100 worst horror films of all time

Baby Way Productions In the difficult economics of present-day Hollywood (where superhero movies and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson seem to be the only safe bets to make money) one genre has risen as the place to take a chance: horror. Relatively cheap to make–while still best experienced in a theater–horror has become one of the few places to tell stories without capes and tights. No one has shepherded the genre better than Jason Blum, creator of Blumhouse Productions, who standardized the low-budget/high-return model that gave us “Paranormal Activity,” “Split,” and the lauded “Get Out.” Horror can be great. The genre can expose social ills, collective moral rot, and give poignant commentary on grief. It can also be fun, frightening, and refreshingly low-stakes. But, as the 100 movies below prove, horror can be something else entirely when directors don’t stick the landing. Stacker curated a list of the 100 worst horror films of all time, calculated using a combination of IMDb and Metacritic data from September 2022. Films had to have more than 2,500 votes to be considered. Ties were broken by IMDb votes. If a movie did not have a Metascore, it was not considered. The forthcoming films were helmed by wide-ranging talent from James Cameron to Uwe Boll and feature equally varied casts from Richard Burton and Marlon Brando to many, many Tara Reid appearances. You may also like: 15 controversial Oscar wins–and how they’ve aged #100. 14 Cameras (2018) Hood River Entertainment – Directors: Seth Fuller, Scott Hussion – Stacker score: 39 – IMDb user rating: 4.6 – Metascore: 25 – Runtime: 90 minutes A sequel to the 2016 horror film “13 Cameras,” this installment follows a family of four whose idyllic summer vacation rental is revealed to hide several cameras livestreaming their most private moments on the dark web. “14 Cameras” was less critically successful than its predecessor and received flack for conflating voyeuristic horror with the general objectification of its actors. #99. Venom (2005) Dimension Films – Director: Jim Gillespie – Stacker score: 39 – IMDb user rating: 4.6 – Metascore: 25 – Runtime: 87 minutes Jim Gillespie (“I Know What You Did Last Summer”) didn’t quite recapture the frightening fun of his 1997 classic. In “Venom,” a group of teenagers in Louisiana is pursued by the possessed, snake-bitten body of one teen’s biological father. The film is overrun with clichés and also happened to be released days after Hurricane Katrina, which made the critical reception of the Louisiana-based film especially rough. #98. Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) Dimension Films – Director: Kevin Yagher – Stacker score: 39 – IMDb user rating: 5.0 – Metascore: 21 – Runtime: 85 minutes If anything, “Hellraiser: Bloodline” suffers from bloat. It’s a prequel and a sequel that jumps through hundreds of years’ worth of plot, after all. The fourth “Hellraiser” installment opens in the 18th century, showing how an innocent toymaker accidentally summoned the demonic Cenobites, Pinhead (Doug Bradley, reprising his iconic role) among them. The film then jumps hundreds of years into the future, following the toymaker’s descendant as he creates a space station designed to kill the remaining Cenobites. It’s an overambitious mess. But hey! At least it gave Adam Scott his first major film role. #97. The Roommate (2011) Screen Gems – Director: Christian E. Christiansen – Stacker score: 39 – IMDb user rating: 4.8 – Metascore: 23 – Runtime: 91 minutes Based on its fantastic premise, “The Roommate” should have worked. Upon arriving at college, Sara (Minka Kelly) becomes fast friends with her freshman roommate, Rebecca (Leighton Meester), whom she does not realize is obsessed with her. Sure enough, everyone around her starts to suffer Rebecca’s wrath. A remake of the classic thriller “Single White Female,” “The Roommate” is sorely missing talent on par with Bridget Fonda or Jennifer Jason Leigh. #96. Fantasy Island (2020) Columbia Pictures – Director: Jeff Wadlow – Stacker score: 39 – IMDb user rating: 4.9 – Metascore: 22 – Runtime: 109 minutes The obscure ’70s TV reboot that nobody asked for, 2020’s “Fantasy Island” serves as a prequel and reimaging of the ABC show of the same name. The film stars Lucy Hale as one of several visitors to the luxurious island, where they’re granted the opportunity to live out their wildest (you guessed it) fantasies. Naturally, things go terribly awry in what might be one of the clunkiest franchise reboot attempts in recent years. As Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers writes, “The only genuine, blood-curdling scream incited by this stupefyingly dull time- and money-waster comes at the end, when the notion dawns that [the film] is meant to spawn sequels.” #95. The Curse of Sleeping Beauty (2016) Briar Rose Productions – Director: Pearry Reginald Teo – Stacker score: 38.5 – IMDb user rating: 4.3 – Metascore: 27 – Runtime: 89 minutes In “The Curse of Sleeping Beauty,” a young man’s (Ethan Peck) life changes when he suddenly inherits an estate containing an ancient religious curse and a beautiful maiden (India Eisley) who lives there in purgatory. Based on the Brothers Grimm’s fairytale and a comic book of the same name, the movie was bashed for lazily going through the motions of its iconic source material and featuring boring storytelling and stilted acting to boot. #94. The Basement (2018) Conley Entertainment Group – Directors: Brian M. Conley, Nathan Ives – Stacker score: 38.5 – IMDb user rating: 4.3 – Metascore: 27 – Runtime: 88 minutes It’s well-known horror movie wisdom that you should never go into the basement. The same is true of spending time with the 2018 horror film “The Basement.” The movie follows Craig (Cayleb Long), who is abducted by a notorious L.A. serial killer known as “The Gemini,” who tortures him and has an unexpected connection to Craig’s wife Kelly (Mischa Barton), who suspects him of infidelity. If Craig being put through psychological torture by a psychopath sounds like a blatant Saw rip-off, that’s because it is. #93. The Disappointments Room (2016) Demarest Films – Director: D.J. Caruso – Stacker score: 38.5 – IMDb user rating: 3.9 – Metascore: 31 – Runtime: 91 minutes In this entry in the well-trodden haunted house subgenre, Dana (Kate Beckinsale), her husband, and their five-year-old move from Brooklyn to a run-down Southern mansion. Soon enough, a supernatural force begins bothering the family. By the by: Any room in which you put this movie on instantly becomes The Disappointed Room. #92. Captivity (2007) Captivity Productions – Director: Roland Joffé – Stacker score: 38.5 – IMDb user rating: 4.6 – Metascore: 24 – Runtime: 96 minutes This unsavory entry in the “torture porn” genre stars Elisha Cuthbert as Jennifer, a young fashion model kidnapped and tormented by anonymous assailants. She soon allies with another captive man named Gary (Daniel Gillies), who has sinister ulterior motives of his own. The poorly reviewed film is perhaps best-remembered for its controversial marketing campaign, in which After Dark Films advertised the movie by putting pictures of a female character being tortured and murdered on billboards and cabs. #91. The Pyramid (2014) Twentieth Century Fox – Director: Grégory Levasseur – Stacker score: 38.5 – IMDb user rating: 4.6 – Metascore: 24 – Runtime: 89 minutes Set during the Egyptian uprising of 2012-2013, a team of archaeologists find a buried three-sided pyramid near Cairo. After being told to leave the site because of the nearby unrest, the scientists foolishly stay behind, enter the pyramid, and are attacked by supernatural creatures. The film is presented in a found footage format, but the unearned political setting and terrible dialogue make it better left unfound. #90. Rings (2017) Macari/Edelstein – Director: F. Javier Gutiérrez – Stacker score: 38.5 – IMDb user rating: 4.5 – Metascore: 25 – Runtime: 102 minutes The third film in “The Ring” trilogy, “Rings” lazily reworks the same central idea: a cursed film that when seen kills the viewer in seven days. This time, the protagonist (Matilda Lutz) sacrifices herself to save her boyfriend, only to discover that there is a whole other film inside the film. It would have been better if someone involved had realized that although there was another film after the first “Ring,” there should never have been a third. #89. A Haunted House (2013) Open Road Films (II) – Director: Michael Tiddes – Stacker score: 38.5 – IMDb user rating: 5.0 – Metascore: 20 – Runtime: 86 minutes “A Haunted House” was intended to parody found footage horror movies like “Paranormal Activity,” but the joke might be on the badly received movie itself. Writer-producer Marlon Wayans stars in the film as Malcolm, whose wife Kisha (Essence Atkins) becomes possessed by a demon soon after the couple moves into their dream home. Worried about how his wife’s possession will affect his sex life, Malcolm hires a priest, psychic, and a team of ghostbusters to help. Actor Nick Swardson received a Golden Raspberry nomination for Worst Supporting Actor for his role as Chip the Psychic. #88. The Covenant (2006) Screen Gems – Director: Renny Harlin – Stacker score: 38.5 – IMDb user rating: 5.1 – Metascore: 19 – Runtime: 97 minutes “The Covenant” doesn’t often come up on lists of popular YA fantasies and for good reason. The easily forgettable film follows four high school boys descended from powerful witch families as they harness their magical powers and confront a presumed-dead warlock who seeks to destroy their community.  #87. Dark House (2014) Charles Agron Productions – Director: Victor Salva – Stacker score: 37.9 – IMDb user rating: 4.7 – Metascore: 22 – Runtime: 102 minutes This generic horror saga stars Luke Kleintank as Nick Di Santo, a clairvoyant man who can determine how a person dies simply by touching them. Soon, Nick learns that his father is alive and may hold the key to unraveling his mysterious abilities. Oh, and he inherits a creepy manor he thought was the product of his childhood imagination … which also contains monsters. Many critics (including writer John Squires) refused to review “Dark House” because of director Victor Salva’s criminal convictions for child pornography and molestation. #86. House (2008) More Entertainment – Director: Robby Henson – Stacker score: 37.9 – IMDb user rating: 4.5 – Metascore: 24 – Runtime: 88 minutes Based on a novel by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker, “House” tells the story of The Tin Man, a killer who locks seven people in a rustic Alabama inn and tells them he’ll kill them all if they don’t give him a dead body by daybreak. The Tin Man (Michael Madsen) is clearly crazy and frightens the trapped victims to the point where they consider his offer. This film suffers from too many flashbacks and not enough scares. #85. Amityville 3-D (1983) De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG) – Director: Richard Fleischer – Stacker score: 37.9 – IMDb user rating: 4.1 – Metascore: 28 – Runtime: 105 minutes The third film in the “Amityville Horror” franchise, “Amityville 3-D” stars Tony Roberts as a reporter who moves into the Amityville house and (gasp!) is soon targeted by evil demonic forces after ignoring the townspeople’s warnings. The film wasn’t initially promoted as an “Amityville” sequel due to a lawsuit between the Lutz family (who reportedly experienced the Amityville horrors in real life) and film producer Dino De Laurentiis over one of the film’s storylines. Ultimately, though, it was panned upon its release, particularly for its early foray into 3-D. As The New York Times put it, “3-D exposition is the stuff of which headaches are made.” #84. Darkness (2002) Dimension Films – Director: Jaume Balagueró – Stacker score: 37.9 – IMDb user rating: 5.4 – Metascore: 15 – Runtime: 88 minutes In “Darkness,” an American family moves into a Spanish country house with a disturbing history: 40 years earlier, six children disappeared in an occult ritual. Naturally, the American family’s teenage children find themselves tormented by paranormal disturbances in their new home. “Darkness” faced criticism for its shoddy filmmaking, with Entertainment Weekly’s Owen Gleiberman writing, “[‘Darkness’ is] a horror movie so vague about the nightmare it’s spinning, it seems scared of its own shadows… [the film] was clearly tossed together like salad in the editing room.” #83. Virus (1999) Mutual Film Company – Director: John Bruno – Stacker score: 37.9 – IMDb user rating: 5.0 – Metascore: 19 – Runtime: 99 minutes Based on a comic book by Chuck Pfarrer, “Virus” tells the story of a shipwrecked crew that boards a deserted Russian ship. It soon becomes obvious that something extraterrestrial is aboard attempting to control humanity. This film stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Sutherland, and Billy Baldwin and was the first feature film ever directed by visual effects guy John Bruno … who perhaps should have stuck to his day job. #82. Jason X (2001) New Line Cinema – Director: James Isaac – Stacker score: 37.9 – IMDb user rating: 4.4 – Metascore: 25 – Runtime: 92 minutes “Jason X” (the X marks the fact that it’s the tenth “Friday the 13th” film) is an example of a weak elevator pitch coming to life. Screenwriter Todd Farmer came to the studio with the idea of Jason Voorhees in space, and somehow the studio bit, leading to an insane film in which Jason awakens upon a spaceship in the 25th century, just as ready to murder as ever. Of all the people to cryogenically freeze, they had to go and freeze a murderous psychopath, huh? #81. Empire of the Ants (1977) Cinema 77 – Director: Bert I. Gordon – Stacker score: 37.4 – IMDb user rating: 4.2 – Metascore: 26 – Runtime: 89 minutes In this haphazard H.G. Wells adaptation, a group of prospective landowners finds themselves fighting for their lives when they uncover a colony of enormous mutated ants. “Empire of the Ants” was blasted by critics for its artificial-feeling special effects and mundane scares, sure to amuse (rather than terrify) anyone who is not a small child. #80. Bless the Child (2000) Paramount Pictures – Director: Chuck Russell – Stacker score: 37.4 – IMDb user rating: 5.1 – Metascore: 17 – Runtime: 107 minutes Kim Basinger plays a nurse who is left to care for the daughter of her drug-addicted sister. When the daughter goes missing, an FBI agent (Jimmy Smits) and Basinger’s character discover that the girl possesses supernatural powers and has been kidnapped by a Satanic cult. #79. Black Christmas (2006) Black Christmas – Director: Glen Morgan – Stacker score: 37.4 – IMDb user rating: 4.6 – Metascore: 22 – Runtime: 95 minutes A horribly traumatized young boy named Billy grows up to be a deranged adult (Robert Mann) who is put in an insane asylum for the murder of his abusive mother and stepfather. When he breaks out on Christmas Eve and returns home, he discovers that his former home is now a sorority house. Unsurprisingly, the deranged Billy does not take this news well. #78. