Horror fans are worshipful of the genre's heroes, but even the most legendary scare makers have a mummified turkey or ten in their filmography.
Whether attempting to recapture the spirit of their beloved classics or trying to switch genres to court mainstream appeal, some of horror's most celebrated directors have made career missteps over the years, while others have entered decade-long phases of irrelevance that they struggle to come back from. Below, we list ten of Rotten Tomatoes' lowest-rated films by horror genre greats.
For Love of the Game (1999) - 45%
Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) is an aging pitcher approaching the conclusion of his career, with only one big game standing between him and retirement. But as he reflects on his accomplishments, the memories he's made with single mom Jane Aubrey (Kelly Preston) keep cropping up, making the fact that she's ready to break up with him even more painful.
Critics appreciated the on-field portions of this Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Drag Me to Hell) directed sports drama, but they were less-than-moved by its soppy central romance.
M. Butterfly (1993) - 43%
In the 1960s, French diplomat to China René Gallimard (Jeremy Irons) falls for Beijing opera singer named Song Liling (John Lone). The two embark on a love affair, with René not only unaware that Song is actually a spy, but ignorant (purposefully or not) that his lover is a male performer in female dress.
Before body-horror maestro David Cronenberg (Videodrome, The Fly) had worked out the kinks in his approach to straight-up dramas (i.e. Spider, Eastern Promises), he tipped a bit too far into soap opera territory with this pallid adaptation of David Henry Hwang's Tony Award-winning play.
Survival of the Dead (2010) - 30%
A regiment of soldiers wanders the post-apocalyptic wastes under the command of Sarge Crockett (Alan Van Sprang), contending with zombie hordes and living off of whatever supplies they can salvage. When they catch wind of a place called Plum Island, a safe harbor for those trying to survive, it sounds too good to be true...and it is. Rather than a land of peace and plenty, Plum Island is ravaged by two warring family factions who have wildly at odds ideas about how to deal with the undead.
George Romero's last entry in his "Dead" series (and final feature film release before his death) is worlds away from the still-sharp social commentary of Night/Dawn/Day of the Dead in terms of both quality and messaging.
Burying the Ex (2015) - 28%
When a freak accident saves Max (Anton Yelchin) the trouble of having to break it off with his overbearing girlfriend, Evelyn (Greene) he counts his lucky stars. In the wake of the accident, he meets his perfect match in Olivia (Alexandra Daddario), but there's trouble in paradise when Evelyn returns from the dead still carrying a torch for Max.
This "modest return-to-form" by Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling) is worthwhile for a central performance by the gone-too-soon Yelchin, but otherwise, lacks the impish comic flair of his most celebrated work.
The Mangler (1994) - 27%
Detective John Hunton (Ted Levine) is investigating an accidental death at a laundry mat. Short of any other explanation, Hunton starts to believe that a folding machine may have something to do with the murders, and Bill Gartley (Robert Englund) the man who runs the business, may know more about the possessed machine than he's letting on.
It's arguable that no horror director had a harder time escaping career doldrums than Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), but The Mangler is bad even by his own basement-low standards.
Ghosts of Mars (2001) - 22%
In the far-flung future, Mars is a developed mining colony with a human population numbering in the thousands. When a task force is sent out to bring a felon from an outpost back to civilization, its soon apparent that the planetary extractions have uncovered the remnants of an ancient warrior race of Martians who have nothing but vicious contempt for Earth's colonists.
Few horror filmmakers flew as high as John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing) at his apex, but the director's post-80s work leaves a lot to be desired. Case in point, this 2001 camp-fest that lacks the style hand and scare craft that solidified the term, Carpenteresque.
Dead Silence (2007) - 20%
After the brutal death of his wife, Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) seeks to clarify the circumstances surrounding her murder by returning to their childhood home. As he gets to know the denizens of Ravens Fair, he hears the tale of Mary Shaw, a wronged puppet maker who supposedly haunts them, and starts to believe that the legendary curse may have something to do with his departed wife's cruel fate.
James Wan (Aquaman, Insidious) has gone on to bigger, better things, but his first go 'round with killer puppets (Saw doesn't technically count) was widely-panned and displayed little of the skill he'd later bring to the horror genre.
The Phantom of the Opera (1998) - 13%
In this retelling of Gaston Leroux's immortal novel, Asia Argento stars as Christine Daaé, the ingenue thrust into the spotlight by a mysterious admirer: the Phantom (Julian Sands) who inhabits the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera house.
Italian master of the macabre Dario Argento has had quite a few duds to his name, but this adaptation is his absolute worst. Unsexy and ugly, with a ridiculous performance by Sands as a conspicuously not-disfigured cavern dweller raised by rats, avoid this Phantom at all costs.
Space Truckers (1997) - 8%
When space trucker John Canyon (Dennis Hopper) and his fiancee are tasked with hauling an unmarked load to Earth, they're unaware that the cargo contains a fleet of killer robots, until a pack of pirates hijack their vehicle, unleashing the deadly and unstoppable force.
Frequent Lovecraft adapter Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, Dagon) is woefully out of his element directing this hammy actioner, the kindest critical review of which calls, "unquestionably terrible, but [...] rather fun."
The Hills Have Eyes, Part 2 (1985) - 0%
Eight years after Bobby (Robert Houston) witnessed his family's torture and destruction at the hands of a clan of desert cannibals, he tries to live a normal life and manage a motocross business. Ruby (Janus Blythe), the only member of the cannibals who helped him escape, assists him in this endeavor and working through their shared trauma, but things revert to savagery when her bloodthirsty family re-emerges to wreak havoc again.
Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream) only did this follow-up to his classic desert shocker for a paycheck, and it's obvious. Padded with clips from the first film and featuring an infamously ludicrous dog POV flashback, The Hills Have Eyes, Part 2 is a waste of time and talent.