The Horror Movie We Almost Got

The fascinating thing about these movies isn't simply that they changed during production.

Almost every movie changes.

Scripts get rewritten.

Actors drop out.

Studios panic.

Directors change their minds.

Special effects don't work.

Someone in a suit says, “What if we made it more marketable?”

And somewhere, an exhausted screenwriter quietly dies inside.

But horror is especially interesting because some of the genre's most iconic elements weren't necessarily part of the original plan.

Jason wasn't originally the killer.

Pinhead wasn't originally the star.

Chucky wasn't always the Chucky we know.

The Thing evolved from an earlier interpretation.

And Michael Myers became one of cinema's most recognizable monsters despite the original movie giving us almost nothing about him.

Sometimes the best horror movies aren't the ones that follow the original plan.

They're the ones where something goes gloriously, horribly wrong.

And thank God for that.

Because somewhere out there is an alternate universe where Friday the 13th ended with Pamela Voorhees getting arrested, Pinhead was a background extra, and Chucky was just a nice doll.

Nobody wants to live in that universe.

What Do You Think?

Which horror movie do you think changed the most during production? And is there a version of one of these movies you actually wish we'd gotten?

Let us know in the comments!

And if you enjoyed this trip through horror's alternate realities, share the article with another horror fan—because nothing says friendship like telling someone, “Hey, did you know Jason wasn't originally the killer?” and watching their entire understanding of Friday the 13th collapse.