making more movies after "The Darwin Awards" captured in a quasi-documentary fashion, but thankfully, the studio would also end up making more movies significantly better than this one.

After years of dormancy, the "Amityville Horror" franchise came roaring back to life with "Amityville: The Awakening," though it wasn't quite the prolific return one would expect for such an iconic series. Despite coming courtesy of Blumhouse Productions, "Amityville: The Awakening" was constantly delayed from its original January 2015 release date until it was unceremoniously dumped into theaters and onto video-on-demand platforms in October 2017. Some quality movies just run into a string of bad luck when they receive such a worrisome barrage of postponements. Unfortunately for "Amityville: The Awakening," this unceremonious release was a pronounced indicator that this wasn't a very special horror movie.

Credit where credit is due, "Amityville: The Awakening" didn't get scorched by critics, with some outlets like IGN even admitting that it was better than several other entries in the "Amityville Horror" saga. Unfortunately, not being the next "The Gallows" wasn't enough to make "Amityville: The Awakening" actually well-liked. Despite a meta angle, the film still does the same "doomed family in a spooky new house" plot, and critics were largely dismissive of the production's erratic tone and a lack of originality in the scares. Even performances from experienced and acclaimed actors like Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kurtwood Smith mostly inspired indifference from critics. With these kinds of criticisms running rampant, perhaps it would've been best if "Amityville: The Awakening" had kept on postponing its release indefinitely.

Not all of his screenplays have been beloved by fanboys and critics alike, but Akiva Goldsman has penned his fair share of scripts that have gone on to great success. In addition to winning the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award for his work on "A Beautiful Mind," he's penned scripts for movies ranging wildly from "The Client" to "I, Robot" to "The Da Vinci Code." However, as a film director, Goldsman's been objectively on a cold streak, with his only two forays into this field getting terrible marks critically. His debut in this craft was "Winter's Tale," a 2014 romantic drama that became a punchline for its bizarre and often incoherent storytelling. As a follow-up to that feature, Goldsman next helmed 2017's "Stephanie," which didn't fare any better with its largely negative critical reception. The film follows a little girl (Shree Crooks) who lives in the woods with her parents (Frank Grillo and Anna Torv) in the wake of an apocalyptic event.

The most fatal shortcoming of "Stephanie" was pinpointed in Meredith Border's review of the movie for Birth.Movies.Death., in which this writer bemoaned how "Stephanie" failed to realize that its central story would be much more compelling if it was told through a more intimate lens. By eschewing that approach in favor of bloat and scope, Borders observed that "Stephanie" left so much potential on the table. Other critics echoed such negative critiques, thus ensuring that Goldsman's cold streak as a director continued unabated.

After her work on "Twilight," director Catherine Hardwicke initially attempted to recapture the young-adult fantasy romance angle yet again with the 2011 film "Red Riding Hood." When that feature didn't quite take off at the box office, Hardwicke went back to the days when she made microbudget indies like "Thirteen" with the 2013 feature "Plush." Produced for a modest sum (as per any movie made at Blumhouse Productions), "Plush" was a darker R-rated project from Hardwicke, an erotic drama about a rock starlet (Emily Browning), but it didn't reverse the negative critical trajectory of her then-recent directorial efforts.

Jen Chaney of The Dissolve, for instance, bemoaned how "Plush" was such a step down from Hardwicke's earlier more promising works like "Thirteen" while also offering mild praise for how the last 15 minutes were much more preposterous and melodramatic compared to the more lifeless sequences that preceded this conclusion. The general reception to "Plush" wasn't much better than that, with other critics also pointing out how the production suffered from a dire lack of confidence in its supposedly rebellious identity. Hardwicke has been responsible for several acclaimed and influential movies in her career, but unfortunately, "Plush" is not one of her directorial efforts that fits that bill.

Eli Roth became a hot name in the world of horror cinema in the 2000s thanks to his breakout projects "Cabin Fever" and "Hostel." However, after just his third directorial effort, "Hostel: Part II," Roth spent six years engaging in other creative pursuits, like writing and producing "The Man with the Iron Fists" and taking up small acting roles in movies like "Inglourious Basterds." However, he came roaring back as a filmmaker with his 2013 feature "The Green Inferno." Roth was already known for being a man who didn't flinch from depicting gruesome horror in his works, but "Inferno" took this to a new level by making the movie a tribute to 1980s cannibal horror cinema like "Cannibal Holocaust." It was a disturbing and graphic work and one that was never going to appeal to a wide audience.

Still, even considering the divisive nature of the brutal material, "The Green Inferno" failed to gain much traction critically. Alison Willmore of Buzzfeed observed that "The Green Inferno" failed to reach its fullest potential as a piece of social commentary (one that would criticize Western activists for treating indigenous people as props for personal gain) because it succumbed to stereotypical portrayals of indigenous people itself. With such thoughtless sociopolitical underpinnings, critics mostly found "The Green Inferno" to be an overlong compilation of grisly murders and uncomfortable stereotypes. 

The saga of "The Purge" began with the aptly titled "The Purge." While later entries in the series would spawn fans thanks to their mixture of hot-button sociopolitical edge and hard-R action, this inaugural entry in the series scored a more mixed reception. This initial "Purge" limited its focus to one wealthy family trying to survive an onslaught of invading attackers after they help give shelter to a homeless man, a noticeably smaller-scale narrative than the sequels. A more limited story didn't necessarily result in a more intense storyline, though, as "The Purge" got a negative enough reception to make it seem like nobody would want to see further adventures in this universe.

