When it comes to necessary evils in the world of film, buzz is a particularly interesting customer. Having so many people talking about and eagerly anticipating your film is undoubtedly an exciting phenomenon, but it mustn’t be forgotten that hype has the added effect of stacking on the pressure to make all of the excitement pay off, which doesn’t always happen.
Moreover, even if your project does live up to the hype, everyone has an opinion, and sometimes those opinions go against your movie anyway. With respect to all of that, the folks over at r/horror have taken to vocalizing their woes over some of the most overhyped films the horror genre has ever seen.
A fair shake of the thread identified themselves as detractors of A Quiet Place and its sequel, who were perhaps dispositioned – and rightly so – to be skeptical about a story that prides itself on minimal dialogue as a gimmick.
Others were too busy shaking their heads at the original poster comparing Event Horizon to Mass Effect to take the question seriously.
And a few others users declared X as their choice, with the original poster dubbing it “a fairly standard slasher.” Although, if one watches X and somehow doesn’t pick up on the particularly nuanced commentary it puts forward, they probably need to brush up on their media literacy.
And some responders pitched The Black Phone as their choice; a film that tragically failed to live up to its potential due in part to its restrictive runtime.
If there’s any lesson to be had here, it’s to take extra caution in not letting your expectations get too high, lest you give the possibility of disappointment more ammunition than it could ever need. Know what you’re getting into, and judge a film by what it is, instead of what you want it to be.