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) Columbia Pictures – Director: Danny Cannon – Stacker score: 37.4 – IMDb user rating: 4.7 – Metascore: 21 – Runtime: 100 minutes The two surviving teens from the first film — played by Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. (who we always knew were too pretty and famous to get killed — are still being chased by the ice-hooked fisherman they left to die. But this time, they’re at a beautiful island resort. It’s a bit of a retread of the first movie, but it was still a hugely important piece of cinema for readers of a certain age. #77. Creature (2011) Lockjaw Productions – Director: Fred Andrews – Stacker score: 36.8 – IMDb user rating: 3.6 – Metascore: 31 – Runtime: 93 minutes For a movie about a half-human, half-alligator monster, the greatest sin that “Creature” commits is being boring. It takes 45 minutes before the creature begins killing the film’s six stale leads in the swamps of Louisiana. And then even those are largely kept offscreen! #76. Beneath the Darkness (2011) Raincreek Productions – Director: Martin Guigui – Stacker score: 36.8 – IMDb user rating: 4.5 – Metascore: 22 – Runtime: 96 minutes After a group of teens breaks into the house of the town’s mortician, one of them is attacked by the (rightfully) disgruntled homeowner, Ely Vaughn (Dennis Quaid). The teens flee, trying and failing to prove that the well-respected Vaughn is actually deranged. Quaid does his best turn as a psychopath, but the rest of the film is predictable and boring. #75. Ghoulies (1985) Empire Pictures – Director: Luca Bercovici – Stacker score: 36.8 – IMDb user rating: 4.1 – Metascore: 26 – Runtime: 81 minutes The 1980s were a wild time. It was the decade of Pac-Man, Spandex, and lots and lots of cocaine. Perhaps that led to the financing of “Ghoulies,” a derivative film about tiny green monsters meant to catch some of the “Gremlins”-mania runoff. It worked: the film made $35 million. #74. The Haunting of Molly Hartley (2008) Huntington Prep – Director: Mickey Liddell – Stacker score: 36.8 – IMDb user rating: 3.9 – Metascore: 28 – Runtime: 85 minutes “The Haunting of Molly Hartley” follows a traumatized girl who changes schools only to be bullied by her new classmates. Oh, and also, she’s being haunted by the supernatural. As noted before, the teen horror genre is not impossible to get right–but it’s very easy to get wrong. #73. Supernova (2000) Hammerhead Productions – Directors: Walter Hill, Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Sholder – Stacker score: 36.8 – IMDb user rating: 4.8 – Metascore: 19 – Runtime: 90 minutes The crew of a medical spaceship, which includes the likes of James Spader and Angela Bassett, answers a distress signal from a mining ship. They save the mysterious young man aboard but realize that he and the nearby giant star about to explode are real dangers. As you’d expect, “Supernova” overflows with future space tension. #72. See No Evil (2006) World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) – Director: Gregory Dark – Stacker score: 36.8 – IMDb user rating: 5.0 – Metascore: 17 – Runtime: 84 minutes The first release by WWE Films, “See No Evil” follows a group of delinquent teens sent to clean up an abandoned hotel that just so happens to be the hideout of hook-handed murderer Jacob Goodnight. The villain is played by professional wrestler and all-around frightening human Kane, but the Undertaker’s brother deserved better for his acting debut. A film is never going to work with a killer named Goodnight. It would be four years until Kane realized his acting potential, portraying Tanker Lutz in “MacGruber.” #71. The Darkest Hour (2011) Summit Entertainment – Director: Chris Gorak – Stacker score: 36.8 – IMDb user rating: 4.9 – Metascore: 18 – Runtime: 89 minutes “The Darkest Hour” tells the story of two software designers, their two love interests, and their shady partner, all of whom may be the last survivors after an alien attack on the power grid. Emile Hirsch stars as one of the software designers/alien survivalists who happens to be in Moscow for a deal gone wrong. The title refers to both the state of humanity and the fact that without power, things go dark! You may also like: Classic movie quotes that have broken into our daily vocabulary #70. Jacob’s Ladder (2019)