While critics largely recognized the unique concept at the heart of "The Purge" concerning a 12-hour period where everything is legal, there was a similarly widespread perception that "The Purge" failed to utilize that idiosyncratic premise for all its potential mileage. Leslie Felperin of Variety, for one, was disappointed with how a distinctive starting concept was wasted on a bunch of forgettable scares as well as a strange narrative structure that separated the family for much of the runtime. Such shortcomings were widely recognized in other reviews for "The Purge," whose biggest virtue turned out to be providing an underwhelming enough adventure that the sequels could surpass it with ease.

The 2018 "Halloween" movie from director David Gordon Green resurrected the "Halloween" franchise by re-centering the focus on Jamie Lee Curtis's Laurie Strode character and by injecting some totally unique scares into this series. Shortly after its enormous success, a pair of sequels were announced, the first of which was "Halloween Kills." Continuing on mere minutes after the 2018 "Halloween" ended, "Halloween Kills" amped up the brutality of the kills and focused heavily on the horrors of mob violence. Unfortunately, despite maintaining the same creative team as its predecessor, "Halloween Kills" was a far cry from the 2018 "Halloween" in terms of general critical reception, with this sequel scoring largely mixed notices.

The flaws of "Halloween Kills" were numerous, including the bizarre decision to restrict Strode, the horror movie action hero of the last movie, to a hospital bed for the entire runtime. The extreme emphasis on flashback sequences and nods to even the most obscure characters from the 1978 "Halloween" also scored derision. Oliver Jones of Observer was so dismissive of the final product that he summed up this entire enterprise as something resembling a "desecration" of the "Halloween" saga. While the 2018 "Halloween" managed to breathe new life into this saga, "Halloween Kills," unfortunately, flatlined the franchise.

The 1970s slasher movie "Black Christmas" already got the remake treatment in 2006, but Blumhouse Productions opted to revamp the title once more in 2019 with director Sophia Takal. The filmmaker behind the acclaimed 2016 indie "Always Shine," it was reasonable to assume that Takal had the chops necessary to ensure that a second "Black Christmas" remake wasn't weighed down by redundancy. Unfortunately, the final product scored mixed marks from critics, a far cry from the general reception of other Takal movies.

Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly expressed an extreme sense of disappointment that "Black Christmas" fell short of its potential given that Greenblatt felt that the notion of using "Black Christmas" to reinterpret horror movie hallmarks through a female gaze was quite enticing. Unfortunately, for Greenblatt, the often-impenetrable screenplay negated that potential and left the film coming up short of what it could've been. Similar sentiments abounded in the general response to "Black Christmas," though it wasn't without its defenders. Angelica Jade Bastien of Vulture, for instance, commended how the film blended a slasher movie with "an in-your-face fury" regarding how sexual assault is handled on college campuses. Such opinions indicated that "Black Christmas" had hit the mark for some moviegoers, giving this divisive film at least more of a cult fanbase than typical horror movie remakes.

It's always a treat to see genuinely talented dramatic performers lend their craft to horror movies. Whether it's Gregory Peck in "The Omen" or Ewan McGregor in "Doctor Sleep," these acclaimed actors injecting genuine gravitas into horror characters can add an extra layer of urgency and believability to outlandish premises. David Oyelowo in "Don't Let Go" was firmly planted in this tradition, given this actor's experience in weighty projects like "Selma." The best outcome for "Don't Let Go" would've seen this horror film transforming into something relentlessly compelling thanks to the gifts of Oyelowo as a performer. Unfortunately, "Don't Let Go" wasn't nearly as good as its leading man, with not even Oyelowo managing to turn it into something truly worthwhile.

Among the mixed critical reviews for "Don't Let Go" was a review by Cath Clarke for The Guardian, which commended the feature for some of its most creative uses of its storytelling conceit of a man who can communicate with a past version of his deceased niece. However, she also noted that the execution of this premise lacked tension or propulsion and amounted to little of note, despite Oyelowo delivering strong work in the lead role. Other critics largely echoed this sentiment, with "Don't Let Go" largely fading out of the pop-culture consciousness, a tragic outcome for a unique horror movie anchored by someone as gifted as Oyelowo.

Released as part of the "Welcome to the Blumhouse" collection of movies on Amazon Prime, "Evil Eye" had a tantalizing and unique premise on its hands concerning a woman (Sarita Choudhury) who becomes concerned over her daughter's new boyfriend (Omar Maskati), who may be intertwined with her past. Told with a cast and crew of Indian descent, a rarity in American cinema, "Evil Eye" had the potential to offer something new and exciting in the world of American horror. However, critics ended up divided over whether or not it truly worked as a piece of scary cinema. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express, for example, was disappointed in how often the film engaged in broad storytelling and acting choices, particularly regarding the "exaggerated accents" employed by some of the performers, that undercut the emotional authenticity of this story.

By contrast, Brian Tallerico of The Playlist felt that, while the production was overall a little too meager to be substantive, felt that the unique flourishes in the narrative and a collection of strong lead performances kept "Evil Eye" afloat. Even if it wasn't everyone's cup of tea, "Evil Eye" still scored some positive marks for critics for taking a big swing.

After delivering a pair of "Halloween" reimaginings, Rob Zombie returned to directing with 2012's "The Lords of Salem." This was a horror title whose story intertwined directly with Zombie's extensive experience as a musician, as "The Lords of Salem" concerned a record that ends up giving a radio DJ (Sheri Moon Zombie) a series of horrifying visions that she can't escape. This title was jam-packed with unorthodox imagery, atmosphere, and unabashedly ludicrous story turns, but "The Lords of Salem" was a far cry from mainstream horror and not a film that was ever destined to score universal praise. It's no surprise, then, that "Lords of Salem" scored mixed reviews from critics, with many writers understandably not clicking with its unique ambiance. 

