Have you ever heard of the term it’s so bad that it’s good? Well in the case of the following list of films, there may be an exception here. However, during the Halloween season, you may feel tempted to check out some of these flicks. Or perhaps we’re doing a service by naming these titles to stay away from if you wish to dedicate your time to watching some good quality horror. The following selections include poor dialogue, abysmal effects, or the old “this isn’t even scary!” vibe. Without further ado, here’s a list of some of the absolute worst horror movies that you’ll likely regret watching. Whether you choose to watch anyway, is solely up to you.
The Bye Bye Man (2017)
A supernatural figure who haunts anyone who learns his name — is squandered with poor acting, laughable CGI, and a plot that goes nowhere. It’s less scary and more confusing. Prepare to say “bye bye” to your brain cells after watching this one. Currently sitting with an 18% score on Rotten Tomatoes, this movie is a waste of celluloid. This plot is so laughably bad that it makes Goosebumps episodes seem like Oscar contenders. The Bye Bye Man is supposed to be this terrifying supernatural force, but really, he’s just a guy in a hoodie. You’ll be saying “bye bye” to any hope of real scares within the first 15 minutes.
Tales from the Hood 2 (2018)
The original Tales from the Hood is a classic! It had an interesting blend of horror and social commentary, but the sequel? That’s a different beast. It’s like they took all the finesse of the first movie, tossed it out the window, and left us with a really bad knockoff. Imagine trying to mix police brutality, racial injustice, and killer dolls (all featured in the first film) — and somehow missing the mark on all fronts. The movie tries too hard to lean into the social justice issues and also be terrifying. Sadly, it ends up being neither. A disappointment that feels like someone forgot to proofread their horror satire homework.
The Happening (2008)
Nothing says terrifying like a gentle breeze chasing you down. Seriously, imagine a movie where the scariest villain is wind, well this is exactly what takes place in The Happening. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, this movie tries to scare us with… trees? The plot revolves around plants releasing toxins that make people commit suicide. Mark Wahlberg’s wooden acting and bizarre pacing don’t help. It’s unintentionally hilarious when the characters are running away from the wind. And if you think we’re being a bit too harsh about Mark Wahlberg’s performance, just check out this clip below. Sorry, Mark, your “no” is not convincing.
Troll 2 (1990)
This movie is so terrible it spawned a documentary about how bad it is. First of all, there are no trolls in Troll 2. None. Instead, we get goblins who turn people into green goo so they can eat them. The acting is abysmal, the dialogue sounds like it was written by aliens, and the costumes are straight-up Halloween-store rejects. It’s achieved cult status because it’s so laughably awful. This isn’t a horror movie, it’s a cry for help.
Bones (2001)
Snoop Dogg as a ghostly revenge-seeker? Sounds good on paper, but Bones is just one big bone-headed mess. The plot revolves around Snoop as Jimmy Bones, a murdered gangster who comes back for vengeance. Sure, the concept seems promising, but the execution? Yikes. It’s like they threw in every horror cliché imaginable and thought Snoop’s smoothness would save it. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t. Between questionable acting, odd pacing, and effects that scream “early 2000s,” this is more of a joke than a jump-scare.
The Wicker Man (2006)
Nicolas Cage delivers an Oscar-worthy performance… if Oscars were given out for completely losing your mind on camera. You’ve probably seen the memes — Cage dressed as a bear, Cage punching women, and of course, Cage screaming about bees. This movie fails on all fronts — scary, suspenseful, or even coherent. At least we got some iconic memes out of this hot mess…”not the bees!”
One Missed Call (2008)
This American remake of a Japanese horror film is about people receiving voicemails from their future selves… predicting their deaths. It manages to take a genuinely creepy premise and suck all the suspense out of it with terrible acting and laughable CGI. The only thing scarier than getting a creepy voicemail predicting your death is missing an important call sitting through this movie. The tension builds like a balloon with a slow leak: eventually, you just stop caring. The CGI is worse than a CW show and the acting? Let’s just say you’ll be rooting for the killer to speed things along. If only there was an app to block movies like this.
Jason X (2001)
When you’ve run out of ideas, just send your horror villain to space! Because nothing says ‘terrifying’ like zero gravity. The idea of sending Jason Voorhees to space was clearly a desperate attempt to keep the Friday the 13th franchise alive. The movie is filled with cheesy one-liners, cheap effects, and a plot that belongs more to a bad sci-fi movie than horror. This time, Jason gets an upgrade and becomes some kind of sci-fi supervillain in space armor. The kills are as ridiculous as the plot, and by the end, you’ll be laughing too hard to remember this is supposed to be a horror movie. Jason may never die, but horror credibility sure did with this one.
The Roommate (2011)
This college-set horror thriller tries to be a psychological drama but ends up being a dull, tension-free mess. There’s no real terror here, just a lot of awkwardly executed clichés about a creepy roommate gone bad. Imagine every creepy roommate cliché you can think of, throw them into a blender with no seasoning, and you’ve got The Roommate. The only thing more formulaic than the plot is the acting, which feels like it was ripped straight from a cheesy Lifetime movie. It’s pretty much a Single White Female knockoff without the scares… or the plot.
There are definitely more really bad horror movies, but these are a select few to either check out (if you’re into that kind of thing) or stay away from this spooky season.