MovieChat Forums > Horror > Remember when critics used to hate horro...

Remember when critics used to hate horror? What has changed? RT inflation.

posted a year ago by [deleted]
7 replies | jump to latest

I remember. Crazy how many critics love horror now. I think a big part of it is the looser requirements to be a 'critic'. Many verified critics on RT are now youtubers who review movies. It seems anyone can be a critic these days. Another thing is of course the whole hipster horror 'elevated horror' PR nonsense. Trying to distance themselves from the genre.

RottenTomatoes scores. Ceritified fresh film are bolded;

Final Destination (2000) - 35%
The Others (2001) - 84%
Resident Evil (2002) - 35%
The Ring (2002) - 71%
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) - 37%
Final Destination 2 (2003) - 48%
Saw (2004) - 49%
Saw II (2005) - 37%
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) - 15%
Saw III (2006) - 30%
Final Destination 3 (2006) - 43%
The Hills Have Eyes (2006) - 52%
Silent Hill (2006) - 31%
The Mist (2007) - 72%
Halloween (2007) - 28%
Friday the 13th (2009) - 25%
Insidious (2010) - 66%
The Thing (2011) - 34%
Sinister (2012) - 63%
Evil Dead (2013) - 63%
The Conjuring (2013) - 86%

Scores for 2022 films. All 'certified fresh'.

X - 94%
Prey - 93%
Barbarian - 92%
Piggy - 92%
Deadstream - 91%
Pearl - 91%
The Menu - 88%
Watcher - 87%
Bodies Bodies Bodies - 86%
Terrifier 2 - 86%
Speak No Evil - 85%
The Black Phone - 83%
Nope - 82%
Resurrection - 82%
Crimes of the Future - 80%
Smile - 80%
Scream - 76%

How does a film like Terrifier 2 (which I love, don't get me wrong but come on we're talking 'critics' here) get a higher score than Final Destination, The Others, The Ring, Saw, The Mist, Insidious, Sinister, Evil Dead etc.

[–] [deleted] a year ago

The 'elevated horror' cringefest wankathon definitely helped push the narrative that horror can be critically acclaimed. Before it was considered poor taste.

It Follows (2014) - 95%
The Babadook (2014) - 98%
The Witch (2015) - 90%

That seems to be when the tide turned.

Get Out (2017) - 98%
Hereditary (2018) - 90%
Midsommar (2019) - 83%
Us (2019) - 93%
The Lighthouse (2019) - 90%
Lamb (2021) - 86%

[–] Kowalski (60730) a year ago

WHY DOO YOU SAY DUMB SHIT LIKE "CRINGEFEST" AND "WANKATHON"...SOUNDS REALLY FUCKING EMBARRASSING...BEYOND THAT...THE REASON FOR HORROR GROWING IN CRITICAL RESPONSE IS TIME...AS TIME GOES BY THE PEOPLE WHO GREW UP ENJOYING HORROR BECOME THE PEOPLE MAKING AND REVIEWING THE FILMS. NOEMOJI

[–] [deleted] a year ago

Historical horror (these aren't even accurate to what their scores would have been at release, many reviews are from when the films are several decades old and already 'certified classics' which gives them bonus points for nostalgia, influence etc)

The Exorcist (1973) - 84%
Black Christmas (1974) - 71%
The Omen (1976) - 84%
The Shining (1980) - 82%
Friday the 13th (1980) - 63%
The Howling (1981) - 74%
The Thing (1982) - 84%
Videodrome (1983) - 80%
Hellraiser (1987) - 70%
Candyman (1992) - 79%
Scream (1996) - 80%
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) - 43%

These films are sub Terrifier 2, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Deadstream, Watcher, Piggy, Barbarian, X, Prey etc.

[–] FunkyVerb (6) a year ago

I've thought about this too. If Terrifier 2 (the exact same movie, no changes) was released in 2005 then it would have gotten like a 40% on RT, and critics would have criticized how mean spirited and pointless the violence is. But nowadays critics seem to "get" horror a lot more than they used to for some reason. Maybe the rise of artsy horror has made critics more willing to praise non-artsy horror movies too.

[–] [deleted] a year ago

I think a huge part is the booming business of being a 'movie critic' online. RT is constantly adding many new verified critics, some of whom I recognize who are simply youtubers who review and discuss movies. Anyone can be a critic now.

It's now a less snobby and high brow field of work due to the influx. Previously being a critic came with some gravitas, you probably worked for a newspaper/magazine or beginning in the mid-00s a website and you likely came from some writing or journalistic background.

Thanks for the reply by the way. I know that I'm right but I did want to discuss this with others, it's most definitely a thing that's happened. Horror was trashed for so long and now every second horror film is getting glowing reviews across the board. Even low budget splatter-fests (Terrifier 2) or goofy found footage comedies (Deadstream).

As for Terrifier 2, yeah I wouldn't be surprised if you plonked it down in 2005 and it got a 20% rating. The fact is has a higher RT score than a film like The Others (2001) which is as classy and high brow a horror you'll come across that is also legitimately well made (good production values and acting) is so bizarre.

When discussing Box Office results people need to account for inflation. That likely needs to be done going forward for critical evaluations of horror films. It ain't what it used to be.

[–] FunkyVerb (6) a year ago

That's a good point. I don't follow specific movie critics so I don't know how the industry works currently, but I would imagine that a lot of critics only review movies that align with ther personal social media brand. The critics who would hate Terrifier 2 probably aren't reviewing it at all, because they know that their social media followers only want to hear about dramas or something. Media has become so broad and niche-focused now that there's probably no need for there to be critics who cover all types of movies. (That's just my guess, I don't actually know what I'm talking about lol)

[–] [deleted] a year ago

You are correct and you make a good point.

Previously movie critics would tackle all sorts of movies. That's how you got some of them giving extremely dismissive reviews of horror, because they didn't actually like the genre and only reviewed it because it was their job to do so.

There is basically a 'horror community' on Youtube. A bunch of what I call 'horror mains' (it's by far their favorite genre), they almost only post about horror movies. That's how I recognized them on RottenTomatoes because I've seen their videos on YT. So people like this are pretty much exclusively reviewing horror and giving them mostly positive reviews whilst it seems other critics who don't care for the genre aren't reviewing them anymore, at least not to the same extent.