But there were also notable fans of the project, such as Noel Murray of The A.V. Club. Murray did concede that "Lords of Salem" got bogged down by some pointless narrative digressions, but he also praised elements like the committed performances from the cast, the unnerving sound work, and Zombie's penchant for surrealism. Such offbeat details were bound to turn off some moviegoers, but for those on Zombie's wavelength, "The Lords of Salem" was bound to provide some level of nasty enjoyment.

"Viral" is a movie about a flu that begins to spread across a small town, with its terrified denizens dreading which of them will become sick next as the government descends on the populace to stop the plague from spreading further. Made in the mold of "The Crazies," "Viral" can't help but now feel like a precursor to the terrifying everyday realities brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunate and unpredictable timeliness, though, is about all that's made "Viral" stand out in the years since its release. When it first premiered in July 2016, most reviews for the film didn't think much of the project one way or another. "Viral" had little to offend prospective moviegoers, but it also offered similarly minimal rewards for those who took the plunge and watched it.

Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine, though, did offer praise for "Viral" as a whole, particularly regarding how pushing the virus and its effects to the background allowed for a greater emphasis on the main characters and their internal struggle. On the other hand, Marija Loncarevic of Cairo 360 walked away from "Viral" highly disappointed in the film, particularly in its lack of creativity when it came to approaching a horror movie about a biological disaster. "Viral" didn't garner much in the way of acclaim, but it's worth mentioning that some critics found it to be an antidote to lesser horror films rather than a form of cinematic sickness.

In hindsight, "The Resurrection of Gavin Stone" feels like the result of somebody at Blumhouse Productions playing Mad Libs to formulate what movie the studio could make next to potentially buck audience expectations. A faith-based comedy made with WWE Studios and starring "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." mainstay Brett Dalton as an egotistical, washed-up movie star eager to reclaim some fame, "Gavin Stone" was a far cry from "Insidious" and "The Purge." Thankfully, its general critical reception was also quite a departure from the generally toxic reputation of other faith-based movies like "God's Not Dead." Though far from acclaimed, "Gavin Stone" at least was recognized as being something that would fulfill its target audience's expectations without repulsing everyone else in the process.

Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter was one such critic to make this assessment of "Gavin Stone," and made not of how it was "lacking in preachiness" compared to other faith-based films. These kinds of mild praise were not shared by all, though. Jesse Hassenger of The A.V. Club was especially critical of the whole production in his write-up, particularly criticizing the film's strained attempts at comedy. This kind of response makes it clear "Gavin Stone" was far from universally beloved, though its critical reception could've been a lot worse considering what a strange-sounding project it was, especially as a Blumhouse release.

Octavia Spencer's lengthy career as a successful, beloved actress has led to her appearing in a wide assortment of movies, from Oscar-friendly titles like "The Help" to socially conscious action films like "Snowpiercer." But even with her eclectic list of credits and affinity for doing anything and everything, Spencer had never done anything quite like the 2019 horror film "Ma." Here, Spencer played a middle-aged woman who bonds with some local teens by letting them use her basement for their parties. However, there ends up being a darker reason for why Ma struck up this friendship in the first place, which leads to all kinds of disturbing events. "Ma" was a wild ride of a movie, though one that several critics took umbrage with for not quite living up to its fullest potential. 

K. Austin Collins of Vanity Fair was extremely disappointed in "Ma" despite moments of ludicrous fun and Spencer's top-tier performance. Collins chalked this up to director Tate Taylor struggling to understand that the story of "Ma" would work best embracing trashiness and weightier material related to its lead character being a middle-aged Black woman. While such takeaways were echoed in many other reviews of "Ma," the movie did manage to garner a committed fanbase, with Entertainment Weekly noting two years after its release that "Ma" had garnered a sizable cult following.

There wasn't much reason to suspect this 2014 sequel to the negatively received "The Purge," cranked out just 13 months after the original hit theaters, would be any good, especially since it was maintaining the creative team of its predecessor. But lo and behold, James DeMonaco's "The Purge: Anarchy" didn't quite manage to become a horror masterpiece, but it did secure noticeably better marks from critics than the first "Purge." Shifting the action from a single house into a mad dash for survival through a city consumed by Purge mayhem turned out to be a great choice for the franchise. Expanding the scope allowed "Anarchy" to play with more of the unique opportunities afforded by its singular premise.

Mark Kermode of The Guardian, for one, appreciated that not only was "The Purge: Anarchy" more willing to engage in fiery political commentary than its predecessor, but it was also unapologetically taking cues from classic grimy B-movies. The result was a film he found to be an uneven yet efficient thriller. However, Joe McGovern of Entertainment Weekly criticized the film for refusing to go all-out with its wacky premise until its climax. It still had its detractors, but "The Purge: Anarchy" represented a massive step forward critically for the "Purge" saga.

This grounded drama is about a graffiti artist in East Los Angeles, Danny (Gabriel Chavarria), struggling to figure out where he wants to go in his life. He's torn in so many directions, between the expectations of his father, Miguel (Demián Bichir), and the hopes of his brother, "Ghost" (Theo Rossi). Directed by Ricardo de Montreuil, "Lowriders" was an intimate production that ended up dividing critics. 

