10 Celebrated Thrillers Quentin Tarantino Hates And Where To Stream Them Now [Video]
Quentin Tarantino was put on this Earth to make movies and have opinions…and he’s almost done making movies. Because the controversial public figure loves talking about film, he has shared countless hot takes in interviews, on podcasts, and even in a book he wrote. We figured it was time to collect some of the most celebrated titles that Tarantino is not a fan of. Read about why he hates these movies, and go watch them for yourself and let us know if you agree with the filmmaker.
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Where You Can Watch: VOD
An incarcerated gang leader takes part in a conduct-aversion experiment that backfires. Stanley Kubrick’s divisive movie isn’t one of my favorites either, but that’s a different article. According to The New Yorker, Quentin Tarantino felt the first 20 minutes were nearly perfect. However, he had a lot of less-than-flattering things to say about the rest of the film:
“I always thought Kubrick was a hypocrite because his party line was, I’m not making a movie about violence, I’m making a movie against violence. And it’s just, like, Get the fuck off. I know, and you know your dick was hard the entire time you were shooting those first twenty minutes, you couldn’t keep it in your pants the entire time you were editing it and scoring it. You liked the rest of the movie, but you put up with the rest of the movie. You did it for those first twenty minutes. And if you don’t say you did, you’re a fucking liar.” – via The New Yorker
Frenzy (1972)
Where You Can Watch: VOD
The London police arrest the wrong man while trying to track down a serial killer targeting women. Quentin Tarantino spends a whole chapter of his book, Cinema Speculation, comparing Brian De Palma’s psychological thriller Sisters to the work of other filmmakers. Because he’s not a fan of Alfred Hitchcock’s work, a shot was fired at the late director.
“Hitchcockian thrillers were, for him, a means to an end. That’s why when he was forced to return to the genre in the mid-eighties, they were so lackluster. Ultimately, he resented having to make them and was bored with the form. Hitchcock’s Frenzy might be a piece of crap, but I doubt Alfred was bored making it.” – via Far Out UK
Halloween II (1981)
Where You Can Watch: VOD
Michael Myers isn’t dead, and he has followed Laurie Strode to the town hospital to continue this traumatic evening. This beloved sequel picks up where the first movie leaves off and adds a detail that really salts the tines of Quentin Tarantino. In a 2019 interview, he spoke candidly about his hatred for all the Halloween sequels. However, he went to town regarding the Halloween II reveal that Laurie and Michael are siblings.
“It’s horrible that it does that. There’s something far more scary that he’s going through Haddonfield, and it’s just her… I think they just yanked some idea out of their ass, alright, and they just talked themselves into ‘Hey, well, this is why…’ and now part two has a reason.” – Consequence of Sound
It Follows (2014)
Where You Can Watch: Hulu, Netflix, and Prime Video
A woman sleeps with her new boyfriend without knowing he’s passing on a supernatural curse during their sexual encounter. Quentin Tarantino told Vulture in 2015 that he thinks the premise is one of the best he’s seen in a long time. However, he wasn’t here for the mythology and thinks he could fix it.
“[David Robert Mitchell] could have kept his mythology straight. He broke his mythology left, right, and center.” Tarantino continued, “The movie keeps on doing things like that, not holding on to the rules that it sets up. Like, okay, you can shoot the bad guys in the head, but that just works for ten seconds? Well, that doesn’t make any fucking sense. What’s up with that? And then, all of a sudden, the things are aggressive, and they’re picking up appliances and throwing them at people? Now they’re strategizing? That’s never been part of it before.” – Vulture
Natural Born Killers (1994)
Where You Can Watch: VOD
A pair of psychopathic lovers become serial murderers who get their time in the spotlight due to the mass media’s obsession with them. It seems Tarantino isn’t even above hating his work. He wrote the original screenplay and still has a “Story By” credit on this film. The filmmaker told Brian Koppelman on his podcast, The Moment, that he still has strong feelings about the movie.
“Not that I’ve seen it all from beginning to end,” Tarantino shared before getting into how the finished product missed the mark and didn’t understand the characters. He stated, “One of the things about that script, in particular, is that I was trying to make it on the page, so when you read it, you saw the movie, and it was like, why didn’t he do at least half of that?” The Moment via The Playlist
North By Northwest (1959)
Where You Can Watch: Tubi
An advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent and must run for his life. Tarantino’s beef with Alfred Hitchcock’s work has always been one of the things I find most fascinating about him. I might write a book someday beginning with this movie that Quentin called mediocre during a 2015 interview.
“People discover North by Northwest at 22 and think it’s wonderful when, actually it’s a very mediocre movie.” –T Magazine via the Wayback Machine
Salem’s Lot (1979)
Where You Can Watch: VOD
A novelist and a teen try to save a small town from vampires. I have fond memories of this movie from my childhood. However, it’s not my favorite Tobe Hooper film. While my feelings aren’t as strong as Taratino’s, I’m not too mad about his assessment. In his book, Cinema Speculation, Quentin pauses his praise for Hooper’s movies he likes to talk about how disappointed he is in Salem’s Lot.
“When I finally saw it, I was prepared for something great. And man, was I disappointed. To me, it just seemed like a stretched-out TV movie done in a very TV-style (and I like TV movies)…I tried to watch it again a couple of years ago, and it was just too dull. I turned it off after about twenty-five minutes.” – Dread Central
Scream (1996)
Where You Can Watch: Max
A teen is terrorized by a masked killer on the anniversary of her mother’s brutal murder. As one of the many people who love Scream, I was shocked that Quentin Tarantino had issues with this movie. However, nothing prepared me for his hatred to stream from Wes Thee Craven’s direction. He explained in shocking detail during a 2015 interview with Vulture.
“I actually didn’t care for Wes Craven’s direction of it. I thought he was the iron chain attached to its ankle that kept it earthbound and stopped it from going to the moon.” – Vulture
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Where You Can Watch: Max
The days leading up to Laura Palmer’s murder are finally revealed. I never got into Twin Peaks, but I know saying anything negative about it publicly is dangerous. So, I commend Quentin Tarantino for his bravery as I share the following quote.
“I’m not ragging on other people, but after I saw Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me at Cannes, David Lynch has disappeared so far up his own ass that I have no desire to see another David Lynch movie until I hear something different. And you know, I loved him. I loved him.” – LA Weekly
“Vertigo” (1958)
Where You Can Watch: Prime Video
A former detective wrestles with his personal demons while obsessing over a woman he has been hired to follow. During the same 2015 interview where Quentin Tarantino went in on other Hitchcock films, he shared that he was also unimpressed with this highly respected gem.
“I’m not the biggest Hitchcock fan, and I actually don’t like Vertigo and his 1950s movies—they have the stink of the 50s, which is similar to the stink of the 80s.” – T Magazine via the Wayback Machine
Let us know if you also share strong opinions about these celebrated films with Quentin Tarantino at @DreadCentral.
Categorized:News Streaming Guides
