When it comes to filmmaking, it’s so easy to get things wrong. It’s never easy turning a vision into a full-length film. Sometimes, that vision isn’t going to turn out the same way, or it was never fully fleshed out to begin with. Throughout its history, cinema has been full of disasters, and I’m not talking about the genre. Some films don’t produce the intended effect, resulting in a cluster mess that’s truly unbearable.
Though every genre has its fair share of cinematic disasters, the horror genre may just have the most infamous one of all time. Horror is a wildly beloved style of filmmaking that’s been popular since before the invention of talking pictures. So, of course, it’s a genre full of notable classics, as well as some notable failures, ones so many people are quick to point out. From spectacular blunders to laughable cult classics, let’s take a look at ten of the most disastrous horror movies in history. They’re not only the worst of the worst, but they are the cinematic equivalent of watching a car crash unfold, making them too hard to look away from. Buckle up for one hilarious ride as we go exploring the low points of the horror genre.
10
‘Jaws: The Revenge’ (1987)
Directed by Joseph Sargent
Kicking things off with a drowning mess is Jaws: The Revenge, one of the most infamous sequels in horror history. The fourth installment in the unnecessary Jaws franchise, which never picked up after the first one, is a blunderous film that sank this already struggling series to the bottom of the ocean, where it still lies today.
Forget scaring yourself away from going into the water. Jaws: The Revenge will scare you away from going to theaters. It’s considered one of the worst sequels ever made, a film that has nothing going right with it, and is plagued with one issue after another, from the nonsensical plot to mediocre special effects and terrible dialogue to the laughably bad ending where the shark roars like a dinosaur, this is an absolute trainwreck of a film that still puts a stain on the horror genre.
9
‘Plan 9 from Outer Space’ (1957)
Directed by Edward D. Wood Jr.
Some movies are so bad that they’re frustrating, others can make people laugh, and some are so bad that they can be timeless. Ed Wood‘s Plan 9 from Outer Space is timeless. It’s a film that’s wildly not bashed by being celebrated as one of the worst movies of all time. It’s simply remarkable for how it does everything wrong and for how much of a disaster it is from beginning to end.
Along with Tommy Wiseau‘s The Room and one more horror film to be mentioned on this list, Plan 9 from Outer Space is a contender to be the Citizen Kane of terrible movies. Everything, from the extraordinarily campy tone to the abysmal effects and awful acting, makes it unforgettable and spectacularly bad. It completely fails as a compelling sci-fi horror movie but excels in being a beautiful mess that deserves its strong cult following.
Plan 9 from Outer Space
- Release Date
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July 22, 1959
- Runtime
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79 Minutes
- Director
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Edward D. Wood Jr.
- Writers
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Edward D. Wood Jr.
8
‘Birdemic: Shock and Terror’ (2008)
Directed by James Nguyen
A modern disaster that is steadily gaining a massive fanbase is Birdemic: Shock and Terror. An obvious and poorly executed ripoff of Sir Alfred Hitchcock‘s The Birds, it fails everywhere in its attempt to tell anything close to a decent story, and is weakly told, terribly acted, and features some of the most laughable special effects of the modern age. And yet, it’s a disaster of epic proportions that makes it so hilarious and so enjoyable.
It’s even hailed as one of the worst films of the 21st century so far, and it’s not hard to see why. At least Birdemic never tries to take itself seriously, making an attempt and succeeding at being so bad that it’s become good. But, boy, is it spectacularly bad, and it tries harder to achieve that than attempting to tell an original story. It’s another overall massive disaster that’s laugh-out-loud hilarious, and definitely represents a low point of the 2010s.
7
‘Exorcist II: The Heretic’ (1977)
Directed by John Boorman
Maybe I take back what I stated about Jaws: The Revenge being the worst horror sequel. At least that one doesn’t put a stain on the legacy of the first one. Exorcist II: The Heretic, however, is more deserving of that infamous title. That one is a complete insult to the terrifying magic of William Friedkin‘s 1973 original.
Terribly convoluted, comically acted, poorly edited, and notably devoid of compelling scares, Exorcist II: The Heretic is a horror sequel gone completely wrong. It not only derailed the momentum the Exorcist franchise might have had, but it also left a sour taste in the mouths of everyone who has experienced it. It’s unwatchable, upsetting, and truly deserving of its place as one of horror’s biggest misfires.
