HEREDITARY Has Become a "Different" Kind of Hit on the Silver Screen

This isn't, of course, an isolated incident when a film somehow becomes a hit but is terribly eviscerated by none other than the audience! That's right: the very audience that would go see a film and make a studio tons of money ends up actually not liking it. One of those situations where the pure marketing and the critical acclaim puts the butts in seats, but those butts don't like being in the seats at all once they're well into the movie -- which that film is HEREDITARY.

HEREDITARY Made An Amazing $13MM Over the Weekend, But....

We know what you're thinking (*cough cough* Infinity War, Star Wars, blah blah). $13MM isn't a whole lot to scream about until you realize that the film only cost a measly $10MM to make. After one weekend in theaters, and a film already makes a profit, theoretically that makes the film a hit.

And honestly it has every right to be with a remarkable 92% score on ROTTEN TOMATOES. Word of mouth, people. Word of mouth.

That's not what kills me about this story, though.... Want to know what the audience CINEMASCORE is? That other score detailing how the audience reacted to the film, typically tending to be much higher than what the critics would rave and judge. Such as TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT (all you die-hard Hasbro fans) and maybe even JURASSIC WORLD. We love a good tentpole film even when the film generally sucks and perhaps doesn't have much of a chance for an Oscar or Golden Globe.

Heck, even the more artsy films out there -- while not as "tentpole-ish" -- generally rub some movie-goers the right way, but also won't blow up the box office. Money made doesn't necessarily mean audience satisfaction, people.

It seems, though, that the horror genre has hit a note for critical acclaim but with some loss for appeal.

So You Want to Know What Audiences Thought of HEREDITARY?

Cinemascore currently has it at a sad D+ rating. Wow. And yet this is a film already hailed as a hit.

Consequently, as we've seen before, this isn't isolated. Remember that Jennifer Lawrence flick "MOTHER!"? Repugnant. Controversial. But genius. We saw the same with the moody horror film THE WITCH, which while it ravished critics with a stunning performance ended up only mildly tantalizing audiences with a C- rating on Cinemascore.

....HEREDITARY might actually be the worst great horror film of all time.

CATCH THE TRAILER RIGHT HERE.

Do we like this trend happening right now? Do we like more controversial break-out horror that doesn't necessarily appeal to the masses? Or do we like the dumb, cheap, fun jump-scares more?

Be Still My Heart: the Film "Gremlins" Will Return to Theaters This December 2017

Arguably the quintessential Christmas horror comedy film of the universe, "Gremlins," you can only expect heart palpitations from such a fright fanatic as myself. It was recently announced by Warner Bros. that on Friday, December 8, 2017, an event known as Gremlins: Rule Breakers will feature not only the film itself in participating cinemas, but an interview with Joe Dante himself and even a Rhys Cooper limited edition T-shirt!

And for Those Who Are a Little Fuzzy on the Fuzzballs Who Hate Light, Love Water, and Enjoy an Occasional Snack After Midnight, Check Out the Original Trailer....

Again.... Be still my black heart.

Thankfully you'll be able to check out those locations participating in this wonderful event right here, and let's hope at least one of them happen to be within driving distance of you.

My main joy is the simple fact that while Gremlins wasn't necessarily a "Christmas" movie, let alone a Christmas "HORROR" movie -- it was still a horror comedy film that happened to capture the actual spirit of Christmas without it being blatantly about, well, Christmas.

It was whimsical. It was about a gift. It was about spoiling the gift. Misusing the gift. It was about making sure you follow all the rules. And we all know: Christmas has rules. If you break them, you're liable to get a lump of coal (or a few bloodthirsty gremlins at your door) or even Krampus himself to rain on your parade.

Indeed, Christmas, While Being a Time of Joy, Was Also a Bit of an Ominous Time, One of Darkness, But That's What We Love!

Because the very next day.... Christmas Day.... You realize it was all worth it in the end! Don't get me wrong: I love me some Black Christmas or Silent Night Deadly Night or any of the other darker versions of a Christmas tale (hey, Dickens, I'm looking at you and your Christmas Carol, pal).

"Gremlins," though? That's just plain raw fun. Break out the crazy egg nog while watching it, man.

Why Many Horror Film Crossover Events NEVER Seem to Work

Seriously. They just...don't. They're not meant to. I refer to the latest word in the horror stream of the ultimate crossover of two of the best Japanese horror franchises out there: THE RING, and THE GRUDGE. Or better known as SADAKO VS. KAYAKO (call me crazy but weren't the original titles RINGU and JU-ON?).

That's Right: They're Releasing an EPIC Crossover Film Pitting the Two Iconic Japanese Horror Franchises Against Each Other

All you need to do is check out the trailer right here. And witness the cheese:

Okay, so it isn't that bad. Heck, I'd watch it. Just to watch it. But I can almost guarantee that the icons that these Japanese films were will be suddenly hollow given the twisting of the formula.

Now, yes, I know I wrote about epic television crossovers before. Bear with me as I say this: film crossovers, especially of the horror kind, just don't seem to work! TV crossovers mostly work given the identical spectrums, and the formats fit together, fighting the same cause (which is why the epic CW DC heroes crossover actually worked so well).

But remember FREDDY VS. JASON? Campy (of course, we're talking about, well, Freddy and Jason). ALIEN VS. PREDATOR? Outlandish. Fun, but a bit out there (don't even get me started on REQUIEM). Even the bad cheesy '80s films like PUPPET MASTER, DOLLMAN and DEMONIC TOYS multiplied the cheese factor by a factor of gorgonzola and cheddar when crossed over, although we can cut that some slack given the three properties came from the same company anyway.

It's When You Mess With the Specific Horror Formula That It All Falls Apart

Horror films, books and other media were always ultimately about a linear problem. Straightforward. You have a problem. You don't solve it; you die.

They were never supposed to be spectator spots to watch two icons go head to head. Like Freddy and Jason. Sure, some of the sad pitiful characters get stuck in the middle with their heads chopped off as two monsters fight to the death, but the impending doom is sort of lost in the struggle for supremacy.

What made these characters so scary was that they really didn't have to fight for that supremacy. They already had it.

Now we have freakin' RINGU and JU-ON fighting for the supremacy they both should have. We might as well be watching some retarded MMA action between two weird ghostly females (and a little boy with a serious case of insomnia).

You Ultimately Mess With Something That Should Be Left Alone

Makes sense, I think. Like all horror films and books, the linear problem is something that should be left alone, lest you want to wake up the demons lurking in the shadows. Otherwise, you've got utter cheese.

Not that it's a bad thing. I like cheese. Especially gorgonzola. Goes well with Italian.