It's always interesting to look back on each decade and see the best and worst horror movies. The 2010s had some gems, from creative horror comedies like The Cabin In The Woods (2011) and Happy Death Day (2017) to meaningful and well-told movies like It Follows (2014) and Get Out (2017). This decade in particular had a great blend of subgenres, which kept horror fans interested and thrilled by several new releases.
While these films are great, there are some less impressive horror movies from the 2010s, from two prequels to a film starring Nicolas Cage that doesn't make a lot of sense.
Cabin Fever: Patient Zero (2014)
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It's easy to forget that Cabin Fever is a franchise because Eli Roth's 2002 film sticks out since a horror story about a flesh eating virus is pretty gross. There's a prequel movie from 2014 called Cabin Fever: Patient Zero and while prequels often serve to explain necessary and exciting backstory, this movie doesn't add much information.
Dr. Edwards (Currie Graham) travels to a lab on an island to work with Porter (Sean Austin), who has flesh-eating bacteria inside of him. Porter has to isolate, but of course, he doesn't love that idea, and horror fans can guess from the very start of the movie that he will get out and problems will ensue. Horror movie remakes can leave a lot to be desired and fans might not be that excited by the 2016 Cabin Fever remake or by the 2014 prequel.
Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)
While Mike Flanagan is an incredible storyteller, and the Netflix series Midnight Mass is impressive, along with The Haunting Of Hill House, Ouija: Origin Of Evil doesn't stand out from the crowded horror movie landscape. Elizabeth Reaser plays Alice Zander, who lives with her children Paulina (Annalise Basso) and Doris (Lulu Wilson). Alice is a medium who is doing her best to support her kids after the death of her husband and their father.
The movie is a prequel to 2014's Ouija, which is a middle of the road film about ghosts, teenagers, and the famous Ouija board. It's not the worst teen horror movie, but it's not quite captivating enough to need a prequel, and neither movie will do much for horror fans who are used to seeing lots of movies about families or high schoolers affected by the supernatural.
Wish Upon (2017)
Joey King plays Claire Shannon in Wish Upon, a movie that takes the classic saying "Be careful what you wish for" and makes it a terrifying nightmare for one teenage girl. Claire is mourning her mother's death and feeling horrible about her life. Jonathan, Claire's dad (Ryan Phillippe), finds a music box and figures that this will be a great gift, but of course, there's more to the story. The music box is evil and while Claire can think of seven wishes, someone will die for each wish.
Unlike underrated teen horror movies, Wish Upon has a concept that seems too simple and easily explained, so it doesn't feel thrilling to watch the film and see what's going to happen. The ending is also so dark that it might make audiences wonder why they sat through the run time as it just doesn't satisfy.
Mom And Dad (2017)
Nicolas Cage has some great horror movie performances... and he has some not so great ones, too. The 2016 movie Mom And Dad is a confusing mess, with Cage playing Brent and Selma Blair playing his wife Kendall. Sometimes a horror movie has a creative concept and fans want to check it out to see if it's as strange yet cool as the premise suggests.
In the case of Mom And Dad, the idea is wild, but the execution will leave horror fans wanting. Brent and Kendall are among parents who start murdering their kids. The movie's run time is a brief 83 minutes and nothing makes much sense in the movie, leaving fans with a very light story. Why do the parents start acting this way? The explanation that they simply "go nuts" doesn't feel good enough.
The Intruder (2019)
The Intruder is a different kind of haunted house horror movie where the owner of a house in Napa Valley won't let go. Charlie Peck (Dennis Quaid) sells his home to Annie (Meaghan Good) and Scott Russell (Michael Ealy), and Charlie constantly comes by the house, which worries the new owners. It doesn't seem like he's going to leave them alone.
The problem with The Intruder is that it's just so obvious what is happening. Audiences know Charlie is evil and Annie and Scott are good. But with so many horror movies coming out all the time, is that really enough to hook people into watching an entire film?