10 Unoriginal Horror Movies That Became Cult Hits

It’s surprising just how many cult-favorite horror movies were significantly influenced by earlier films and, when it really comes down to it, were totally unoriginal. While this may seem like a point of criticism, paying homage to horror movies of the past or filmmakers wearing their influences on their sleeve was never a bad thing, and just because a movie was derivative does not mean it’s bad. In fact, many of the biggest cult hits took premises already explored in other movies and expanded upon them to create something even better.

Some of the best cult horror movies owe a lot to classic films of times past, as actors, directors, and writers have shamelessly ripped off well-worn tropes and clichés to create great B-movie favorites, satirical commentaries, or just plain laugh-out-loud hilarious horror comedies. As a genre known to repeat itself, it’s almost impossible to make a slasher movie these days without copying aspects from Halloween or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The incredible history of horror has informed plenty of great movies, and a knowledge of horror classics can make watching cult favorites even more enjoyable.

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10 Piranha (1978)

Directed by Joe Dante

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Piranha RHorrorSci-Fi

Piranha is a horror film that follows the chaos unleashed when a school of mutated piranhas is accidentally released into a river, leading to a series of deadly and suspenseful encounters. As the town grapples with the aquatic menace, an ensemble cast navigates the ensuing terror, delivering a gripping narrative focused on survival and human resilience against nature’s most ferocious creatures.

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*Availability in US Director Joe Dante Release Date August 3, 1978 Writers Richard Robinson , John Sayles Cast Bradford Dillman , Heather Menzies , kevin mccarthy , Keenan Wynn , Dick Miller , Barbara Steele , Belinda Balaski , Melody Thomas Scott , Bruce Gordon , Barry Brown , Paul Bartel , Shannon Collins , Shawn Nelson , Richard Deacon , Janie Squire , Roger Richman , Bill Smillie , Guich Koock , Jack Pauleson , Eric Henshaw , Robert Vinson , Virginia Dunnam , Diamond Farnsworth , Bruce Paul Barbour , Robyn Ray , Mike Sullivan , Jack Cardwell Runtime 94 minutes Main Genre Horror Expand

The unprecedented success of Jaws in 1975 kicked off the concept of the summer blockbuster and led to hordes of copycat movies. One prime example of this was the cult favorite Piranha, a B-movie Jaws rip-off that took things from the seaside to a river infested by lethal, genetically altered piranhas. With truly awful special effects and some satirical tongue-in-cheek humor, Piranha was self-aware enough to wear its Jaws influences on its sleeve to the point that Steven Spielberg himself called it “the best of the Jaws ripoffs.”

Related How Piranha Ripped Off Jaws (& Launched Joe Dante’s Career)

Jaws rip-off Piranha (1978) helped launch Joe Dante’s career. The film was almost confronted with litigation, before a famous filmmaker intervened.

The similarities between Piranha and Jaws were so striking that Universal Pictures considered filing an injunction to stop the movie from being released and directly competing with Jaws 2 from the same year. However, Spielberg had no issues with the film, and it quickly gained a following as a cult favorite. Like Jaws, Piranha acted as the start of an entire franchise, complete with sequels and remakes.

9 The Stuff (1985)

Directed by Larry Cohen

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The Stuff RHorrorComedySci-Fi

The Stuff is a satirical horror film directed by Larry Cohen. Released in 1985, the movie revolves around a mysterious, addictive dessert that becomes a nationwide craze. As corporate greed drives its promotion, an industrial spy, played by Michael Moriarty, discovers the deadly consequences of its consumption. The film explores themes of consumerism and corporate control, presenting a darkly humorous critique of the food industry.

Director Larry Cohen Release Date June 14, 1985 Writers Larry Cohen Cast Michael Moriarty , Andrea Marcovicci , Garrett Morris , Paul Sorvino , Scott Bloom , Danny Aiello , Patrick O’Neal , James Dixon Character(s) David , Nicole , Chocolate Charlie , Col. Spears , Jason , Vickers , Fletcher , Postman Runtime 87 Minutes Main Genre Horror Expand

Taking major influence from 1950s horror classics like The Blob and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Stuff was a cult favorite with a satirical sci-fi twist. After a white cream-like substance is discovered, this mysterious stuff becomes America’s favorite new dessert, packed and sold in ice cream containers. However, panic soon ensues as the alien goo starts to attack the public and turn them into zombies in this hilarious horror written and directed by Larry Cohen.

