Top 10 Horror Movies That Bombed So Hard They RUINED Careers

Lindsay Lohan
The response to 2007’s “I Know Who Killed Me” has softened somewhat from the critical and commercial hammering it received upon release. This is thanks largely to the film’s trashy premise and execution, which some have compared to the giallo films that were popular in 1970s Italy. However, the film put a severe halt upon star Lindsay Lohan’s bankability as a lead. The actor would work primarily as a guest star for projects leading up to 2013’s “The Canyons,” which sadly suffered a similar critical fate as “I Know Who Killed Me.”

Richard Kelly
The timing was immensely poor for 2001’s “Donnie Darko,” with the film having been released in the United States only a month removed from September 11th. The Columbine tragedy from 1999 also loomed large over the film’s content, specifically with young people and guns. It seemed as if “Donnie Darko” was destined to be a cult classic right from the start, failing at the box office, yet thriving on home video. Director Richard Kelly’s career wouldn’t be able to capitalize upon “Darko’s” critical success, either, with his follow-up, 2006’s “Southland Tales,” also struggling to find an audience.

Camille Keaton
The career of Camille Keaton may be forever linked with “I Spit On Your Grave” from 1978, but it’s important to contextualize other work she was doing around the same time. Keaton had earned positive attention for the stylish giallo murder mystery films she was making in Italy, such as “What Have You Done to Solange?” It would be the film she made with her then-husband Meir Zarchi that would bring her international attention, while simultaneously underperforming at the box office. “I Spit On Your Grave’s” graphic content would eventually earn a cult following on home video, but it also typecast and limited Keaton. She continues working today, but her post “Spit” filmography never capitalized upon that initial fame.

Michael Powell
The world wasn’t ready in 1960 for Michael Powell’s “Peeping Tom.” Horror films and thrillers were still largely set in the atomic age with giant, schlocky monsters. Instead, Powell seemed to have the same idea as Alfred Hitchcock: make a psychological thriller for the ages. Unfortunately, “Peeping Tom” was censored, criticized and repudiated upon release, with Powell’s creative reputation taking a serious hit. The director would be labeled as a misogynist for the film’s proto-slasher content, and Powell would partially pivot to television work during the late 1960s and into the ‘70s. Today, however, “Peeping Tom” is largely considered to be an early horror classic, in the same conversation as “Psycho” for that time period.

Richard Burton
The producers of 1977’s “Exorcist II: The Heretic” should’ve known what they were getting into when they hired director John Boorman for the job. This WAS the same man who made “Zardoz” in 1974, after all. Still, “Exorcist II” had a lot of star power going for it, including Richard Burton and a returning Linda Blair. The film’s release had name recognition on its side as well, resulting in a slight financial return. “The Heretic” couldn’t recover from its critical lambasting, however and remains extremely divisive with “Exorcist” fans. Meanwhile, Burton’s alcoholism and tobacco use were catching up with him. Despite being Oscar-nominated for “Equus” the same year, these performances served as his last notable ones before his death in 1984.

Tod Browning
Tod Browning was a certified Hollywood workhorse prior to helming “Freaks” in 1932. The man had directed dozens of films. So why was this one so different? Well, “Freaks” was another example of the material being just too ahead of its time, since Browning’s picture is now largely considered to be a classic. The film created an absolute hysteria back in ’32, however, with some reports of people running out of test screenings due to the content on screen. “Freaks” was so controversial that the cuts made to the final print are now considered lost. Meanwhile, Browning’s reputation in Hollywood never truly recovered, and he only directed a small handful of films before retiring in 1942.

Barry Bostwick
Is “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” considered a cult classic today? Yes, absolutely. However, Barry Bostwick’s career certainly took some blows during the immediate aftermath of its release. This was due to the film’s initially poor reception amongst both critics and audiences. It wasn’t until midnight rereleases, double bills and word of mouth that the “Rocky Horror” phenomenon finally became what it is today. That said, Bostwick worked on two more bombs in a row, 1978’s “Movie Movie” and 1982’s “Megaforce.” He wouldn’t work in film again for another eight years, although the modern day has thankfully seen Bostwick’s profile survive and even thrive after this brief stumbling block.

Uwe Boll
On one hand, we have to admit that the theatrical failure of 2005’s “Alone in the Dark” didn’t immediately deter German director Uwe Boll from making more movies. On the contrary, Boll remained rather prolific until announcing his initial retirement back in 2016. However, the financial and critical failure of “Alone in the Dark” effectively put the kibosh upon any hopes that Boll might’ve had for a big, commercial breakthrough in North America. His follow-ups, “BloodRayne,” “Postal” and “In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale” all saw fewer and fewer American screens, with most of Boll’s further output going direct-to-DVD.

Richard Stanley
The crazy, behind-the-scenes chaos surrounding the 1996 adaptation of “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” was so intense that a documentary was produced about the film in 2014. Director Richard Stanley was riding high upon the cult reputation of films like “Hardware” and “Dust Devil” prior to taking the helm for “Moreau.” However, tensions between Stanley, the studio and star Val Kilmer became so problematic that New Line Cinema fired Stanley via fax. The director would then sneak back onto set in costume while Kilmer continued to be a problem, this time with fellow star Marlon Brando and replacement director John Frankenheimer. Stanley wouldn’t direct another feature until 2019’s “Color Out of Space” before domestic assault allegations once again detailed his career.

The Cast
It’s unclear how many of those who answered an open casting call for “Troll 2” held aspirations for full-time acting careers. One thing’s certain, however: this film wasn’t going to open any doors in that field. The in-name-only sequel to 1986’s “Troll” was never intended as such, and has since earned a cult reputation as one of the “best worst” films of all time. Today, “Troll 2” endures as a “bad movie” classic, but its initially poor track record effectively ensured that no one who acted in the film had much of a career afterwards. Instead, stars like Michael Stephenson and George Hardy have continued to celebrate the cringeworthy legacy of “Troll 2” as a truly WTF example of Italian genre cinema.