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8 Horror Movies That Were Ahead Of Their Time

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Mist Ahead Of Its Time

Saying a movie is ahead of its time can have two different meanings: 1) The film pioneered a specific filmmaking technique or 2) The film was maligned upon release and is now considered a classic. What I’ve done is look at horror films released over the past few decades and see what films I believe to truly be ahead of their time.

Psycho

First the funny bit of trivia: Psycho was the first film to show a toilet flushing on camera! Now for the serious bit of trivia: Psycho was not universally praised upon its initial release (nearly all British film critics panned it)! Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote, “There is not an abundance of subtlety or the lately familiar Hitchcock bent toward significant and colorful scenery in this obviously low-budget job.” Interestingly enough, Psycho didn’t garner widespread critical acclaim until after the film’s popularity with general audiences skyrocketed it to box office success, prompting many critics to revisit the film.

Psycho Toilet Flush

The Thing (1982)

While it’s a well-known fact, it still merits mentioning that John Carpenter’s The Thing was much-maligned when it was released in 1982. Another New York Times critic (Vincent Canby, this time) called it “a foolish, depressing, overproduced movie that mixes horror with science fiction to make something that is fun as neither one thing or the other. Sometimes it looks as if it aspired to be the quintessential moron movie of the 80s.” The score was even nominated for a Razzie award! Add to that the fact that The Thing was released the same summer as E.T., audiences just weren’t in the mood for an intense killer alien film. It was a box office flop, taking in only $19.6 million (on a $15 million budget). Here is more of Canby’s review:

The Thing

Jurassic Park 

I’m sure many of you re-watched Jurassic Park recently, and if so then you probably noticed that the CGI effects are better than about 90% of the films that come out nowadays (they even look better than the CGI effects in Jurassic World!). I have no idea how that is possible, but Jurassic Park has definitely stood the test of time.

Jurassic Park

Starship Troopers

Thank God for international box office, otherwise Starship Troopers would have been a major flop. America just wasn’t ready for an anti-war dark satire film in 1997. Had it come out after the Iraq war had already begun, it might have been slightly better received. To be clear, Starship Troopers is a brilliantly entertaining film, it just came out a few years too early. Like Jurassic Park, the special effects are top notch, and still look good today.

Starship Troopers

American Psycho

While not as acidic as the Brett Easton Ellis novel it is based on, Mary Harron’s American Psycho adaptation was incredibly polarizing in 2000. Making only $15 million (on an admittedly low $7 million budget), the film’s humor wasn’t interpreted very well by audiences at the time. Had the film come out today, it might have clicked more with audiences.

American Psycho

Videodrome

I don’t like Videodrome (don’t hate me!), but I can’t deny that David Cronenberg was really on to something when he wrote it. The film essentially boils down to the idea that people are obsessed with their television (this is a very simplistic explanation for the film). This idea is more timely than ever right now, with DVR and the ever-growing presence of TV as a discussion topic. I write TV reviews for Bloody-Disgusting. I get it. The topics of violence and sex on our TV screens was also ahead of its time in 1983, with TV today pushing more boundaries than ever. Videodrome probably makes more sense today than it did to anyone in the 80s. The fact that it is more relevant today than it was back then earns it a spot on this list.

Videodrome

The Shining

We all know how Stephen King hates Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of his novel The Shining, but what you may not know is that many critics weren’t too keen on the film upon its release either. Variety complained that it “destroy[ed] all that was so terrifying about Stephen King’s bestseller.” Kubrick and Shelley Duvall were nominated for Razzie Awards for Worst Director and worst Actress, respectively. Roger Ebert even claimed that it was hard to connect with any of the characters. Oh how time changes things.

The Shining

The Mist

The Mist is notable for having one of the most depressing endings in film history. Released back in 2007, mainstream audiences just didn’t want to be depressed. That’s not to say people want to be depressed now, but with shows like Hannibal, Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead preparing them for major character deaths, they’re a bit more prepared for it. Had The Mist come out this year, it probably would have done much better at the box office. Needless to say, many people walked out of the theater wanting to do this:

The Mist

What other horror films do you believe were ahead of their time? Let me know in the comments below!

A journalist for Bloody Disgusting since 2015, Trace writes film reviews and editorials, as well as co-hosts Bloody Disgusting's Horror Queers podcast, which looks at horror films through a queer lens. He has since become dedicated to amplifying queer voices in the horror community, while also injecting his own personal flair into film discourse. Trace lives in Austin, TX with his husband and their two dogs. Find him on Twitter @TracedThurman

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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