10 Great Movies Panned Upon Release, From ‘The Thing’ to ‘Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me’

“Metropolis” (1927)

Today, Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” is regarded as one of the greatest achievements of the silent film period, and a pioneering science fiction work with themes of class warfare and human nature that would influence many works to come. But, while German expressionist work received some positive reviews, reception was mixed at best upon release. Variety wrote that “so much really artistic work was wasted on this manufactured story” in their dispatch at the time. Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times called it a “Technical marvel with feet of clay.” The most damning pan came from English science fiction writer H.G. Wells, who accused the film of “foolishness, cliché, platitude, and muddlement about mechanical progress and progress in general,” and compared it unfavorably to other science fiction works, most notably Mary Shelley’s original “Frankenstein” novel. 

“The Night of the Hunter” (1955)

Based on a novel of the same name, Charles Laughton’s “The Night of the Hunter” is a stark black and white fairy tale starring Robert Mitchum in his most iconic role as a serial killer who poses as a preacher to manipulate and torment a widowed woman and her two children. At the time of its release in 1955, reviews had some nice things to say, but largely considered the film a failure. Bosley Crowther of the New York Times called the movie a “weird and intriguing endeavor,” but criticized Laughton’s direction and the allegorical elements of the film. Gene Arneel of Variety said the film was “bewitching at times,” but “loses sustained drive via too many offbeat touches that have a misty effect.”

Laughton took the failure of the film hard, and never made a movie again. However, by the ’70s — as a result of TV screenings, art house showings, and reappraisals from critics like Roger Ebert — it had been reevaluated as a masterpiece, and one of the greatest thrillers ever made. 

“Vertigo” (1958)

Alfred Hitchcock was a director who enjoyed plenty of critical acclaim during his career as a filmmaker. But upon its release, “Vertigo” — his 1958 film starring James Stewart as a private detective with acrophobia who becomes obsessed with the woman (Kim Novak) he’s assigned to trail — wasn’t one of them. The film received some positive reviews, but most were tepid at best. Variety called the movie “only a psychological murder mystery” and criticized its length and pacing. Bosley Crowther of the New York Times gave the movie some qualified praise, but called the twist “devilishly far-fetched,” while John McCarten of The New Yorker was extremely critical, writing that Hitchcock had “never before indulged in such farfetched nonsense.” In the years following its initial release, “Vertigo” quickly rose in reputation, and now it’s commonly considered Hitchcock’s masterwork, and even topped the Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time poll. 

“Bonnie and Clyde” (1967)

Arthur Penn’s “Bonnie and Clyde,” a romantic account of the notorious 1930s outlaws, was very controversial at its time for its graphic violence and perceived glorification of its subjects, and the reviews of the day were appropriately divided. Roger Ebert was highly positive, giving the film one of its major raves. Other critics were less kind. Dave Kaufman of Variety criticized Penn’s direction as uneven, while Joe Morgenstern of Newsweek called the film a “squalid shoot-’em-up,” but later reevaluated it upon a second watch. The most notorious pan, however, came from Bosley Crowther of The New York Times, who wrote in his review that the film was “a cheap piece of bald-faced slapstick comedy that treats the hideous depredations of that sleazy, moronic pair as though they were as full of fun and frolic as the jazz-age cutups in ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie.’” Even as the film became a financial success and eventually attracted more positive criticism, Crowther remained vehemently opposed to it, and was replaced as the Times’ chief critic a year later at least partially because of the controversy. The film would ultimately receive 10 Oscar nominations, and is nowadays credited with ushering in the New Hollywood revolution of the late ’60s and ’70s. 

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975)

Early reviews of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” a film version of Richard O’Brien and Jim Sharman’s cult classic British musical, were largely negative. Reviewers from Variety called it “labored,” the San Francisco Chronicle said it lacked “charm and dramatic impact,” while Newsweek wrote that it was “tasteless, plotless, and pointless.” The movie also flopped upon its initial release, but slowly picked up an audience through midnight movie screenings. That audience only grew through the years, and the film is now a beloved queer cult film, one that continues to be screened year round to this day. 

