Worst Horror Letdowns (rated & reviewed)
Disappointing horror films that sucked but are hyped and/or overrated for some strange reason.
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- DirectorJohn KrasinskiStarsEmily BluntJohn KrasinskiMillicent SimmondsA family struggles for survival in a world where most humans have been killed by blind but noise-sensitive creatures. They are forced to communicate in sign language to keep the creatures at bay.1 / 10
Just cannot believe the hype!! Completely not scary and lacking any gripping atmosphere. All choices, behavior and action are just stupid and/or not believable. Don't even get me started on all the plot holes... (see my full review for a list) there are so many things in this movie that just didn't make any sense.
What bugged me the most was probably the Instagram look of the set pieces and cinematography. Who keeps putting up all those candles and strings of lights and who washes and keeps in shape their weekend-getaway-in-the-woods snuggly clothes? This is supposed to be a post-apocalyptic horror film.
See my full review for more, if you care. - DirectorSusanne BierStarsSandra BullockTrevante RhodesJohn MalkovichFive years after an ominous unseen presence drives most of society to suicide, a mother and her two children make a desperate bid to reach safety.1 / 10
Jeeeesus Christ, why? What an insult of a movie.
The characters are unlikeable, most actors are miscast, direction is terrible, plot makes no sense. All choices and events are annoyingly illogical and stupid.
Bring a blindfold when forced to watch this. - DirectorDavid Gordon GreenStarsJamie Lee CurtisJudy GreerAndi MatichakLaurie Strode confronts her long-time foe, Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.3/10
This one has no understanding of the original and its atmosphere. It is more like an action film with comedy elements; I wasn't scared once. Laurie Strode is basically Sarah Connor in a Home Alone setting. Only she used her FORTY years of preparation very poorly. She (and her daughter) make so many poor choices after all this training. Using the wrong guns, leaving doors open. She didn't even seal off her windows! And after everything she knows about Michael, she just leaves him to burn in the basement, making a 100 % sure he will live to haunt her in another boring sequel.
Too many stupid side plots and unnecessary characters no one cares about (e.g. podcasters, teenagers, throwaway cops).
And then the psychiatrist twist: are you kidding me? - DirectorDrew GoddardStarsKristen ConnollyChris HemsworthAnna HutchisonFive college friends head out to a remote cabin for a getaway, but things don't go as planned when they start getting killed. They soon discover that there is more to the cabin than it seems.2 / 10 (2012)
A real camp fest. In a bad way.
This just isn't a horror movie for me. I guess it is supposed to be a self-aware and referency hommage / parody. But at the time, Goddard apparently was a very limited director, so it does not come across (I loved Bad Times at the EL Royale, though!). Hence the movie ends up being an over-ambitious, ridiculous and chaotic mess.
See my full movie review for more, if you care.
UPDATE: 7/10 (2021)
Gave this one a rewatch a couple of years later (in 2020). And I have to say, I really enjoyed it this time. It is actually pretty fantastic. Still not very scary but a damn fun ride. This time around the meta stuff and deconstruction of the horror genre and its viewing habits worked really well for me. - DirectorRob SchmidtStarsEliza DushkuJeremy SistoEmmanuelle ChriquiChris and a group of five friends are left stranded deep in the middle of the woods after their cars collide. As they venture deeper into the woods, they face an uncertain and bloodcurdling fate.4/10
Rather disappointed with this one. Does not have the relentless grit of its obvious role models (Deliverance, THHE, Texas Chainsaw). The hillbillies were alright scary at first but once you see and hear them more frequently, they just turn into Lord-of-the-Rings-style Orcs. Characters not relatable enough. The nail in the coffin was the 10 minute dance in the trees. - DirectorWes CravenStarsNeve CampbellCourteney CoxDavid ArquetteTen years have passed, and Sidney Prescott, who has put herself back together thanks in part to her writing, is visited by the Ghostface Killer.4/10
