do bad horror movies get a pass if they have a good monster

YES OR NO

variable on the watchability/level of bad

i think sometimes yeah actually

depends on what sort of character they give to the monster imo, since I'm almost always there for the monster unless it's a really stellar movie

i'm not very into horror but i definitely think monsters tend to be close to the heart/theme of a given horror film, and having a solid one can save the narrative

in contrast i suspect the quiet place was a very good movie about a medium monster/theme

hell yeah

and like

generally if i have a choice between horror movies i will generally lean towards a creature feature

It depends on how good the monster is.

pumpkinhead would indicate yes

a+ point

not that it was a BAD movie but without the monster it wouldn't be half as much fun to watch