6
‘Hobgoblins’ (1988)
Directed by Rick Sloane
Some ’80s horror comedies can be so campy that they’re good; others definitely not so much. And then, there is Rick Sloane‘s Hobgoblins, arguably the epitome of the campy schlock that was so prevalent during this time. Often cited as one of the worst horror movies of the decade, this wannabe Gremlins ripoff is a spectacular dumpster fire that honestly gets more laughable with every rewatch.
Everything about Hobgoblins has become the stuff of so-bad-it’s-good royalty. Its acting is horrendous, the direction is all over the place, and my god, those practical puppet effects make the ones in Howard the Duck look like a Stan Winston masterpiece. Overall, it’s a hilarious disaster that is definitely the peak of trashy entertainment of the 1980s.
5
‘One Missed Call’ (2008)
Directed by Eric Valette
The early 2000s saw a rocky point in horror history, where cinema was littered with mostly inferior remakes of popular films, including ones from other countries. Arguably, one of the worst remakes to come out of this time was One Missed Call, an American retelling of a Japanese supernatural horror thriller from 2003.
This is honestly a perfect example of how pointless some horror remakes can be. One Missed Call completely missed the mark on capturing what made its international predecessor so intense and nail-biting. While a little bit of creativity and not such a heavy reliance on unconvincing CGI could have turned this one into perhaps a cult classic, instead, it turned into one of the biggest disasters of the 2000s, and is still often referred to as one of the worst ones of that time. Truly, it’s a film that gets worse and worse the more it’s brought up.
4
‘Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey’ (2023)
Directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield
The most recent horror disaster, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, is a fine example of a fun premise ruined by a terrible execution, from the garbage dialogue to the wooden acting to the boring storytelling and awful costume designs. All its faults come together to create a terrible concoction that makes it an undeniable disaster.
Everything that could go wrong with this film has gone wrong with it, and it’s not hard to point out its many flaws. In Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey‘s attempts to turn a popular kids’ tale into a gory, fun slasher film, it instead resulted in a rushed mess that was neither fun nor satisfying, becoming perhaps the worst horror film of our current decade.
3
‘Alone in the Dark’ (2005)
Directed by Uwe Boll
Now, as we mention iconic horror disasters, of course, it’s not a list without mentioning the name Uwe Boll. A filmmaker quite similar to schlocky directing as Ed Wood, Boll has created a unique legacy as one of the worst filmmakers of all time. His films are noticeably garbage, but laughable pieces of garbage that are so bad that they’re honestly brilliant. Take his greatest masterpiece, Alone in the Dark, his pinnacle of terrible video game adaptations.
Alone in the Dark is a complete mess that’s too much fun not to enjoy. It’s a cinematic disaster that doesn’t have a single thing going right throughout its story. From the questionable casting and dull acting to the bizarrely convoluted plot, this has the word terrible written all over it, and it continues to be celebrated for what it is.
2
‘Manos: The Hands of Fate’ (1966)
Directed by Harold P. Warren
When it comes to so bad, it’s good horror, the undisputed cult classic Manos: The Hands of Fate ranks pretty highly on that list, and rightfully so. It truly is a car crash from start to finish, a bizarre, poorly directed and acted disaster that has stood the test of time.
Manos: The Hands of Fate is a true cult classic that’s loved for the most unusual reasons. It’s the perfect example of a film being memorable for how spectacularly awful it is, and its amateurish feel and nonsensical storytelling greatly make it feel timeless. In its nearly sixty-year history, it’s often cited as the single worst horror movie of all time, though that has been the subject of debate since its release.
1
‘Troll 2’ (1990)
Directed by Claudio Fragasso
At number one is the most disastrous of disaster horror pictures, Troll 2, the cult classic monster film by Claudio Fragasso. Often labeled a “disasterpiece,” it’s one of the most unintentionally hilarious, endlessly enjoyed, and incredibly beloved bad films in horror history, with a cult following that’s unmatched by anything else in the genre.
It’s constantly quoted and rewatched throughout the years because of how spectacularly awful it is. It’s an absolute blast of so-bad-it’s-good entertainment, featuring recognizable moments, from the bizarre plot and campy performances to the hilarious fact that it’s somehow called “Troll 2” despite the fact that the monsters portrayed in it are actually goblins. It may take this top spot as the most disastrous horror film of all time, but it’s also one of the most celebrated and will likely never be forgotten.