Reviewers like Elizabeth Weitzman of TheWrap were impressed by how actors like Bichir brought new personality and depth to familiar storylines about fractured father-son dynamics as well as the way de Montreuil's camera framed the automobiles at the heart of "Lowriders" story. Mike D'Angelo of The A.V. Club, on the other hand, observed how the formulaic screenplay let down its cast and the vibrant culture it wanted to represent. Even the positive reviews of "Lowriders" tended to concede issues with the superficial, generic storytelling. "Lowriders" had plenty of dents in its hood, but for some critics, it still managed to be a smooth enough ride worth taking.

The "Insidious" sequels hit a critical high with "Insidious: Chapter 3," an entry unleashed in June 2015. Though still not as well-received as the original "Insidious," "Chapter 3" benefited from first-time director Leigh Whannell, who wrote the first two films and many other James Wan productions. Though perhaps not a household name, Whannell would go on after his work on this "Insidious" film to direct acclaimed Blumhouse titles like "Upgrade" and "The Invisible Man." The assuredness that defined those later projects helped to ensure that "Insidious: Chapter 3," which tells a prequel story about a bereaved family set upon by a demon, was heads and shoulders above the other follow-ups in this series in terms of its critical response.

Gary Goldstein of The Los Angeles Times emphasized Whannell's direction as a key reason for "Insidious: Chapter 3" working as well as it did, taking special note of how well the genuinely unnerving moments worked within the confines of a PG-13 rating. By contrast, though, Lenika Cruz of The Atlantic saw "Insidious: Chapter 3" as a steep downgrade from its two predecessors that would be instantly forgotten the moment one left the theater. While it was true that "Insidious: Chapter 3" had a worse reception than the original "Insidious," it at least fared better than other entries in the series thanks to Whannell.

Three years after the original movie, "Unfriended: Dark Web" hit movie theaters in 2018 to inspire more scares over what evils could be lurking on the worldwide web. This time, the supernatural horror angle of the original film was dropped in favor of a plot focused on a fresh bunch of teenagers who find their mischievous fun getting them caught up in a skeevy, murderous operation run by cybercriminals. Going in a different direction wound up giving "Unfriended: Dark Web" the same tepid critical reception as its predecessor. Andrew Whalen of Newsweek commended the sequel for going "weird" with its central premise as well as finding ways to wring terror out of grounded scenarios and the sadistic recesses of the dark web.

On the other hand, Richard Brody of The New Yorker summed up the more critical assessments of "Unfriended: Dark Web" by declaring it to be an ultimately "trivial" horror movie that failed to use its multitude of twists and screens towards something greater. Even with these kinds of criticisms, though, "Unfriended: Dark Web" managed to get decent reviews and solidify itself as more than just a rehash of "Unfriended."

Rich or poor, lonely or sociable, the fate of growing old is one we all must face. Titles like "Old" have built entire premises on the horrifying march of time across our bodies. The 2021 Blumhouse Productions title "The Manor," written and directed by Axelle Carolyn, is another prominent example of this trend, focusing on an elderly woman (Barbara Hershey) who encounters strange events at a new nursing home she's been forced into.

The premise is immediately rife with possibilities for scares rooted in tangible reality, though some critics found that "The Manor" didn't quite explore all of those possibilities to their most chilling extreme. Katie Rife of The A.V. Club wasn't entirely dismissive of this film but did feel it would've been a better production with a bit more polish. Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com was critical of the underwhelming cinematography, though Lena Wilson of The New York Times delivered a more positive assessment, especially praising the film's elderly protagonists. These virtues gave "The Manor" some signs of creative life, even if others found that its schtick got old fast.

Continuing the topical nature of other features released as part of the Amazon-Blumhouse collection "Welcome to the Blumhouse," 2021's "Bingo Hell" examined gentrification as a source of scares. In the film, Lupita (Adriana Barraza) realizes that her neighbors keep turning up dead soon after the arrival of Mr. Big (Richard Brake), who's turned the local bingo hall into a go-to spot for scoring easy riches. The movie scored its share of fans among critics. Jeanette Catsoulis of The New York Times, for example, noted that "Bingo Hell" has its share of shortcomings, but also a notable amount of scares. In particular, she highlighted the camerawork from cinematographer Byron Werner as instrumental in making certain sequences as frightening as they are.

Such positive takeaways were not shared by all, though. Dennis Harvey of Variety was one of many critics that found "Bingo Hell" to be unable to sustain its premise, even with a truncated runtime of 85 minutes. Meanwhile, Carla Hay of Culture Mix found the film's attempts at sociopolitical commentary undercut by the stereotypical caricatures among the characters. Even with a notable number of critiques, "Bingo Hell" still had its fair share of charms to offer moviegoers who opted to play its devilish game.

One of the earlier Blumhouse Productions titles, "Lawless" was a 2012 period-piece crime thriller with a star-studded ensemble cast anchored by Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy and also featuring the likes of Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, and Guy Pearce in prominent supporting roles. While other Blumhouse movies could get by delivering a handful of solid scares and a cool-looking demon, "Lawless" was a feature that had to deliver the goods in terms of plot and performances among three bootlegging brothers in Prohibition times. In the end, "Lawless" wasn't quite the next "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," but it also wasn't just shooting blanks when it came to delivering good old-fashioned crime drama.

In the general critical reception to "Lawless," John Anderson of The Wall Street Journal stood out as one of its most high-profile defenders, especially taken with how lived-in the world of "Lawless" felt and how that quality immersed you in the plight of its characters. Unfortunately, notable detracts also existed, including Roger Ebert, who commented that the film was handsomely made, but lacked enough humanity for its violence and bloodshed to register as anything worthwhile. Even with all its big-name talent, "Lawless" couldn't quite outrun its critics.