Like the 1950s horror movies it was inspired by, The Stuff was a biting social commentary that addressed rampant consumerism and the zombification of the American public. Although it may not have been original in its initial concept, the campy execution of The Stuff made it a firm cult favorite. As a deliciously fun take on satirical social commentary, The Stuff is the perfect cheesy 1980s horror to watch with a group of friends.

8 Chopping Mall (1986)

Directed by Jim Wynorski

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Chopping Mall RComedyHorrorSci-Fi

Chopping Mall is a 1986 science fiction horror film directed by Jim Wynorski. Set in a shopping mall, the story follows a group of teenagers who become trapped inside overnight and must survive against a fleet of malfunctioning security robots. The film stars Kelli Maroney and Tony O’Dell, blending elements of horror and satire within a commercial retail setting.

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*Availability in US Director Jim Wynorski Release Date March 14, 1986 Writers Jim Wynorski , Steve Mitchell Cast Kelli Maroney , Tony O’Dell , Russell Todd , Karrie Emerson , Barbara Crampton , Nick Segal , John Terlesky , Paul Bartel Runtime 77 minutes Main Genre Comedy Expand

Chopping Mall blended the shopping mall setting of George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead and the robots-against-humanity plot of The Terminator to create a cult favorite techno-horror. From writer and director Jim Wynorski, Chopping Mall focused on technologically advanced security robots turning bad and killing the teen employees of a shopping mall. While this concept was totally derivative of other movies, bringing all these influences together in one film made for some exciting tongue-in-cheek fun.

As a powerful metaphor for excessive consumption during the Reagan Era in the United States, Chopping Mall was a clever social commentary with an anti-consumerist message. As a low-budget B-movie with laughable special effects, Chopping Mall was never going to be able to live up to the accomplishments of its influences, so it instead took its concept and just had fun with it. Chopping Mall was a treasure trove of horror movie clichés, and it was all the better for it.

7 Galaxy Of Terror (1981)

Directed by Bruce D. Clark

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Galaxy of Terror RActionAdventureHorrorSci-Fi

Galaxy of Terror is a 1981 sci-fi horror film directed by Bruce D. Clark. The film follows a rescue mission to a distant planet, where the crew encounters a deadly alien force that manifests their deepest fears. Galaxy of Terror features performances by Edward Albert, Erin Moran, and Ray Walston.

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*Availability in US Director Bruce D. Clark Release Date October 1, 1981 Writers Marc Siegler , Bruce D. Clark , William Stout Cast Edward Albert , Erin Moran , Ray Walston , Bernard Behrens , Zalman King , Robert Englund , Sid Haig , Grace Zabriskie Runtime 81 minutes Main Genre Sci-Fi Expand

Produced by the B-movie horror legend Roger Corman, Galaxy of Terror was unusual for an unoriginal horror because even though it borrowed heavily from Alien, it was then a prime influence on its sequel, Aliens. Set in a dystopian future, like Alien before it, Galaxy of Terror saw a space crew encountering a mysterious alien creature. Although Galaxy of Terror initially received negative reviews, it has since built up a cult following and is commonly considered to be the best of all Alien rip-offs drifting in the vast expanse of unoriginal horror movies.

There’s actually a direct link between Galaxy of Terror and the Alien franchise it ripped off as future Aliens director James Cameron served as Production Designer and Second Unit Director on the film. Cameron’s innovative techniques helped elevate Galaxy of Terror, and he brought this same drive and enthusiasm to the Alien franchise he later worked on. With a grim and dark visual aesthetic, Galaxy of Terror took a lot of influence from Alien while also bringing plenty of new ideas to the table.

6 Sharknado (2013)

Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante

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Sharknado TV-14 Sci-FiComedyHorrorThrillerAdventureAction

Sharknado is a disaster movie produced by The Asylum. Starring Tara Reid, Ian Ziering, and John Heard, the 2013 film revolves around a tornado that picks up thousands of sharks and threatens Los Angeles with massive destruction. Its unexpected success spawned a various sequels and spinoffs.

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*Availability in US Director anthony c. ferrante Release Date July 11, 2013 Writers Thunder Levin Cast Tara Reid , Ian Ziering , John Heard , Cassie Scerbo , Jaason Simmons Runtime 86 minutes Sequel(s) Sharknado 3 , sharknado 5 , Sharknado 6 , Sharknado 4 Budget $1 million Expand

The sheer ridiculousness of Sharknado meant that this Syfy made-for-TV movie quickly became a beloved cult favorite. Taking significant influence from Jaws, Sharknado brought the action to sea, land, and air as intense tornadoes sent sharks airborne and led to a terrifying situation where safety was not guaranteed no matter where the public hid. While this was a highly comedic premise in its outrageous intensity, part of the appeal of Sharknado was that it was played entirely straight, although its more comedic nature was embraced in the litany of subsequent sequels.

