Are Horror Movies Released in January Jinxed? Let’s Do the Math

Once upon a time (2012), I had a brief discussion on HJ’s Facebook page with a fellow horror movie lover about January horror movies. Here’s the post:

The trailer for The Devil Inside had looked somewhat intriguing, but it tanked with audiences and critics alike. 

To this day I still haven’t seen it. (But like I commented on the FB post, exorcist type movies aren’t really my thing anyway. However, it’s trailer was freaky. If it had been a movie everyone was talking about, I’d have seen it. Eventually. If only to stream it.)

Not All Bad

A few years ago Bloody Disgusting examined the phenomenon of January horror movies being cursed from a different angle. They put together a list of 10 horror films that were released in January that were actually good. 

In that article, they also sort of answered the question with which I titled this post: 

January is typically the dumping ground for horror films. Typically a slower month for the box office with the exception of the Oscar nominees that get an extra push, studios take January as their opportunity to get rid of some lesser-quality films for a quick buck. 

Trace Thurman, Bloody Disgusting

IMDB’s List

IMDB also has a list of horror movies released in January. It’s not ranked either good or bad. It’s just a list.

Side note: Curiously, it’s missing one of the ones Bloody Disgusting had on its good January horror films list. (1987’s The Stepfather.)

However, if you look at IMDB’s list, only 13 of the 31 movies listed are ranked at 6 or higher. They are:

1. Deep Rising
2. From Dusk Till Dawn*
3. Split*
4. Mama
5. Warlock
6. The House on Sorority Row
7. Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight
8. Scanners
9. The Boy
10. Cloverfield*
11. The Mothman Prophecies
12. Intruder
13. Kill List

The movies marked with an asterisk (*) were the only three with IMDB ratings of 7 or higher.

The Results

A 6 out of 10 rating means the film’s above average. It’s not great, but it’s not awful. It’s got some entertainment value.

A 7 out of 10 rating rating means it’s pretty good. Most people enjoyed it.

So mathematically speaking, yes. January isn’t known for releasing the best horror movies. Less than half (42%) were a 6 or higher. (45% if we make it 32 movies instead of 31 and throw in The Stepfather.)

But if we move the scale to 7 out of 10? Three out 31 movies (again, 32 if we throw The Stepfather in) is pretty dismal indeed. That’s just under 10% being pretty good (no matter if you calculate it at 31 or 32 movies).

So maybe January is jinxed with bad horror movies after all. Not it’s fault, though.  It can’t help when studios will release the duds. 

As for us horror movie lovers, we can hope for the gems (because there are a few sprinkled in here and there) while bracing for the duds.