10 Horror Movies That Are Awful From Start to Finish Find help us

Being a genre that has flourished and evolved greatly across over a century’s worth of filmmaking history, the horror genre has been a shining beacon of creative endeavors and exceptional cinematic experiences. From massive box office hits to daring and experimental critical darlings, with so many horror films being released year after year, there are countless options for a thrilling and great time. However, the same can be said for the opposite side of the quality spectrum, as decades of horror filmmaking have also created many notoriously terrible horror films.

While every dedicated filmmaker sets out to create the best film that they can, several films manage to crumble under pressure and fail to meet the mark in the eyes of audiences or critics. However, even beyond the simply bad and undesirable films, these horror films manage to find ways to be incomprehensibly awful from the moment that the film starts, with little to no upsides present for their entire runtime. Many of these films are often in conversation as some of the worst films of all time, easily being some of the worst that the prolific horror genre has to offer.

10

‘One Missed Call’ (2008)

Directed by Eric Valette

A barebones supernatural horror film that completely butchers the 2003 Japanese film that it’s remaking, One Missed Call is one of the most underwhelming and overall worst movie remakes of all time. The film follows an array of different people receiving mysterious voice-mails from their future selves, with the messages including the supposed exact date, time, and details of their deaths. It soon becomes a mad dash to uncover the truth behind these mysterious calls so that they can hopefully put a stop to these shocking and gruesome deaths before they can occur.

All the nuance and depth that comes from the concept that was effectively utilized in the original film is completely removed and butchered in this watered-down remake. The film transforms a relatively engaging premise into one of minimal scares, a complete lack of interesting characters, and a PG-13 rating that removes all of the adult themes and gore of the original. The film currently holds a notorious 0% on Rotten Tomatoes and is considered one of the worst horror films of the 2000s.

One Missed Call

Release Date

January 4, 2008

Director

Eric Valette

Cast

Edward Burns
, Shannyn Sossamon
, Ana Claudia Talancón
, Ray Wise
, Azura Skye
, Johnny Lewis
, Jason Beghe
, Margaret Cho
, Meagan Good
, Rhoda Griffis
, Dawn Dininger
, Ariel Winter
, Sarah Jean Kubik
, Raegan Lamb
, Karen Beyer
, Alana Locke
, Dave Spector
, Mary Lynn Owen
, Roy McCrerey
, Lauren Peyton
, Greg Corbett
, Donna Biscoe
, Edith Ivey
, Wilbur Fitzgerald
, Bart Hansard

Runtime

87 minutes

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9

‘The Devil Inside’ (2012)

Directed by William Brent Bell

One of many low-budget found-footage horror films that came about in the wake of the massive success of Paranormal Activity, The Devil Inside quickly became notorious for its boring execution and infamously terrible ending. The film follows a young Italian woman who finds herself involved in a series of unauthorized exorcisms while on a mission to uncover the truths about her mother with a documentary filmmaker. Her mother previously had murdered three people during her own exorcism while being possessed by a demon.

The Devil Inside falls into the worst pitfalls and clichés that were plaguing cheap found-footage horror during this era, with audiences already starting to get tired of the found-footage formula in general. The film is ruined by its use of cheap jumpscares, extended sequences of nothing interesting happening in an attempt to build tension, and a lackluster ending that invites audiences to go to a website that no longer exists anymore as opposed to a genuine payoff.

The Devil Inside

Release Date

January 6, 2012

Cast

Fernanda Andrade
, Simon Quarterman
, Evan Helmuth
, Ionut Grama
, Suzan Crowley

Runtime

83 Minutes

8

‘Wish Upon’ (2017)

Directed by John R. Leonetti

Attempting to act as a modern, feature-length fable akin to a Twilight Zone episode, Wish Upon‘s comically inept execution transforms it into an unintentional laugh riot. The film follows teenage girl Clare Shannon (Joey King), whose life is quickly changed for the better after she discovers a mysterious box with the magical ability to grant wishes. However, every wish has a deadly price, as a life is taken for every wish that Clare takes, with these deaths becoming increasingly close and prevalent to Clare’s personal life, with her life suddenly being in danger.

