Dark Castle Entertainment is a production company formed in 1999 by Joel Silver (The Matrix), Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump), and Gilbert Adler (Tales From the Crypt) to focus on horror films. The name pays tribute to classic horror director William Castle and it was his films that the company’s creators wanted to revisit. However, after remaking House on Haunted Hill and Thirteen Ghosts, the company expanded to producing original films including a few outside of the horror genre.
While most of Dark Castle Entertainment’s films haven’t received glowing reviews from critics, many of them have modest ratings from viewers who enjoy them for what they are: a time capsule of early 2000s-era horror films. While the acting is cheesy and the special effects look very… of their time, there are quite a few of them that are great fun, however, choosing the right one is key.
Reviewing their full filmography, Dark Castle Entertainment viewers will find a total of twenty-three films, only twelve of which would most likely be considered horror, though many of those lean more into thriller territory. So, just how bad do these films get, and are the best ones worth a watch? Here’s all of the horror and horror-adjacent films from Dark Castle Entertainment and how they rank.
13. The Apparition (2012)
The Apparition really earns it’s 3% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While the initial scenes of a college experiment to summon a spirit could have led to a really interesting film, the movie totally ignores that aspect of the plot in favor of a very underwhelming haunted house movie that features almost no haunting and mostly just tensionless bad acting.
12. The Factory (2012)
The Factory follows a detective obsessed with finding a serial killer who’s been kidnapping sex workers off the streets of Buffalo, but when his daughter gets taken by the same killer he starts to lose his sanity. Starring John Cusack and Jennifer Carpenter, this film features big names with a bad plot and some really rough writing. Even John Cusack lovers will want to skip this one.
11. Return to House on Haunted Hill (2007)
The Return to House on Haunted Hill is painfully cheesy, confusingly sexual, and suffers from some truly terrible writing and a plot that was clearly not well-thought-out. There are some threads of plot that could have been picked up for an interesting ending, but all of those were ignored in favor of a clumsy “it was the devil” ending.
10. The Reaping (2007)
Starring Hilary Swank and Idris Elba, The Reaping features some interesting plot threads, but is ultimately let down by lazy writing with a ham-fisted religious angle that takes over the entire narrative without even the slightest bit of nuance. The plot twists are predictable and boring, and it all leaves the viewer highly underwhelmed.
9. Whiteout (2009)
A thriller set in Antarctica, Whiteout is inoffensive, but mostly boring and forgettable. Kate Beckinsale can’t save a plot that’s straight-forward and mostly devoid of tension; this is, more often than not, a death blow for thrillers. The obvious similarities to The Thing ultimately make the audience even more disappointed with such a bland movie in comparison to an iconic classic.
8. Splice (2009)
The first of Dark Castle Entertainment’s films to get semi-positive reviews from critics, Splice is an interesting sci-fi/horror film that follows a scientist couple who introduce human DNA into their work splicing genes. The film offers an interesting premise, but ultimately the movie is just so-so, offering both positives and negatives in nearly equal measure, plus some very uncomfortable alien sexual assault scenes.
7. House on Haunted Hill (1999)
The first film Dark Castle Entertainment made, House on Haunted Hill is a remake of the original 1959 movie with the same title. While the film is a poor remake of the Vincent Price classic, the movie as a stand-alone film is not bad. It’s very standard of 2000s horror, but the characters are amusing and the kills are a lot of fun.
6. Ghost Ship (2002)
Definitely one of Dark Castle Entertainment’s forgotten gems, Ghost Ship is surprisingly enjoyable with an interesting premise and decent plot. Though the acting and characters are not amazing by any stretch of the mind, the film itself is unique and fun. For gamers, the film offers a plot very similar to Dark Pictures: Man of Medan nearly 20 years before that game was released.
5. House of Wax (2005)
House of Wax is a remake of Andre DeToth’s 1953 film of the same name. It features performances from notable celebrities of the time, Chad Michael Murray, Jared Padalecki, and Paris Hilton, and is certainly representative of its 2005 release date in terms of aesthetic. Though the original is a far eerier story with better writing by far, the 2005 remake is fun, gruesome, and thoroughly enjoyable for slasher movie fans.
4. Orphan (2009)
The first of the films on the list that is commonly considered to be good, Orphan is a spooky film about a mysterious girl and what happens to the family who adopts her. Featuring a fresh plot and interesting writing, this film is one of the best in modern creepy kid sub-genres of horror.
3. The Hills Run Red (2009)
A lesser-known film, The Hills Run Red is a slasher following a group of friends in search of a lost horror movie who encounter more than they’re bargaining for. With an interesting premise and engaging plot beats, plus a truly creepy killer, this movie is definitely a must-watch for horror fans.
2. Thirteen Ghosts (2001)
A remake of the 1960 film 13 Ghosts by William Castle, Thirteen Ghosts is a funhouse of horrors with brutal kills, good writing, and interesting characters. This is a much better version of the House on Haunted Hill concept with a bunch of strangers locked in a house, and shows it with its significantly better ratings and audience reception.
1. Gothika (2003)
The best of Dark Castle Entertainment’s filmography, Gothika follows a criminal psychologist (Halle Berry) who ends up a patient in her own mental hospital when she kills her husband. The film features an interesting flashback storytelling style, a thoroughly engaging mystery, and a great blend of supernatural and real-world mystery solving.