Step aside Voorhees, we got another Jason killing it at the movies. After just a few years, starting with Paranormal Activity, producer Jason Blum and his Blumhouse Productions have changed the horror landscape with its brand of so-called ‘low budget, high concept’ releases, carving out a spectacular niche in a market that has seen the alleged demise of mid-budget movies and utter reliance on superhero flicks and blockbusters. Continuing this month’s focus on all things spooky, our gallery looks at 24 best and worst Blumhouse horror movies by Tomatometer (and don’t forget to read our Five Favorite Horror Films with the guy himself).
Get Out (2017, 99%)
Critics Consensus: Funny, scary, and thought-provoking, Get Out seamlessly weaves its trenchant social
critiques into a brilliantly effective and entertaining horror/comedy thrill ride.
Creep (2015, 96%)
Critics Consensus: A smart, odball take on found-footage horror, Creep is clever and well-acted enough
to keep viewers on the edges of their seats.
The Gift (2015, 92%)
Critics Consensus: The Gift is wickedly smart and playfully subversive, challenging the audience’s
expectations while leaving them leaning on the edges of their seats.
Paranormal Activity (2009, 83%)
Critics Consensus: Using its low-budget effects and mockumentary method to great result, Paranormal
Activity turns a simple haunted house story into 90 minutes of relentless suspense.
Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016, 82%)
Critics Consensus: Ouija: Origin of Evil swerves its franchise’s planchette unexpectedly to YES with a
surprisingly scary and dramatically satisfying follow-up to its lackluster predecessor.
The Bay (2012, 77%)
Critics Consensus: Barry Levinson’s eco-horror flick cleverly utilizes familiar found-footage methods in service
of a gruesome yet atmospheric chiller.
Split (2017, 74%)
Critics Consensus: Split serves as a dramatic tour de force for James McAvoy in multiple roles — and
finds writer-director M. Night Shyamalan returning resoundingly to thrilling form.
Oculus (2014, 72%)
Critics Consensus: With an emphasis on dread over gore and an ending that leaves the door wide open for sequels,
Oculus could be just the first spine-tingling chapter in a new franchise for discerning horror fans.
Insidious (2011, 66%)
Critics Consensus: Aside from a shaky final act, Insidious is a very scary and very fun haunted house
thrill ride.
The Visit (2015, 65%)
Critics Consensus: The Visit provides horror fans with a satisfying blend of thrills and laughs — and
also signals a welcome return to form for writer-director M. Night Shyamalan.
Sinister (2012, 63%)
Critics Consensus: Its plot hinges on typically implausible horror-movie behavior and recycles countless genre
cliches, but Sinister delivers a surprising number of fresh, diabolical twists.
Unfriended (2015, 62%)
Critics Consensus: Unfriended subverts found-footage horror clichés to deliver a surprisingly scary
entry in the teen slasher genre with a technological twist.
The Belko Experiment (2017, 54%)
Critics Consensus: The Belko Experiment offers a few moments of lurid fun for genre enthusiasts, but
lacks enough subversive smarts to consistently engage once the carnage kicks in.
Viral (2016, 50%)
Critics Consensus: Two teenage sisters barricade themselves at home after a parasitic virus strikes the
neighborhood.
The Lords of Salem (2013, 45%)
Critics Consensus: The Lords of Salem has lots of atmospheric portent, but it’s unfortunately short on
scares.
Dark Skies (2013, 40%)
Critics Consensus: Dark Skies writer director Scott Stewart has a solid cast, an interesting premise,
and some admirable ambitions, but he can’t figure out what to do with any of them, and the result is a dull,
muddled effort that will bore all but the most devoted horror buffs.
The Purge (2013, 38%)
Critics Consensus: Half social allegory, half home-invasion thriller, The Purge attempts to make an
intelligent point, but ultimately devolves into numbing violence and tired clichés.
The Green Inferno (2015, 33%)
Critics Consensus: The Green Inferno may not win writer-director Eli Roth many new converts, but fans
of his flair for gory spectacle should find it a suitably gruesome diversion.
Area 51 (2015, 17%)
Critics Consensus: Paranormal Activty director Oren Peli’s long-gestating passion project failed to
ignite at the box office or with critics.
The Gallows (2015, 16%)
Critics Consensus: Narratively contrived and visually a mess, The Gallows sends viewers on a shaky
tumble to the bottom of the found-footage horror barrel.
The Lazarus Effect (2015, 15%)
Critics Consensus: The Lazarus Effect has a talented cast and the glimmer of an interesting idea, but
wastes it all on insipid characters and dull, recycled plot points.
Incarnate (2016, 15%)
Critics Consensus: Incarnate can’t be accused of lack of ideas — if only any of them made sense or
coalesced in any meaningful or scary way.
Martyrs (2016, 6%)
Critics Consensus: Martyrs flays off everything that gave the original its icy horrific beauty, leaving
us an empty, pointless remake.
The Darkness (2016, 4%)
Critics Consensus: The Darkness clumsily relies on an assortment of genre tropes, leaving only the
decidedly non-frightening ghost of superior horror films in its wake.