Blumhouse Productions was still in its infancy when "Insidious" hit the big screen. While "Paranormal Activity" in 2009 had proven to be the studio's first box office juggernaut, there was uncertainty surrounding whether or not Blumhouse could keep this momentum going. Was this a fluke? Could microbudget horror movies be profitable in the modern movie landscape on a regular basis? When "Insidious," a $1.5 million horror film about a family trying to protect their comatose kid (Ty Simpkins) from being attacked by spirits, became a sleeper hit, the answer proved to be a definitive "yes." Even better, "Insidious" garnered solid reviews from critics, an indication that Blumhouse could make hits that didn't sacrifice quality for mass appeal. If there was a caveat here, though, it's that "Insidious" did have its share of detractors and that even the most positive reviews admitted that some parts of the project just didn't quite click.

Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club, for example, commended director James Wan for embracing old-school suspense to put the audience on edge rather than just employing rampant, hollow violence. This wasn't enough for critics like Mick LaSalle of SFGATE, though, who admired the scariest moments of "Insidious" but otherwise felt the film fell prey to an overdose of special effects and an overlong runtime. Still, even with criticisms common, "Insidious" did garner more praise than bile, and in the process, a new horror franchise was born.

Many horror films grounded stylized or supernatural frights in horrors of the real world, but some entries do so in a way that's allegorical. "Madres," a 2021 horror title released to Amazon Prime streaming as part of the "Welcome to the Blumhouse" collection, is an example of a horror title going this route but with minimal allegorical flourishes. Much like other modern horror films like "Ready or Not" or "Get Out," "Madres" is a film that includes some sociopolitical and racial conversations alongside the scares. It delivered enough noteworthy qualities to score praise from some critics, who appreciated its blend of frights and social commentary.

Lena Wilson of The New York Times was one of the critics who championed "Madres," even while recognizing that some of its scares didn't quite the mark. Still, Wilson was impressed by the lead performances and the inventive screenplay, courtesy of Marcella Ochoa and Mario Miscione. On the other hand, critics of "Madres" included Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com, for example, who found the production to be a massive misfire, especially regarding its clumsy scares and ham-fisted expository dialogue. This divisive reputation may make "Madres" all the more enticing to horror devotees, though, who will be eager to offer their own opinions on such an evocative work.

Starting around 2015, Blumhouse Productions began to largely focus on horror and thriller movies. While its early days had seen the outfit focus on everything from "Tooth Fairy" to "Insidious," the studio had figured out what kind of movies drew the biggest box office and opted to focus on making the next "Paranormal Activity" rather than family-friendly fare. Some exceptions, of course, are the Spike Lee drama "BlacKkKlansman" and Richard Linklater's long-term musical "Merrily, We Roll Along." A more obscure exception to Blumhouse's horror focus was the 2018 crime thriller "Stockholm," which starred Ethan Hawke and Noomi Rapace as a bank robber and teller during a prolonged hostage situation that turns into something more.

Simon Houpt of The Globe and Mail's negative assessment of "Stockholm" suggests why the film hasn't become more well-known, with this writer stating that the project offered "little psychological insight" into the historical events it chronicles. Still, "Stockholm" had its fans, including Anthony Lane of The New Yorker, who thought the feature offered something for viewers to chew on in between a cavalcade of amiable wacky crime movie antics. "Stockholm" wasn't nearly acclaimed enough to suggest Blumhouse should abandon horror films altogether, but it also drew enough praise to suggest it wasn't a bad idea for the studio to finance something this offbeat.

Just when you think you've seen everything Hollywood could possibly do with vampires, along came the Blumhouse horror movie "Black as Night" to offer a new vision of these bloodsucking creatures. This 2021 teen-starring horror film, set in New Orleans, offered up vampires as a way to talk about economic inequality as well as experiences related to being Black in America. Though obviously not the first movie to use vampires either for weightier interrogations of America nor the first to headline a vampire movie with a Black cast, "Black as Night" still offered enough unique flourishes to garner generally positive remarks from critics.

Catey Sullivan of Chicago Reader applauded "Black as Night" for the ways it depicted how systemic inequality that can be found in everyday reality is even scarier than any fanged monsters as well as how it unabashedly reveled in familiar tropes of goofy horror fare. Stacey Yvonne of Black Girl Nerds similarly praised "Black as Night," in this case for functioning so well as a coming-of-age yarn for its protagonist, though she conceded that the horror elements left her wanting. Though widely acknowledged as being flawed and messy, "Black as Night" was equally recognized as a solid enough movie to serve as evidence for why vampires will never fully fade away from cinematic storytelling.

The resurgence of movies and TV shows taking a cue from "Groundhog Day," telling stories about people reliving the same day over and over, permeated slasher horror fare with "Happy Death Day." Sure, you've seen people having to talk to the same people endlessly, but did Bill Murray have to contend with a knife-wielding maniac in a baby mask? Conceptually, "Happy Death Day," which stars Jessica Rothe and takes place on a college campus, already had plenty to make it different from other pop culture properties about people enduring the same day endlessly, and in execution, those unique factors were maintained to make for a well-received title that thrillingly and comically blurred the lines between genres.

Linda Marric of HeyUGuys praised director Christopher Landon for making a fun, albeit inconsistent, slasher film, while also praising Rothe's performance. That performer was the centerpiece of many positive reviews of "Happy Death Day," with Owen Gielberman of Variety observing that her gift for idiosyncratic fascial expressions made for the best moments of the feature. Thanks to the work of artists like Rothe, not to mention an ability to embrace absurd, dark comedy, "Happy Death Day" was, thankfully, one of those high-concept horror movies that wasn't just unique on paper.