Sharknado was proudly and shamelessly ridiculous as it embraced a so-bad-its-good aesthetic to become a true cult classic. Packed with plotholes and flawed logic, it seems Sharknado was produced with the expectation that audiences could laugh along with the increasingly unbelievable nature of its narrative. While it’s far from an original horror movie, Sharknado pushed horror parodies to their absolute limit with a movie that truly had to be seen to be believed.

5 Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Directed by Robert Hiltzik

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Sleepaway Camp RHorror

The 1983 cult classic slasher horror Sleepaway Camp follows Angela Baker (Felissa Rose), an introverted teenage girl who’s sent to summer camp years after a traumatizing event deeply affected her. However, she is constantly bullied and abused, and everyone at Camp Arawak begins to die, one by one.

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*Availability in US Director Robert Hiltzik Release Date November 18, 1983 Studio(s) Columbia Pictures Distributor(s) Columbia Pictures Writers Robert Hiltzik Cast Jonathan Tiersten , Mike Kellin , Felissa Rose , Karen Fields , Christopher Collet Runtime 84 minutes Budget $350 thousand Expand

Sleepaway Camp was an unoriginal horror that was influenced by previous slasher movies. However, despite its derivative nature, it still acted as the launching point for an entire franchise and built up a reputation as a cult favorite. With a shocking twist ending that the serial killer Angela Baker was born male and had undergone severe mental anguish from being forced into living as a woman, when looking back on Sleepaway Camp through a contemporary lens, it makes for uncomfortable viewing.

However, despite these criticisms, Sleepaway Camp was still a solid slasher movie full of exciting twists and turns. As a low-budget horror that does not shy away from liberally stealing from the Friday the 13th franchise, campy energy and tongue-in-cheek humor made this movie a cult favorite. While the sequels don’t have quite the same appeal, the way that Sleepaway Camp mixed the scares of slasher classics with a John Waters influence sense of weirdness made this a unique and enjoyable cult favorite.

4 Night Of The Creeps (1986)

Directed by Fred Dekker

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Night Of The Creeps RHorrorComedySci-Fi

Night of the Creeps is a 1986 science fiction horror film directed by Fred Dekker. The story follows a group of college students who must fend off a horde of alien-infected zombies. Tom Atkins stars as a hard-boiled detective drawn into the chaos when experiments from decades past resurface, unleashing terror on a small town. The film blends elements of horror and comedy, creating a cult classic within the genre.

Director Fred Dekker Release Date August 22, 1986 Writers Fred Dekker Cast Jason Lively , Tom Atkins , Steve Marshall , Jill Whitlow , Wally Taylor , Bruce Solomon , Vic Polizos , Allan Kayser Character(s) Chris , Ray Cameron , J.C. , Cynthia , Detective Landis , Sgt. Raimi , Coroner , Brad Runtime 88 Minutes Main Genre Horror Expand

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Despite poor special effects and an amateurish aesthetic, Night of the Creeps was such a loving homage to horror movies of the past that it’s impossible not to be charmed by it. As the directional debut of Fred Dekker, this B-movie cult classic borrowed heavily from other alien invasion, slashers, and zombie movies in a high-tension spoof that truly delivered on scares. Following a college student and his best friend who steal a corpse from a cryogenics lab, things soon take a sinister turn when the undead body is revealed to be under the control of an extraterrestrial.

Night of the Creeps blended aspects of detective movies, horrors, romance, sci-fi, and comedy to become so utterly derivative of other films that, in the process, it actually became unique. With a wonderfully silly story, this B-movie cult favorite has something to please all viewers. Sadly, Dekker’s talents as a director didn’t develop significantly after this release, as he only directed two subsequent movies, the similarly received cult movie The Monster Squad and the lackluster sequel Robocop 3.

3 Lake Placid (1999)

Directed by Steve Miner

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Lake Placid RActionComedyHorrorSci-FiThriller

After a series of disturbing incidents at Black Lake, local officials call in specialists to investigate. The team uncovers evidence of a massive predatory crocodile inhabiting the lake. Uncovering a link to a mysterious local man, the team is attacked repeatedly by the killer croc. A plan is devised to capture the crocodile alive, leading to a tense and hazardous showdown.

