8 Thrillers Critics Love That Regular People Just Shrugged At. Pick a Side.

Critics handed these thrillers big scores. Regular audiences handed back a shrug. I picked a side on every one. You pick yours.

Number one made a quarter billion dollars and people still argue about it.

1. 8
   We Bury the Dead (2025)4.0

   Critics are right, but only barely.

   88% on Rotten Tomatoes, $3.7M domestic. Daisy Ridley carries it hard. The movie just walks where it should sprint, which is how audiences ended up beating only 13% of films.
2. 7
   Out of Darkness (2022)4.3

   Audiences missed a legit good Stone Age horror.

   86% from critics, under $2M domestic. A survival horror set tens of thousands of years ago was never packing the mall. Still worth your Friday night.
3. 6
   In a Violent Nature (2024)3.9

   Audiences win this one. Bold is not the same as fun.

   Critics gave it 79% for following the killer's back through the woods. Audiences beat just 11% of movies. Long walks are for golden retrievers, not 94 minutes of your life.
4. 5
   Die My Love (2025)4.2

   Side with critics, even with that D+ CinemaScore.

   Lynne Ramsay and Jennifer Lawrence swing for the fences, 72 on Metacritic. Opening crowds handed back a D+. That is not a shrug, that is an eye roll with a receipt.
5. 4
   Babygirl (2024)4.5

   Critics oversold it. It's a chilly drama wearing a thriller jacket.

   79 on Metacritic, $64.7M worldwide on a reported $20M budget. People showed up, then left a 5.7 on IMDb. Nicole Kidman is great. The tension mostly isn't.
6. 3
   Barbarian (2022)6.2

   Audiences gave it a C+ and owe it an apology.

   92% on Rotten Tomatoes and $40.8M domestic on a reported $4 to 4.5M budget. Its 7.0 on IMDb says people liked it way more than that grade admits.
7. 2
   Presence (2024)4.9

   Critics are right. Audiences just wanted a louder ghost.

   A haunted house movie shot from the ghost's point of view, on a reported $2M budget. Critics beat 81% of movies, audiences 18%. Soderbergh made it quiet on purpose.
8. 1
   Us (2019)6.5

   Us is a modern classic and that B CinemaScore is wrong.

   93% on Rotten Tomatoes, $256M worldwide on a reported $20M budget. Lupita Nyong'o plays two roles and wins both. The lore gets messy late, sure. Still a 7.7 from me.

$219.43 says at least one of you defends In a Violent Nature by explaining that the walking is the point.

Share it: X | Facebook | Copy link

Current mood: ready to fight about it