As one of cinema’s cheapest genres, horror has also been incredibly profitable, with classic movies like Hellraiser, The Exorcist, and Halloween earning praise despite modest budgets. However, genuine masterpieces in the genre are the exception, and the low barrier of entry has meant no shortage of bad films. While some movies can be so poorly made they become a sort of guilty pleasure, others are just simply bad.
An array of movies in the genre get made all the time and, like many, I’m always keen to give even the most fringe and obscure indie horror films a sH๏τ. In some cases, I went in rooting for these movies — and that just made their abysmal quality all the more disappointing. While even the worst movies have their fans, some are practically indefensible in just how far they push the meaning of terrible cinema.
10
Halloween II (2009)
Directed By Rob Zombie
After John Carpenter departed his iconic horror franchise, Halloween’s many sequels created a divisive reputation among fans. However, when Rob Zombie was tapped to reboot it, the polarization soared to new heights. While his first 2007 remake has developed something of a cult following for its gritty tone, the 2009 sequel is nearly universally hated. Focusing on a traumatized Laurie Strode fending off the return of Michael Myers, the film is one of the darkest in the franchise.
…That brutality, coupled with the film’s almost endlessly grim visuals and Laurie’s self-destructive behavior make the movie a grueling slog entirely devoid of life.
To his credit, Zombie’s Halloween II did make an effort to shine a light on PTSD in a way few movies have, holding nothing back in his portrayal of living with trauma and loss. That being said, that brutality, coupled with the film’s almost endlessly grim visuals and Laurie’s self-destructive behavior make the movie a grueling slog entirely devoid of life. Horror shouldn’t be joyful, but this movie took misery to an unwatchable extreme.
9
Bunnyman (2011)
Directed By Carl Lindbergh
Like many horror fans, urban legends are one of the best ways a movie can pique my interest, particularly those of the slasher variety. The story of the “Bunny Man,” a supposed violent attacker from the 1970s, is one of the most intriguing, so naturally I was drawn to the idea of a movie about it. Unfortunately, what I got was one of the worst-filmed movies in the genre, one with a production value so bad it might as well have been filmed on a flip phone.
From its frustratingly unintelligent characters to its underwhelming use of the urban legend himself, Bunnyman is one of the biggest cases of a film-maker wasting otherwise good source material. At virtually no point does anything feel scary, and the over-acting of the cast borders on camp. For people who want to watch a group of dim-witted college kids run around the woods, the film might be fun. For those of us looking for some semblance of a story, it’s a lost cause.
8
Carnage Park (2016)
Directed By Mickey Keating
Carnage Park is one of those movies that begins with the facade of something good, presenting the viewer with a Tarantino-esque crime story with a neo-Western makeover. Focusing on a serial killer who uses his sniper rifle to hunt people in the desert, the film is a classic game of cat and mouse, throwing non-stop weirdness at the viewer in hopes of it impressing them.
The best way to describe Carnage Park to someone who hasn’t seen it is to imagine a movie that tries to combine the style of a Tarantino film with the tone of Greg McLean’s Wolf Creek, only to fail at both. From the outset, its Western influences and embrace of grindhouse horror are clear, giving it the ingredients of what could have been a good movie. It starts strong, but soon tapers out into one dull chase scene, one that fails to really live up to its potential.
7
COVID-21: Lethal Virus (2021)
Directed By Daniel Hernandez Torrado
I’m always open to small, fringe productions, just as I’m constantly on the lookout for a good zombie film. When I stumbled across COVID-21: Lethal Virus, I rolled my eyes at the attempt to capitalize on the pandemic, but gave the film a sH๏τ all the same. What followed was, I can confidently say, one of the least-interesting and poorly-scripted zombie films I’ve ever seen — and that’s saying nothing of the awful effects.
The action sequences are poorly-made, every attempt to make its characters interesting has the reverse effect, and the movie tries nothing original with its genre.
COVID-21: Lethal Virus suffers from bad writing at almost every level, from a thoroughly unlikable protagonist to nonsensical dialogue. The action sequences are poorly-made, every attempt to make its characters interesting has the reverse effect, and the movie tries nothing original with its genre. In comparison, even the most critically-panned zombie movies like House of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ seem like masterpieces.
6
West of Hell (2018)
Directed By Michael Steves
As both a Western and horror fan, when I heard about West of Hell, I was intrigued; Tony Todd and Lance Henriksen starring in an indie supernatural movie set aboard a train just sounded excellent. This premise alone should have made for an incredible film, even if it did have the production value of a ’90s TV movie. From the outset, however, it becomes clear that the film is less a coherent narrative and more a patchwork of common tropes, tired clichés and an absurd number of “twists.”