Scream 4 is annoyingly self-aware and hits you over the head way too many times with its meta approach. Unfortunately, it lacks any scare factor while being way too comedy-like (Scary Movie, anyone?). No menace from the killer and the whole thing about technology, the "young generation" and their craving for fame feels really dated. Most characters behave very stupid and the sudden gruesome deaths of their friends don't seem to really affect them. The main villain can't act. - DirectorGeorge MihalkaStarsPaul KelmanLori HallierNeil AffleckA decades-old folk tale surrounding a deranged murderer killing those who celebrate Valentine's Day turns out to be true to legend when a group defies the killer's order and people start turning up dead.3/10
Some nice touches like the killer POV shots and the miner's outfit but that's about it. This one hasn't aged very well. The "young people" are all played by actors in their mid 30ies. Everyone behaves so stupidly that you don't care for any of them. The amount of splitting up done in this film is ridiculous. And what about the police and the mayor?? - DirectorAlexandre AjaStarsCécile de FranceMaïwennPhilippe NahonBest friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia's parents' secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls' idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror.3 / 10
OMG. Apparently, she was chasing herself. In a car chase. In_two_separate_cars. Need I say more about the stupid premise? - DirectorBen HowlingYolanda RamkeStarsSimone LandersMartin FreemanMarlee Jane McPherson-DobbinsAfter an epidemic spreads all over Australia, a father searches for someone willing to protect his daughter.4/10
Disappointing. Works neither as a zombie/horror flick (as its not scary and has nothing to add to the genre) nor as an emotional journey of a man trying to protect his family. The guy makes so many stupid decisions he deserves to turn. The film drags.
For some reason, I cannot take Martin Freeman seriously, so he was not the right guy for the lead.
(The short worked better.) - DirectorScott BeckBryan WoodsStarsKatie StevensWill BrittainLauryn Alisa McClainOn Halloween, a group of friends encounter an "extreme" haunted house that promises to feed on their darkest fears. The night turns deadly as they come to the horrifying realization that some nightmares are real.3/10
This one is a boring and by-the-book stinker. Uninspired story with completely bland characters that no one cares about. Worse even, the villains are completely faceless and there is no back story or motivation. All this led to me being super not interested in who lives or dies.
The kills are also very standard and uncreative and not much is shown. - DirectorAndy MuschiettiStarsBill SkarsgårdJaeden MartellFinn WolfhardIn the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.5 / 10
This is not a particularly bad movie but it has its place on this list for being overrated.
It just wasn't really scary. And when you think about it, the clown's strategy just doesn't make sense. Why kill some, eat some, abduct but leave alive some and just scare some others? - DirectorMike FlanaganStarsKaren GillanBrenton ThwaitesKatee SackhoffA recently released inmate from a mental asylum learns from his sister that the murders he was convicted of committing were actually orchestrated by a supernatural entity, the Lasser Glass mirror.3/10
Way too many plotholes and stupid decisions. Could see the end coming from miles away.
If she had planned everything perfectly for years why did she make so many stupid decisions and give the mirror so many oportunities to manipulate their minds - like she knew it would!
The dad actor is just very bad. The constant jumping between timelines gets very tedious and is just another means for more jump scares. - DirectorNeil MarshallStarsSean PertweeKevin McKiddEmma CleasbyA routine military exercise turns into a nightmare in the Scottish wilderness.3/10
Rather disappointing, considering all the praise and "cult movie"-talk this one is receiving.
The dialogue is terrible, the continuity and editing are stressful which makes the film fell disjointed at times. I didn't expect it to be really scary but it is neither that nor truly funny. And I must say that the effects are just not good. - DirectorRyûhei KitamuraStarsKelly ConnaireStephanie PearsonRod HernandezStranded at the side of the road after a tire blowout, a group of friends become targets for an enigmatic sniper.This is such a stinker and it might just have the worst acting I have ever witnessed in the history of film.
The characters are unlikeable, the "villain" has no backstory or connection to anyone or anything and no motivation for his deeds.
Terrible direction, bad editing, bad effects (what's with the blood color?), bad continuity, not scary, no logic. The angles for the shooter just do not add up at all! Any person with the intelligence of a duck could have escaped within five minutes.
