While some horror movies excel at the box office despite bad reviews, other entries into the genre get saddled with abominable critical write-ups even though they are great. Horror movies have traditionally gotten a lot of flack from film critics. While the tide has theoretically turned in recent decades, for years, horror movies were considered less mature and critically significant than worthier genres like drama movies. Even now, the controversial term “elevated horror” indicates just how much critics will still attempt to avoid praising a horror movie without implying that the movie must transcend its genre to succeed.

This bias might be part of why many great horror movies fail at the box office and it is certainly why a lot of great horror movies never get the reviews that they deserve. Reviewers are quick to point out flaws in horror movies but slow to praise crowd-pleasing efforts in the gory genre. Many of the movies listed here were box office successes upon release and some even spawned entire franchises, but only a few received the retrospective reviews they earned. As such, a cursory glance over the reviews received by these great horror movies would leave the reader expecting a disastrous flop instead of an underrated gem.

10 Constantine (2005)

2005’s Constantine is a very mid ‘00s movie. From the stylized action set-pieces to the cartoony CGI, to the constant string of slick one-liners, this comic book adaptation is a product of its time which may explain Roger Ebert’s infamously negative review. However, Constantine is also a fun, inventive thrill ride that benefits from stellar central turns from Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, and a gloriously hammy Tilda Swinton. Peter Stormare’s scene-stealing turn as the Devil rounds out a killer cast, while a young Shia LaBeouf provides comic relief and reminds viewers of his blockbuster potential before criminal allegations overshadowed his acting efforts.

9 Event Horizon (1997)

While great sci-fi horror was upon release. Event Horizon lost over $17 million when director Paul WS Anderson’s “haunted spaceship” movie arrived in theaters, and abominable reviews were partially responsible for this. Dismissed as lukewarm, overly loud hokum by critics at the time, Event Horizon had to wait a few decades to amass a following and receive its belated flowers.

8 Fright Night (2011)

2011’s Fright Night remake made the ingenious move of casting Colin Farrell as the charming vampire next door, while rising star Anton Yelchin played the geeky teenager who couldn’t convince anyone of his neighbor’s secret bloodsucking predilection. Imogen Poots, David Tennant, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse rounded out an all-star cast, making Fright Night an ideal re-imagining of the 1985 original. However, reviewers disagreed, calling 2011's Fright Night tedious and unoriginal and complaining that the movie’s plentiful humor worked against its occasional scary moments.

7 Prince of Darkness (1987)

According to critics, 1987’s Prince of Darkness is an inessential effort from director John Carpenter. Dragged down by a shoddy script, this inconsequential horror movie manages to make the end of the world feel boring thanks to its campy tone. Of course, viewers who have seen the second movie in Carpenter’s Apocalypse trilogy might reasonably wonder what movie reviewers were watching. A vivid, lurid love letter to Italian horror movies, Prince of Darkness is gruesome, offbeat, and genuinely creepy, and a testament to Carpenter’s skillful handling of suspense.

6 Piranha 3D (2010)

Director Alexandre Aja’s 2003 hit Switchblade Romance put him on the map, but 2006’s The Hills Have Eyes remake dealt a blow to his Hollywood career. Released at the height of the so-called “torture porn” craze, Aja’s remake was a rare movie that did earn that unpleasant sobriquet. However, the helmer more than made up for this misstep with 2010’s Piranha 3D. A loose remake of director Joe Dante’s 1978 Jaws rip-off, Piranha 3D is an irresistibly silly gore-fest that never takes itself seriously. Despite this, critics still called Piranha 3D “dreary” and criticized its CGI.

5 Saw (2004)

Now that James Wan is the biggest name in Hollywood horror, few reviewers would claim that the filmmaker lacks directorial skills. However, back in 2004, his microbudget sleeper hit Saw proved a lot less successful with critics than it was with audiences. Years before they would call it an influential trendsetter in retrospect, reviewers complained that Saw was “empty,” “infantile,” “contrived,” and “unlovable.: While it may not be James Wan’s best movie, it is fair to say that these write-ups were a little too quick to write off the director’s debut.

4 Burying the Ex (2014)

2014’s Burying the Ex saw Gremlins helmer Joe Dante direct a rom-com with a difference. When slacker Anton Yelchin’s girlfriend dies suddenly, he is relieved of the responsibility to break up with her and can now pursue a new beau. That is, until her reanimated corpse returns to reignite their flame. Critics called Burying the Ex sophomoric, flat, and a pale imitation of Dante’s campy best. As such, viewers might be surprised to find that the underrated effort is a charming zombie rom-com that didn’t deserve anywhere near this much scorn.

3 Scream 4 (2011)

Director Wes Craven’s Scream 4 saw the legendary horror helmer return to his famous slasher series with the franchise's most ambitiously meta entry yet. Scream 4 updates the formula of the Scream movies perfectly for a new generation as well as introducing new characters who could hold their own against returning fan favorites. Despite this (and some of the franchise’s strongest suspense set-pieces), Scream 4 was dubbed “derivative,” “gimmicky,” and “stale” by critics upon release.

2 Ravenous (1999)

1999’s Ravenous is a uniquely inventive fusion of black comedy, horror, and Western tropes. Written off as “uneven,” “ill-conceived,” and “stupid” upon release, this chilling story of a cannibal sowing discord among slacker soldiers in an isolated camp was roundly reviled by critics. Despite this, Ravenous remains the strongest film in director Antonia Bird’s impressive career. A scathing satirical indictment of Manifest Destiny, Ravenous is gory, clever, and intense, and features some of its stars Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle’s best work as its flawed hero and seductive villain, respectively.

1 Final Destination (2000)

The Final Destination franchise has a genius premise. When a teen avoids certain death via airplane crash, death starts to hunt down him and his fellow survivors via unlikely accidents. This sets up some absurdly elaborate and gory gross-out fates for the heroes and prompted the 2000 hit to spawn a string of sequels. However, 2000’s original Final Destination was hated by critics upon release. “Silly,” “so-so,” and “cheesy” were the primary takeaways from Final Destination’s reviews at the time, leaving the slasher as another one of many horror movies that critics undeservedly slated.