There's something inherently scary about supposedly trustworthy authority figures who can be anything but reliable. The documentary "Our Father," exclusively residing on Netflix, is one of countless examples of this horror — this project centers on Donald Cline, a fertility doctor who inseminated unknowing, non-consenting women with his sperm. This 2022 true-crime documentary, directed by Lucie Jourdan, unravels the scope of his actions in a manner that was mostly praised by critics, but had notable detractors.

Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com was one of the most negative voices on "Our Father," being especially appalled by what he considered tasteless elements like hackneyed staged recreations of Dr. Cline's behavior and an overbearing score. Others, like Lisa Kennedy of The New York Times, found "Our Father" to be "harrowing" and timely in how it approached its real-life story. While there were many approving reviews of "Our Father," an overall mixed reception ensured it wouldn't end up as one of Blumhouse's most acclaimed documentaries.

Serving as her directorial follow-up to her acclaimed 2001 movie "Monsoon Wedding," director Mira Nair got to work with acclaimed performers like Uma Thurman and Juliette Lewis on the HBO original movie "Hysterical Blindness," about two women in 1980s New Jersey looking for romance. Premiering at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival before airing on the network in August of the same year, "Hysterical Blindness" was the first project produced under the Blumhouse banner. It was also an early instance of the company making movies that largely resonated with critics, scoring generally good marks, especially for Lewis and Thurman, who won a Golden Globe for her performance.

Carla Meyer of San Francisco Chronicle thought Thurman was miscast in the film's lead role yet managed to commit herself so deeply to this character that she came back around to being a perfect fit for the role. She also praised Nair's direction and the depiction of flawed but ultimately sympathetic working-class women. While other critics like David Rooney at Variety found the project too "superficial" to meet its goals of being something truly moving, more critics ended up approving of Nair's "Hysterical Blindness" than dismissing it.

Director Ti West has become deeply associated with the horror genre thanks to projects like "The Innkeepers" and "X." However, he made a genre detour in 2016 with a Western entitled "In a Valley of Violence." Headlined by Ethan Hawke and John Travolta, "Violence" signaled West stepping outside of his comfort zone as an artist. Going in such an unexpected direction turned out to be a boon for him creatively. "In a Valley of Violence" scored positive marks from critics, who largely gave off a hearty "yee-haw" for West's modern Western.

Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com attributed the film's creative success to the way West delicately juggled the movie's unique tone, praising how West brought dark humor to the film but didn't allow it to become so omnipresent that it suffocated any attempts at tension. Amy Rowe of New York Daily News similarly praised the unorthodox script and atmosphere of "Violence" and appreciated how West's film stands apart from other entries in the Western canon. Such a bold vision for a Western wasn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, as evidenced by negative reviews penned by folks like Stephanie Zacharek for Time Magazine. By and large, though, "In a Valley of Violence" hit a bullseye for many critics and signaled West's command and versatility as a filmmaker.

While "The Visit" in 2015 had garnered his strongest reviews in years, it wasn't clear at this point if M. Night Shyamalan was truly back to top form as a director. Was that feature just an aberration while 2013's "After Earth" was a truer indicator of his dominant modern filmmaking style? The 2017 feature "Split" reassured Shyamalan devotees that this filmmaker was indeed back. With a positive critical reception, "Split," about a psychopath with dissociative identity disorder who kidnaps young women, doubled down on the promise of "The Visit" as well as garnered leading man James McAvoy tons of praise for his work as the movie's antagonist.

Granted, "Split" inspired controversy, with many taking umbrage with how the production approached its villain's disorder. However, among film critics, "Split" was largely admired, with writers like Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com impressed with Shyamalan's horror sensibilities. Meanwhile, Kimber Myers of The Playlist went so far as to opine that McAvoy was worthy of award season attention for his incredible work inhabiting the various personalities of the film's villain. With praise like this, it's no wonder "Split" reinstated Shyamalan as an exciting horror-thriller director.

By 2018, the once-hallowed ground of the "Halloween" franchise had become a shell of its former self. What was once terrifying was now alternating between self-satirical installments and rigidly derivative remakes. It was time for something drastic to happen if "Halloween" was ever going to get its creative mojo back. This is where Blumhouse Productions came in, recruiting David Gordon Green to helm a proper follow-up to the original 1978 film, with Jamie Lee Curtis coming back as Laurie Strode. This film delivers plenty of stabbings alongside actual dramatic heft to how it explores Laurie's psychological trauma. This was a massive gamble creatively, but it ended up paying off with critics, who gave the 2018 "Halloween" significantly better reviews than most of its predecessors. 

Of course, improved reviews didn't mean this new "Halloween" was a flawless enterprise. Andrea Thompson of Chicago Reader observed that this film still suffered from some of the clumsy writing that other weaker "Halloween" installments were plagued by but noted that these shortcomings were mitigated by how entertaining the movie was in showing Laurie and her family taking on Michael Myers. This positive note, as well as praise for Green's handling of the scares, were scattered throughout the general reviews for the 2018 "Halloween," whose quality resurrected the franchise.

The 2014 film "Oujia" was such a critical disaster that it was only natural for critics to walk into the 2016 follow-up prequel "Oujia: Origin of Evil" with more than a dash of skepticism. While doing more films in this universe sounds like a recipe only for producing cash-grabs, "Origin of Evil" had an ace up its sleeve with director Mike Flanagan. The acclaimed horror auteur also wrote the screenplay with Jeff Howard. Getting this kind of creative team involved resulted in a significantly better critical reception for "Origin of Evil."