At least the final girl gets what she deserved :-) - DirectorJames WanStarsPatrick WilsonVera FarmigaRon LivingstonParanormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.2 / 10
This is an overly long, sub-standard and by-the-book haunted-house-movie (based of course on a true story, yaaawn…) that is bloated by unnecessary side plots and filled to the brim with jump scares and stupid decisions from the film’s characters. What's even worse: it is not scary.
See my full review for more, if you care. - DirectorJ.A. BayonaStarsBelén RuedaFernando CayoRoger PríncepA woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.3 / 10
Bad direction. Crude mix between horror and children´s film. EVERY ghost movie cliché served, but NOT scary at all. Bad acting. Messed up story. No gripping atmosphere. Bad editing. Heavily overrated, only because it is a foreign film and Del Toro inexplicably lent his name to this pathetic mess.
See my full movie review for more, if you care. - DirectorMatt ReevesStarsKodi Smit-McPheeChloë Grace MoretzRichard JenkinsA bullied young boy befriends a young female vampire who lives in secrecy with her guardian.5 / 10
Not terribly bad. However, why would you remake one of the best vampire movies of all times within two years of its release and then leave everything out which made the original so special (heart and soul)? Added nothing to the original. - DirectorJames WatkinsStarsDaniel RadcliffeJanet McTeerCiarán HindsA young solicitor travels to a remote village where he discovers that the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.2 / 10
Harry Potter staring at things. This attempt at a movie is just one giant horror movie cliché. As Harry Potter himself is at no point in the movie in danger, it is completely pointles and not frightening.
Dan Radcliffe's more than wooden acting does not help.
See my full movie review for more, if you care. - DirectorScott DerricksonStarsEthan HawkeJuliet RylanceJames RansoneA controversial true-crime writer finds a box of Super 8 home movies in his new home, revealing that the murder case he is currently researching could be the work of an unknown serial killer whose legacy dates back to the 1960s.3 / 10
One of the very few films in my life that I didn't even watch to the end out of boredom. Those snuff videos were just so sterile and boring.
And why on earth does Ethan Hawke NEVER turn the lights on wherever he goes in the house? - DirectorFrank DarabontStarsThomas JaneMarcia Gay HardenLaurie HoldenA freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.2 / 10
I cannot begin to fathom how this IMDB rating could ever happen. The characters are cardboard, the effects are ludicrously bad, creatures are the most uninnovative and every single action is plain stupid. On top, the acting is embarassingly awkward. And please, do not mention the ending to me ever again...
See my full review for more, if you care. - DirectorAlex GarlandStarsNatalie PortmanJennifer Jason LeighTessa ThompsonA biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition into a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don't apply.4 / 10
I do not understand the critical acclaim for this one.
Hey, there is an alien invasion and none of our expeditions ever returned alive from the weird new parallel realm. Let's just send in 4 women on their own who are borderline and/or suicidal, have a lot of psychological baggage but no military training and no real reason for being here. If we just equip them with big enough AKs they'll be just fine.
The effects are shameful. The story did not add up. Why were the aliens there again? - DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsEllen BurstynMax von SydowLinda BlairWhen a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.5 / 10
It took me by surprise how disappointed I was in this movie (and how dull it actually is). Maybe my expectations were just too high, given this is regularly ranked as one of the best ever... - DirectorJaume Collet-SerraStarsBlake LivelyÓscar JaenadaAngelo Josue Lozano CorzoA mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.3 / 10
Nope. Not scary or even remotely suspenseful. Full of clichés. I just hated the social media look of it and all the surfer bikini shots. This woman is just not an actress and the director should stick to music videos. - DirectorJames WanStarsPatrick WilsonRose ByrneTy SimpkinsA family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.3 / 10
Relatively boring and completely ruined by the monstery last "other-world"-part. The creatures/demons were just too much. - DirectorMartin WeiszStarsDaniella AlonsoJacob VargasMichael Bailey SmithA group of National Guard trainees find themselves battling against a vicious group of mutants on their last day of training in the desert./ 10
A monstrous disappointment after the awesome and dead-scary first part (talking about the Aja remake).