It seems rather simple to create a classic horror story of fantastical wishes going wrong in an unexpected way, yet the strange and unclear rules surrounding the box make the film confusing in a bad way. The array of lackluster kills, hilariously bad performances, and stilted editing decisions make these plot inconsistencies even more egregious, as the film doesn’t have the flair or style to make its many mistakes worth ignoring. Its frequent mistakes make it an unexpectedly great so-bad-it’s-good movie, being a great watch for all of the wrong reasons.

7

‘Alone in the Dark’ (2005)

Directed by Uwe Boll

The original Alone in the Dark video game was one of the biggest pioneers for what horror could do in the realm of video games, creating a tense atmosphere and an iconic story that made it an instant classic. In contrast, this dark and drab film adaptation from notorious director Uwe Boll doesn’t have any of the strengths or assets of the original, instead creating a generic action-horror film that further dirties the name of the franchise. The film sees Christian Slater as a private investigator who specializes in supernatural phenomena, traveling the world to take down various demons and occult monsters.

Alone in the Dark removes all the methodical pacing and intelligent horror of the original video game in exchange for loud action sequences, terrible visual effects, and some of the worst, impossible-to-see lighting imaginable. Even if it weren’t attached to a legendary video game, Alone in the Dark would be in the conversation for the worst action-horror movies of all time, yet its egregious bastardization of the games makes it one of the worst adaptations of all time.

Release Date

January 28, 2005

Director

Uwe Boll

Runtime

98 minutes

6

‘Troll 2’ (1990)

Directed by Claudio Fragasso

A sequel so infamous that it overtook the original film in popularity for all the wrong reasons, Troll 2‘s constant stream of flaws has made it a staple of so-bad-it’s-good films ever since its release. Whether it be legendarily terrible line readings like a young man screaming “Oh my god!” in the funniest way possible or its array of strange and chaotic practical effects, Troll 2 is the gift that keeps on giving for so-bad-its-good horror. The film doesn’t even have any connections to the first Troll film, further amplifying its popularity over the previous film.

The film follows a young boy named Joshua, who is seemingly the only person in his family who recognizes the dangerous Goblins that are present within the new town that his family is visiting on vacation, Nilbog. Aided by the spirit of his late grandfather, Joshua does all that he can to save his family from being the latest victims to a horde of goblins, coinciding with a group of teenagers also entering the city who one-by-one become victims to a vicious witch.

Release Date

October 12, 1990

Director

Claudio Fragasso

Cast

Michael Stephenson
, George Hardy
, Margo Prey
, Connie Young
, Robert Ormsby
, Deborah Reed

Runtime

95 minutes

5

‘Slender Man’ (2018)

Directed by Sylvain White

Once one of the most recognizable faces when it came to internet horror, Slender Man has long since lost his massive popularity in the decade since the heights of his popularity as an icon of creepypasta. However, this didn’t stop Sony from attempting to cash in on the character’s notoriety with the aptly titled Slender Man. While the largely generic film was already nipping at the heels of the long-since-faded popularity of the character, painful real-life events transformed what would have been a formulaic R-rated supernatural thriller into a neutered and soulless PG-13 catastrophe.

The final film that ended up being released is blatantly incomplete, missing any actual scares, missing development for its characters, and having little to no actual Slender Man in the film itself. It doesn’t have the gall or strength to tell a slow and methodical tale similar to the original stories the character was popularized by, instead being a constant stream of cheap jumpscares and lackluster visuals.

Release Date

August 10, 2018

Runtime

100minutes

4

‘Jaws: The Revenge’ (1987)

Directed by Joseph Sargent

While the original Jaws is still largely heralded as a titan of not only horror filmmaking but blockbuster filmmaking in general, each of the sequels managed to decrease the bar of quality lower and lower, ending with the infamously terrible Jaws: The Revenge. The film sees Ellen Brody, deciding after yet another shark attack plaguing the people of Amity Island, to move out to the Caribbean to join her son Michael and escape the painful shark-infested waters. However, the shark proves to have a personal vendetta against the Brody family, following her to the Caribbean and hungry for more.

Especially when compared to the mastery of the original film, Jaws: The Revenge is a painful disappointment that fails to recapture any of the allure or energy of the original film. It’s easily among the worst that 80s horror has to offer with its lackluster visual effects and strange, nonsensical plot that wants the audience to believe that there is some sort of psychic connection between Ellen Brody and the shark. Its only qualities are that of unintentional comedy, as it holds little to no merit outside of its various blunders.