Katie Walsh of The Los Angeles Times called "Origin of Evil" "entertaining and creepy," while Jane Horwitz of The Washington Post recognized that aspects of "Origin of Evil" were "derivative" but also praised Flanagan and company for delivering the goods when it came time to executing fun frights for the audience. The production's dedication to making a movie based on a toy have some real heft in its scares and filmmaking resulted in "Origin of Evil" getting widespread acclaim and reaffirming the value of having a horror maestro helm such titles.

Director Christopher Landon had found a winning formula for delivering horror comedies for Blumhouse Productions with the two "Happy Death Day" movies. With the 2020 directorial effort "Freaky," Landon opted to further embrace wacky hijinks in this domain. This time, though, the twist would come not from doing a slasher version of "Groundhog Day," but a slasher version of "Freaky Friday." Specifically, "Freaky" would be about a serial killer (Vince Vaughn) and a high school girl (Kathryn Newton) swapping bodies, causing tons of chaos in the process. A blood-soaked take on something like "The Hot Chick," "Freaky" had just enough successful slaughters and gags to score not just positive marks from critics, but even better reviews than the "Happy Death Day" films.

While acknowledging that aspects of the script's comedy were too familiar for their own good, Roxana Hadadi of Polygon was otherwise deeply entertained by "Freaky" and found it to be a fresh take on old genres while reminding audiences why they liked properties such as body-swap comedies or slasher movies in the first place. Karen Han of Slate, meanwhile, found the film to be so entertaining that it managed to make a story involving countless gruesome deaths something that registered as "feel-good" entertainment. If there was any curiosity over why Landon is so committed to this style of horror cinema, let the positive buzz on "Freaky" speak for itself.

In 2018, there was a movie released to theaters about an everyday guy who suddenly gets imbued with superpowers through science-fiction means that make his body do strange and unpredictable things, with the source of these abilities speaking to this man through a voice only he can hear. What may sound like a pitch for "Venom" is actually the original sci-fi thriller "Upgrade," directed by Leigh Whannell. Though it made nowhere near as much as Tom Hardy's inaugural foray into symbiote adventures, "Upgrade" was a critical hit, with many appreciating its grim atmosphere and how much of a throwback it was to B-movie pictures from years past.

Justin Chang of The Los Angeles Times was one such critic to echo this sentiment, with this critic especially liking how the film was unflinching in being a "nasty" piece of cinema, complete with extremely gory and violent fight scenes. While also praising the unabashedly B-movie nature of "Upgrade," Simran Hans of The Guardian expressed further appreciation for the exciting quality of the film's pulpy action scenes as well as Logan Marshall-Green's playful, "agile" performance. Considering these and other pieces of acclaim and especially the dismal reviews that greeted "Venom," moviegoers would be wise to opt to watch "Upgrade's" take on a similar premise instead.

One of the lesser-known horror franchises in the Blumhouse Productions canon is the "Creep" movies. Part of their obscurity is simply due to these films not being big wide releases delivered by Universal Pictures or Sony/Columbia Pictures, but rather indie titles made under the radar. The lack of notoriety in the "Creep" movies, though, means that they're able to tackle heady material and more unorthodox filmmaking choices that might not fly in a conventional wide release. For the original "Creep," writer/director Patrick Brice created a mostly improvised story with Mark Duplass, playing a videographer recording the last messages of a dying man (Duplass). He employed enough unique elements to win over critics, who were especially impressed that this film managed to do something new with the well-worn terrain of a found-footage movie.

Scott Tobias of The Dissolve found these found-footage flourishes to not necessarily be game-changing alterations to the subgenre but did find there to be enough subtle subversions of expectations for such titles within "Creep" to warrant people checking it out. For John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter, though, what really made "Creep" work was its tone that managed to be quite funny without undercutting or sacrificing all the scary vibes. All these deviations from expectations ensured that "Creep" was a successful Blumhouse horror title, one with enough creative surprises to make one wonder why this series isn't talked about more.

The Universal Monsters have not had a great critical track record in the 21st century. Usually, these creatures have been updated to inhabit big-budget blockbusters like "Van Helsing," "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," "Dracula Untold," or the 2017 reboot "The Mummy." Such features didn't just wipe out at the box office, they also cratered with critics. But at least one of these vintage monsters managed to garner some critical love in 2020 thanks to the Leigh Whannell-directed "The Invisible Man." An update on the classic Claude Rains movie (itself an adaptation of an H.G. Wells novel) that focuses on a woman (Elisabeth Moss) moving on from an abusive tech genius partner (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), "The Invisible Man" proved that Universal Monsters were still capable of chilling moviegoers to the bone and then some.

Much of the praise surrounding "The Invisible Man" centered on its investment in Moss's protagonist and her struggles to carve out a life for herself after an abusive relationship. Tomris Laffly of RogerEbert.com noted that Whannell's screenplay never questioned the character's suspicions that her former partner was tormenting her in an invisible form, allowing the audience to enter her frantic and terrified headspace. Moira MacDonald of The Seattle Times echoed this sentiment with her review, which heavily praised the way Whannell wrung scares out of the tiniest things, like sudden background noises on the soundtrack. With reviews like these, "The Invisible Man" handily avoided becoming the next "The Mummy."

After establishing his filmmaking skills with "Sleight" in 2017, J.D. Dillard returned behind the camera for the 2019 horror film "Sweetheart." This time telling a story set on a deserted island, "Sweetheart" was a classic tale of woman vs. nature, exploring a prolonged fight between a marooned Kiersey Clemons and a humanoid shark monster. This merge of seafaring genre movie goofiness and more insightful internal struggles followed in the footsteps of "Sleight" by succeeding for critics as an example of how to merge the stylized with the deeply human.