Confined spaces often works in favor of horror movies, and a train hurtling through the West carrying Hateful Eight-type characters could have been great. Instead, the story alternates between meandering conversation that adds nothing of value and scenes that try much too hard to earn its R-rating. In struggling to understand either of its genres, the movie wastes its stars almost as much as it does the audience’s time.
5
The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024)
Directed By Renny Harlin
As someone who got to enjoy The Strangers the year it released, albeit on DVD, I’ve counted the film among my favorite slashers ever since. After enjoying the great, albeit inferior, sequel in The Strangers: Prey at Night, I was just as eager to see more from the franchise as anyone. In 2024, the first entry in a planned trilogy tried to get back to basics, essentially remaking the original. Unfortunately, virtually none of the tension of the 2008 original exists here.
By itself, The Strangers: Chapter 1 would be just another dull slasher movie, fading into obscurity like most others. As a sequel to arguably the best horror film of its decade, however, its disappointment and poor quality pushed the audience from simply bored to frustrated by how far it had fallen from the original. The film is as unnecessary and shallow as it is dull and unoriginal — it’s better to just enjoy the 2008 film as a standalone classic.
4
No Man’s Land: The Rise of the Reeker (2008)
Directed By Dave Payne
The original Reeker movie, despite its faults, delivered a decent indie horror story that at least tried to give its viewers a unique yet familiar story. Focusing on the fates of souls near death as they’re claimed by a reaper-like serial killer in limbo, the first movie gave its audience some good characters an interesting twist. Everything that was charming about the first film, however, is completely missing from its sequel.
I found enough charm in the first movie for it to warrant a rewatch from time to time, but this continuation is just a waste.
No Man’s Land: The Rise of Reeker is a visually dull, unoriginal story that effectively just remakes the plot of the first movie. Rather than do something interesting with its villain, the sequel underwhelms at every turn, and relies too much on gratuitous gore in place of actual scares. I found enough charm in the first movie for it to warrant a rewatch from time to time, but this continuation is just a waste.
3
Jeepers Creepers: Reborn (2022)
Directed By Timo Vuorensola
2001’s Jeepers Creepers stands out as one of the most memorable horror movies of its era, introducing viewers to its enigmatic monster, the Creeper. As the franchise declined with each subsequent entry — and its creator was outed as an abuser — its destruction was completed with 2022’s Jeepers Creepers: Reborn. Here, a group of characters visits a derelict plantation house, only to realize it’s owned by a cult that worships the Creeper.
Jeepers Creepers: Reborn can’t settle on whether it’s a reboot or sequel, and fails to deliver on what audiences wanted from either. The story is almost entirely aimless, introduces plot points entirely unrelated to previous movies and reduces its monster to a shell of itself. More than anything, this movie feels like a combination of student film and fan-fiction, featuring laughably bad special effects, shallow characters and complete mishandling of the franchise.
2
Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey (2023)
Directed By Rhys Frake-Waterfield
The move of some of pop culture’s most beloved children’s stories into the public domain has unleashed a flurry of horror parodies, from comics to movies. No film represented this absurd trend as succinctly as Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey. Reimagining the iconic bear and his friends as feral killers, the movie traded any pretense of a good story for a focus on gory, exploitation horror, going for shock over substance.
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey should have had more self-awareness, understanding that its story could have used a healthy dose of humor. For such an absurd premise, the movie was completely devoid of fun, and its abysmal dialogue went beyond parody into the realm of just simply bad. Horror audiences were rooting for the movie to be a silly popcorn flick, but we all walked away completely disinterested in what the creators were selling.
1
I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006)
Directed By Sylvain White
I Know What You Did Last Summer has always held a special place in my heart as a quintessential part of ’90s horror — and the stardom of its cast is a big reason why. After we saw Julie James and her friends take on the vengeful fisherman, Ben Willis, she and Ray returned for what is, to me, a solid sequel. It wouldn’t be until 2006 that the franchise was finally revisited — but the third entry made many of us wish it had been left alone.
I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer feels less like a genuine continuation of the original and more like a generic slasher script that was rebranded under the franchise for marketing. From start to finish, the audience is constantly reminded of the film’s poor production and bad sound editing. To make matters worse, the constant refusal to actually build tension in any scene, coupled with a completely off-brand reveal and bland characters makes it so bad it actually taints the horror franchise.