“Sorcerer” (1977)

A remake of the 1953 French film “The Wages of Fear,” William Friedkin’s “Sorcerer” stars Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, and Amidou as four men living in Central America who get hired to transport two trucks loaded with dynamite 200 miles to an oil well. Made under grueling conditions that escalated its budget, the film was a massive box office bomb upon release, and reviews weren’t much better. Although a few critics like Roger Ebert and Vincent Canby gave the movie decent notices, many other reviewers unfavorably compared it to “The Wages of Fear” and criticized Friedkin for perceived poor craftsmanship. In a review for The Village Voice, Andrew Sarris went as far as to call it “a visual and aural textbook on everything that is wrong with current movies.” In the years since, however, the film has largely been reevaluated, and is regularly seen as one of Friedkin’s best projects and one of the best movies of the ’70s. 

“The Shining” (1980)

At the time of its release, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” was largely received very negatively by both audiences (earning a “C+” Cinemascore) and critics. Many reviewers criticized the film’s slow pacing, its deviations from the original Stephen King novel it was based upon, and its perceived lack of emotional impact. Janet Maslin of the New York Times said “even the film’s most startling horrific images seem overbearing and perhaps even irrelevant,” while Pauline Kael wrote “Again and again, the movie leads us to expect something – almost promises it – and then disappoints us.” Both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were negative in their reviews of the film, with Siskel calling it a “a crashing disappointment” that “contains effectively no thrills” while Ebert wrote in his review that it was impossible to connect with the film’s characters. At the first Golden Raspberry Awards, Kubrick was nominated for Worst Director. In the long run, though, “The Shining” was criticially appraised as one of the best horror films ever — and, in contrast to what critics said at the time, one of the absolute scariest. 

“Possession” (1981)

Another horror film that critics didn’t know what to make of upon its release, “Possession” — Andrzej Żuławski’s oblique film about the deteriorating marriage between a spy (Sam Neill) and his unraveling wife (Isabelle Adjani) — was received with lukewarm response upon its U.S. release, in part due to edits made from the original cut. Harry Haun of the New York Daily News wrote that the film was “outlandishly unhinged” and a “mess,” while Leonard Maltin called it a “confusing drama of murder, horror, intrigue.” In his review, New York Times critic Vincent Canby wrote that “New York audiences might be reduced to helpless laughter” by the film. Thanks to the original cut coming to America, and some critical appraisal, the fiendish marital drama is now largely regarded today as one of the best horror movies ever made. 

“The Thing” (1982)

A commercial failure upon release, John Carpenter’s “The Thing” was also widely negatively received by critics, with many responding poorly to the film’s cynical, anti-authoritarian themes. In a brutal pan, Vincent Canby referred to the film as a “foolish, depressing, overproduced movie that mixes horror with science fiction to make something that is fun as neither one thing or the other,” calling it a “moron movie” and “instant junk.” Other critics such as Linda Gross wrote that the film was “bereft, despairing, and nihilistic,” claiming that the tone prevented the deaths of the characters from having any impact. The visual effects were largely praised, but many critics also had a problem with their gore and excess. Home video helped the movie pick up a cult audience, and by the ’90s, the film had been reevaluated as a classic.  

“Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” (1992)

Premiering a year after the original TV run of “Twin Peaks” endedthe story of Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) on a massive cliffhanger, “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” was greeted with revulsion from both fans and critics, at least partially because it was instead a prequel about the final days of haunted prom queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). At its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Lynch recalled the film getting booed by audiences, while critics referred to the film as “shockingly bad” (Roger Ebert) and “pathologically unpleasant” (Janet Maslin). Reviews upon its American release were just as negative: Vincent Canby wrote “It’s not the worst movie ever made; it just seems to be” while Owen Gleiberman called it “a true folly” in which “almost nothing adds up.”

Through the ’90s and 2000s, as Lynch repaired his reputation through masterpieces like “Mulholland Drive” and “Twin Peaks” was evaluated as a canonical, defining TV show, more defenders of “Fire Walk With Me” have emerged, with critics praising Lee’s performance as Laura Palmer and the film’s unvarnished depiction of abuse. By 2017, when the sequel series to “Twin Peaks” “The Return” premiered to massive critical acclaim, the film’s reputation had been restored completely, and it’s now viewed as a classic.