John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter gave special kudos to "Sweetheart" for its long sections focused on survival, as well as the creepy reveal of its monster. For his part, Todd Gilchrist of TheWrap appreciated how "Sweetheart" fulfills expectations of what these kind of horror movies would deliver, but does so without sacrificing craftsmanship in the process. Across these and other reviews for "Sweetheart," the lead performance from Clemons was also highlighted as a key reason the thriller worked as well as it did. Some filmmakers would find it hard to follow up a project like "Sleight," but Dillard had no trouble excelling here with "Sweetheart."

It's impossible to overstate the psychological trauma of conversion camps, locations where queer people, mostly teenagers, are sent to "correct" and "erase" their queerness. Watching any interview with or reading anecdotes from survivors of these camps makes it apparent how the sheer weight of all this torment can be difficult to properly convey in any form. The 2021 documentary "Pray Away," produced by Blumhouse along with several other production outfits, attempts to explore this traumatizing subject matter through assorted interviews with queer people who've endured conversion therapy. There are also segments talking to those who were in charge of overseeing and enacting these dehumanizing procedures.

Critics were generally positive in their assessments of this documentary, which is helmed by Kristine Stolakis, with Andrea Thompson of A Reel of One's Own especially appreciating that the documentary doesn't frame conversion therapy as a horror of the past, but rather something that continues to be practiced in the modern world. Similar praise about "Pray Away's" willingness to ground its story in the modern world was expressed in Carlos Aguilar's review for The Los Angeles Times, with this writer also commending the raw emotions captured in the interview segments. It's doubtful any film can be a perfect representation of the traumatic horrors of the conversion therapy experience, but "Pray Away" still made for an effective vessel for the experiences of those who've endured this torment.

Reality truly can be stranger than fiction. For proof of this, look no further than "BlacKkKlansman," which tells the true story of how one Black police officer (John David Washington) established himself as a member of a local Klu Klux Klan chapter to help foil potential domestic terror threats. It's a yarn full of unexpected twists, dark humor, and harrowing parallels to 21st-century America meant to suggest how the world has barely budged in its stance on racial issues in the last few decades. This complex tone and fiery call to action, not to mention its superb filmmaking, makes "BlacKkKlansman" a quintessential Spike Lee joint. The widespread acclaim that greeted 2018's "BlacKkKlansman" further tied into the director's larger body of work by echoing the kind of reception that greeted past Lee masterpieces like "25th Hour" and "Do the Right Thing."

Robert Daniels of 812filmreviews also commented on how "BlacKkKlansman" tied into Lee's legacy as an artist, noting that the film is a major work that positions Lee as one of the greatest filmmakers working today. An especially notable aspect of this director's craft in "BlacKkKlansman," as noted by Graham Fuller of Culture Trip, was Lee's use of cinema's past, including visual references to Blaxploitation and recurring clips to old Hollywood films like "The Birth of a Nation" and "Gone with the Wind." Few can properly incorporate filmmaking of earlier eras, or deliver movies this well-made, as "BlacKkKlansman" auteur Spike Lee.

Mark Duplass' sociopathic killer from the original "Creep" returned to slaughter more people with the 2017 feature "Creep 2," with its predecessor's writer-director, Patrick Brice, returning for the follow-up. Though horror sequels can sometimes end up being inferior retreads of once-trailblazing scary stories, "Creep 2," thankfully, managed to avoid this common fate, though the premise — a man (Duplass) who brings videographers to his remote home and then kills them — remains intact. In fact, critics gave it even more positive marks than the first "Creep," with many finding it a good example of how a sequel can boost its scope without sacrificing quality in the process.

For Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club, there was no question that "Creep 2" was a superior movie to its predecessor, with McLevy finding everything in "Creep 2," especially the filmmaking, to be bursting with way more confidence and expertise compared to that earlier title. Eric Kohn of IndieWire also praised franchise newcomer Desiree Akhavan for her performance in "Creep 2" and chemistry with Duplass. Within these and other reviews of "Creep 2," there was a recurring appreciative sentiment toward this sequel's refusal to rely simply on what worked in the first "Creep." Showing this kind of willingness to try new things is how you avoid making a crummy horror sequel and end up with something as acclaimed as "Creep 2."

"Not anyone can be a great artist, but a great can come from anywhere." So said Anton Ego in "Ratatouille," an undeniable truth in any medium of artistic expression, including Broadway musicals. This includes the world of industrial musicals, which are usually done to boost morale or convey company goals within the walls of a company. They may not have the artistic aspirations of a Howard Ashman musical, but for someone like comedy writer Steve Young, there's something fascinating about these productions. Dava Whisenant's "Bathtubs Over Broadway" is a documentary told through the eyes of Young as he explores the history of industrial musicals and even interviews cast and crew members of some of these endeavors. 

It may sound like a singularly strange premise to build a documentary on, but "Bathtubs Over Broadway" didn't just manage to wring a feature-length production out of this concept; it managed to also score universal acclaim for its efforts, becoming Blumhouse Productions' most well-received film. Chris Jones of The Chicago Tribune, for one, was impressed by how "Bathtubs Over Broadway" exemplified that talented performers can be found in any kind of material, no matter how cynical or ridiculous, while critics like G. Allen Johnson of The San Francisco Chronicle applauded "Bathtubs Over Broadway" for being deeply entertaining and funny. While the reasons behind the praise varied, critics everywhere found "Bathtubs Over Broadway" to be a fantastic cinematic appreciation for how artists can come from anywhere, even the most obscure of musicals.