Movies that Should Have Been Better Than They Were

I like thrillers, supernatural movies, hard-core terror---or any generally creepy film. The worst thing you can do to a true horror fan is to tease her with a fantastic trailer, only to deliver results that barely scratch the surface. Sometimes the filmmaker's intent is on point, but the delivery is lackluster. Other times, the directors go overboard in trying to ram a story down our throats. Executing a stellar idea on screen takes some careful manipulation. Here are a few movies that had potential to be much better than they actually were.

Here's one film I really wanted to like. The star players seemed interesting. I'd never seen Cameron Diaz in this kind of role and was willing to give her a chance. Even the plot (a remake of Twilight Zones past) was intriguing. Surely, a modern spin would be fun, right? Even though the director used a period setting to tell the story, things just seemed to spiral rapidly out of control. The stunning, yet convoluted imagery completely stole the show---and not in a good way. Even though I got the references and understood the ending, I was left feeling that I'd spent 2 hours solving a calculus problem.

"The Fourth Kind" (2009)

Mockumentaries are cool. But this movie just went way too far in trying to be avant-garde. The subject matter is creepy enough. And in the film's defense, some of the filming techniques gave the scenes their necessary credence. But overall, the acting seemed a bit disjointed. Maybe it was all that split screen footage. Perhaps it was the dramatization of a dramatization effect that made me queasy. Maybe I just like my science fiction fare, straight up-no chaser.

"The Winter of Frozen Dreams" (2006)

This movie had all the elements necessary for a seedy and exciting film. Instead, the action was mediocre. The atmosphere was bleak. And even the cinematic charms of Thora Burch (a personal favorite) couldn't save the drama from its drab destiny. There was a bit of controversy during filming regarding her father's presence on set. Perhaps the action on the set was more thrilling. Ultimately, "The Winter of Frozen Dreams" was an anti-climactic letdown.

"The Haunting in Connecticut" (2009)

I love a "true" ghost story. And when I discovered that the Discovery channel's dramatization (of the same name) was being made into a movie, I was thrilled. That is, until I actually saw the movie. The cast was certainly good enough. Virginia Madsen and Martin Donovan were pretty fair choices. But it was not with the cast that the problems rested. This film went overboard in attempting to tie all the occurrences together. What started out as a creepy little semi-believable story turned into a dramatic overplay of haunted house flicks past. This film could have taken some cues from "Insidious", a supernatural chiller that thrived initially on subtlety.

What movies make your list?

SOURCES:

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