Blumhouse Productions has definitely become the gold standard in horror movie production, known for movies ranging from Ouija to Dark Skies to Happy Death Day and the new Halloween trilogy. When Blumhouse releases a new film, horror fans know that it's typically going to be fun, entertaining, and terrifying. It's exciting to see what new Blumhouse films are coming out each year. The budgets of Blumhouse movies are $3 million-$5 million, according to Deadline, an interesting formula that works well.
But while there are several movies from Blumhouse that are critically acclaimed and that excite audiences with fresh takes on horror topics, there are some films from Blumhouse that aren't as thrilling or unique.
Updated on October 20, 2022 by Aya Tsintziras: Blumhouse continues to release fun horror films that fans can't wait to check out. Most recently, audiences are going to the theater to see Halloween Ends, the final film in David Gordon Green's trilogy that promises that Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers will finally have it out.
Upcoming Blumhouse releases include M3GAN and Insidious: Fear the Dark in early 2023. But while many Blumhouse films are favorites among those who love this genre, there are some Blumhouse horror movies that don't live up to the rest. One of them is Blumhouse Fantasy Island.
Seven In Heaven (2018)
In this movie which was released on Netflix, Jude (Travis Tope) and June (Haley Ramm) are attracted to each other, and when they play "Seven minutes in heaven" in a closet during a party, they leave the closet and are in a different reality than their usual one.
In this new world, Jude has murdered Derek (Jake Manley) and everything feels like it's spiraling out of control. Instead of an interesting vague horror movie ending, Seven in Heaven ends with Jude realizing that he's about to be part of the same reality again where he has ended Derek's life. This doesn't feel all that compelling and it would be more exciting to watch Jude take control of the horrifying situation and make sure that it doesn't happen ever again. It's not a very memorable film.
Truth Or Dare (2018)
Lucy Hale of Pretty Little Liars fame starred in the 2018 horror movie Truth Or Dare, which takes the famous party game and turns it on its head. This time around, Olivia (Hale) and her friends play truth or dare and learn that if they don't listen to the game's dark and disturbing demands, they will be murdered.
While this premise sounds exciting, the film is boring, and instead of being a bad guilty pleasure movie, Truth Or Dare leaves audiences wanting more character development and more rules around the game. At the end, Olivia shares the rules on YouTube, but she doesn't stop the evil from continuing and it's clear that anyone who plays next will be caught up in this evil cycle. The film would be much better if it had a real resolution and if Olivia had figured out how to beat the game.
Fantasy Island (2020)
While some horror movies deserve reboots, sometimes a beloved TV show doesn't need to be turned into a film. Although the 1970s TV show Fantasy Island is beloved, the 2020 movie feels dull and hard to get excited about.
A cast of characters have been invited to this island to make their dreams come true, but they each have a tragic background and so these "fantasies" end up being totally miserable and disturbing. Melanie (Lucy Hale) got revenge on a mean classmate but then has to stop Sloane (Portia Doubleday) from being killed, which she doesn't deserve. And Gwen (Maggie Q) is sad about not getting engaged to her one true love. Soon the main characters have to fight to survive, but it doesn't feel as fun or entertaining as a typical horror movie battle. The movie doesn't have a satisfying horror film ending, either.
Black Christmas (2019)
While there are many scary holiday horror movies, the 2019 Black Christmas remake isn't all that great. The original 1974 Black Christmas movie is definitely the best one, with the 2006 remake being a little better than the 2019 film, which is pretty lackluster.
Riley (Imogen Poots) is a college student who is part of a sorority at Hawthorne College. When her fellow students start getting killed, Riley looks into it and learns that the fraternity members are murdering women. While the movie attemps to look at sexism and sexual assault, it doesn't have anything very meaningful to say about either of these topics, and it feels dull instead of feminist.
The Gallows (2015)
There are several underrated found footage movies, but The Gallows isn't very good and isn't well-loved by critics or audiences. It has an Audience Score of 22% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 14% rating on the Tomatometer. The movie is set in 2013, a decade after the tragic death of Beatrice High School student Charlie (Jesse Cross). Students are working on the same play, The Gallows, and experiencing some scary moments.
While the film tries to tell the story in a different way, the fact that it's a found footage movie doesn't help much since it doesn't feel that compelling or entertaining. The Gallows is a movie that is easy to forget about as it just doesn't stand out. The second film is also considered an unnecessary Blumhouse horror sequel.
Dashcam (2022)
After Rob Savage's impressive 2020 film Host, which was filmed entirely on Zoom and features characters video chatting and finding a supernatural presence in their homes, the director's 2022 effort Dashcam hasn't made the same impression. It's a disappointing, underwhelming story and fans/critics didn't love it.
The main character, Annie Hardy, is famous for her right wing beliefs and travels to London, England from L.A. during the COVID-19 pandemic. Annie and Jemma Moore (Gemma) fight about politics. While the Alien movies are political and there's definitely room for this in the horror and science-fiction genres, Dashcam isn't scary or particularly interesting. It feels like the characters are rehasing arguments and conversations that audiences have heard too many times by now. Host is the most important 2020 movie and the fact that it's all on Zoom is familiar and new at the same time, but Dashcam doesn't land.
Firestarter (2022)
The Firestarter remake from 2022 is a lot like other Stephen King adaptations: underwhelming and not very exciting. Andy (Zac Efron) and Vicky (Sydney Lemmon) McGee try to keep young Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) safe, but nothing can stop her incredible ability to create fire. Without new characters or a different location or even a new plot point, it's hard to know what makes this stand out from the original.
Some Stephen King adaptations are underrated and others don't capture the reason why fans love his books so much: the strong storytelling and vivid characters. Ultimately, fans of the original film will likely want to just keep watching that as nothing fresh is added to Charlie's journey. Like the first movie, this one sees Charlie's secret being revealed and she has to run away in order to save herself, but the obstacles put in her way just aren't that exciting.
A House On The Bayou (2021)
The 2021 Blumhouse movie A House On The Bayou didn't make much of a splash and can be considered another underwhelming release from the company. Jessica (Angela Sarafyan) and John Chambers (Paul Schneider) are at an impass in their marriage and go on a trip with their daughter Anna (Lia McHugh). As is clear from the trailer, something is awry there, and the family is fighting for survival instead of mending their problems.
Unlike the best female-led Blumhouse horror movies, A House On The Bayou doesn't have the character development present in many other films. The couple feels ordinary and audiences will feel like they have seen them many times before. The terror that the family faces might be creepy, but at the same time, it's likely easy for horror fans to guess since the obvious puzzle pieces are there from the start.