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*Availability in US Director Steve Miner Release Date July 15, 1999 Writers David E. Kelley Cast Bill Pullman , Bridget Fonda , Oliver Platt , Brendan Gleeson , Betty White , David Lewis , Meredith Salenger Runtime 82 Mins Main Genre Action Expand

The comedy horror Lake Placid would not exist without the influence of creature features, as it took a major influence from monster movies, especially Jaws. A giant crocodile movie, Lake Placid, saw the residents of Black Lake overwhelmed by a terrifying beast that police and scientists struggled to bring down. Lake Placid featured Betty White in one of her best movies as the little old lady who was feeding the giant croc until it grew into its unwieldy size.

While Lake Placid was essentially a retread of every monster movie trope under the sun, it was still a wildly entertaining film that has gained a cult following. With plenty of outrageous mayhem, Lake Placid worked well as a knowing, ironic take on the movies it was influenced by. The success of this outrageous creature feature even led to the release of five low-budget, made-for-TV sequels.

2 Friday The 13th (1980)

Directed by Sean S. Cunningham

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7.8/10 Friday the 13th RHorrorMysteryThriller

Friday the 13th is a horror-slasher film by director Sean S. Cunningham and follows a group of camp counselors who are stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer known to be the site of a child’s drowning and a grisly double murder. The film began a decades-long franchise that would eventually lead to the creation of Jason Vorhees, one of the most popular horror icons of all time.

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*Availability in US Director Sean S. Cunningham Release Date May 9, 1980 Distributor(s) Paramount Pictures , Warner Bros. Writers Victor Miller Cast Peter Brouwer , Adrienne King , Betsy Palmer , Jeannine Taylor , Kevin Bacon , Robbi Morgan , Harry Crosby Runtime 95 minutes Franchise(s) Friday the 13th Sequel(s) Friday the 13th Part 2 , Friday the 13th Part 3 , Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter , Friday the 13th: A New Beginning , Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives , Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood , Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan , Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday , Freddy vs. Jason , Jason X Budget $550,000 Expand

Friday the 13th leaned into John Carpenter’s Halloween’s recent success to produce a new slasher classic that launched its own equally successful franchise. By taking familiar horror tropes and taking them to their absolute extreme, this slasher story about a group of teenagers being murdered at a reopened, previously abandoned summer camp started as an independent movie but soon became a mainstream hit after securing major distribution. While the deranged mother, Mrs. Voorhees, was the original villain, her son Jason later became the franchise’s most iconic antagonist.

With a budget of just $550,000 and grossing almost $60 million (via The Numbers), Friday the 13th was a major success that followed in the footsteps of horror classics like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to represent the increasing disintegration of the American family. While Friday the 13th has gained a reputation as a definitive slasher, it’s also got a sternly devoted cult following that has turned out for sequels, crossovers, and reboots.

1 Scream (1996)

Directed by Wes Craven

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9.8/10 Scream RCrimeHorrorMystery

Wes Craven flips the horror-slasher genre on its head with the 1996 release of Scream, the first in the long-running franchise. The residents of Woodsboro discover a series of murders are being committed by a dangerous ghost mask-wearing killer with an obsession for classic horror movies. To survive, a group of high school students, a reporter, and a town deputy will have to subvert horror expectations and stay one step ahead of the killer.

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*Availability in US Director Wes Craven Release Date December 20, 1996 Studio(s) Woods Entertainment Distributor(s) Dimension Films Writers Kevin Williamson Cast Drew Barrymore , Kevin Patrick Walls , David Booth , Carla Hatley , Neve Campbell , Skeet Ulrich Runtime 111 minutes Franchise(s) Scream Sequel(s) Scream 2 , Scream 3 , Scream 4 , Scream (2022) , Scream 6 Budget $14 Million Main Genre Horror Where To Stream Paramount+ Expand

With equal parts satire and scares, Wes Craven’s Scream was the rare mainstream horror hit that also gained universal critical acclaim and has garnered a sternly devoted cult following. As the man behind horror classics like The Hills Have Eyes and A Nightmare on Elm Street, Craven was the perfect filmmaker to make this tongue-in-cheek slasher that simultaneously delivered a thrilling story while knowingly paying homage to the entire. As a metacommentary on horror movies themselves, Scream was just the beginning of a franchise that has continued right up to this day.

It’s clear from the get-go that Scream was not original in its premise, as its story of a costumed serial killer has been seen in everything from Halloween to Friday the 13th. However, Craven used these well-worn tropes to comment on the horror genre itself, and it was this knowing commentary that helped solidify its status as a cult horror favorite. As a mainstream hit that also boasts campy, B-movie appeal, Scream truly ticked all the right boxes, and it didn’t have to reinvent the wheel to do it.

Source: The Numbers

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