Release Date

July 17, 1987

Director

Joseph Sargent

Cast

Lorraine Gary
, Michael Caine
, Mario Van Peebles
, Lance Guest
, Karen Young
, Judith Barsi
, Lynn Whitfield
, Mitchell Anderson

Runtime

89 minutes

3

‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey’ (2023)

Directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield

It has been a frequent trend in recent years in extreme low-budget horror to create twisted, nightmarish slasher renditions of classic characters the moment that they are put into the public domain. This trend has created many notoriously terrible horror films of recent memory, but both the worst of them all and the film that kickstarted the trend is Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, a gore-filled interpretation of the classic children’s book characters.

The film has little to no substance outside of having a cheaply made killer version of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet going on a schlocky, exploitative killing spree filled with cheap gore and cheaper nudity. While its concept of a childhood icon turned killer seems like it would make for a fun time, the film’s monotonous pacing, terrible lighting, and cardboard cutout characters make it hard to find any enjoyment. The film managed to be successful enough to receive a sequel that would improve in nearly every way, while this initial film still rots with no reason to give it the time of day.

Release Date

February 15, 2023

Director

Rhys Frake-Waterfield

Cast

Amber Doig-Thorne
, Maria Taylor
, Danielle Ronald
, Natasha Tosini
, May Kelly
, Paula Coiz
, Craig David Dowsett
, Richard D. Myers
, Nikolai Leon

Runtime

100 minutes

2

‘Birdemic: Shock and Terror’ (2010)

Directed by James Nguyen

Very few films are quite as bafflingly terrible as Birdemic: Shock and Terror, a film that feels as though it’s being tied together with glue and popsicle sticks and could fall apart at any moment. The completely artless movie attempts to be a modern riff on Alfred Hitchcock‘s The Birds, seeing a small town being the target of a vicious attack from various eagles, vultures, and other avian creatures. However, this titular Birdemic doesn’t even take place until a good 40 minutes into this 93-minute-long film, with almost half of the movie focusing on the awkward romance between its leads.

Birdemic‘s flaws are overwhelming in quantity as well as egregious in their very existence, with simple concepts like microphone quality, usable camera angles, and discernable dialogue having been completely thrown out the window. Its shocking quality has made it a figurehead for so-bad-it’s-good horror in the 21st century, with its poorly animated CGI birds further cementing it as a master of garbage and will be remembered for ages.

Birdemic: Shock and Terror

Release Date

February 27, 2010

Director

James Nguyen

Cast

Alan Bagh
, Whitney Moore
, Janae Caster
, Colton Osborne
, Adam Sessa
, Catherine Batcha
, Patsy van Ettinger
, Damien Carter
, Rick Camp
, Stephen Gustavson
, Danny Webber
, Mona Lisa Moon
, Natalie Yonkers
, Laura Cassidy
, Bonnie Steiger
, Eric Swartz
, Zoya Shybkouskaya
, Cameron Palmer
, Milan Lee
, James Z. Feng
, James Nguyen
, Justin Osborne
, Thomas Cokenias
, Steve McMoy
, Daniel Mai

Runtime

94 minutes

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1

‘Manos: The Hands of Fate’ (1966)

Directed by Harold P. Warren

When it comes to horror movies that are considered among the worst films of all time, Manos: The Hands of Fate has been at the front of the conversation for nearly 60 years. The infamous film follows a family who gets lost on the side of the road, ending up in the clutches of a vicious devil-worshiping cult led by a mysterious and deadly figurehead known as the Master. Accompanied by his servant, Torgo, the cult has its way with the family and makes them the latest victims of their sadistic ways.

Manos: The Hands of Fate goes beyond the very notions of a standard bad film and creates a film so terrible and so lacking in qualities that it feels almost impossible to create another film as poorly put together. The film acts as a pinnacle for how bad a film can truly be, outshining many other notoriously terrible films in spades with its complete betrayal of the fundamentals of filmmaking like editing and acting. The film is awful in every sense of the word, with this very awfulness being the reason that it has stayed a part of the cultural zeitgeist for so many years.

Release Date

November 15, 1966

Director

Harold P. Warren

Cast

Tom Neyman
, John Reynolds
, Diane Adelson
, Harold P. Warren
, Stephanie Nielson
, Sherry Proctor
, Robin Redd
, Jackey Neyman Jones

Runtime

70 Minutes

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