Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.
MOVIES
— One of the year’s standout documentaries , Margaret Brown’s “Descendant” takes a wide lens to the discovery of the Clotilda, the last known ship to bring African captives to the American South for enslavement. As Brown has said, the discovery of the ship — sunk near Mobile, Alabama, after it brought 100 Africans in the mid-19th century decades after the international slave trade had been outlawed — is “just the tip of the iceberg.” Speaking to many of the Clotilda descendants and others in the community around Africatown, where many of them settled, Brown ruminatively explores past and present, heritage and community. The film, which debuts Friday, Oct. 21, on Netflix and in select theaters, was a prize-winner at the Sundance Film Festival.
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This combination of images shows promotional art for “Raymond & Ray,” a film premiering Oct. 21 on Apple TV, “Descendant,” a documentary premiering Oct. 21 on Netflix, and “Doc Martin,” premiering its 10th and final season Oct. 17 on Acorn TV. (Apple/Netflix/Acorn via AP)
— In Rodrigo Garcia’s “Raymond & Ray,” on Apple TV+ Friday, Oct. 21, Ethan Hawke and Ewan McGregor play half-brothers reunited for their father’s funeral. Written and directed by Garcia (“Nine Lives,” “Albert Nobbs”), and produced by Alfonso Cuarón, the film mixes catharsis and comedy as the two reckon with the damage done by the abusive father.
— With Halloween approaching, a rush of horror films are making their way to most streaming services. One currently streaming series on the Criterion Channel takes a different tact, with 11 films picked by Ari Aster, the director of a few of the most nightmare-inducing films of recent years: “Hereditary” and “Midsommar.” In “Adventures in Moviegoing” with Aster, the director chooses films that have shaped his life, from Kenji Mizoguchi’s “Sansho the Bailiff” to Lucrecia Martel’s “The Headless Horseman.”
— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle
MUSIC
— Stay up until midnight on Friday, Oct. 21 for the latest Taylor Swift album, appropriately named “Midnights.” The standard-issue album will have 13 tracks, which tell “the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life,” the singer-songwriter posted online. It’s been nearly two years since Swift’s last studio album, “Evermore.” The new album has one known main collaboration — “Snow on the Beach” with Lana Del Rey. Other titles are “Karma,” “Anti-Hero” and “You’re On Your Own, Kid.” The only other clues to what the album sounds like are posts of photos with producer Jack Antonoff and a glass of white wine.
This image released by Republic Records shows “Midnights” by Taylor Swift. (Republic Records via AP)
— That smooth sound you hear signals the return of Babyface. On “Girls Night Out,” the 12-time Grammy Award-winner has collaborated with next-generation R&B/hip-hop stars such as Ari Lennox, Doechii and Queen Naija. The project’s first two singles, “Keeps On Fallin'” with Ella Mai — plus a video that stars Tiffany Haddish and Kendrick Sampson — and “Seamless” with Kehlani, are seductive, slinky R&B jewels. The album, out Friday, Oct. 21, reminds Babyface of another project he did that explored stories from his collaborators. “The process for it reminded me of when I did ‘Waiting to Exhale’ and I’m excited for the world to hear.”
— If you think a-ha is only known for “Take On Me,” take on this: The band’s 11th studio album, “True North” out Friday, Oct. 21, sees the Norwegian stars perform and record with the Arctic Philharmonic orchestra, spinning off a full-length film in the process that weaves together the songs and recurring vignettes in which actors portray life in the north. “‘True North’ is a letter from a-ha, from the Arctic Circle, a poem from the far north of Norway with new music,” says keyboardist Magne Furuholmen. Single “I’m In” is a glorious, slow-burning anthem.
This combination of album covers shows, from left, “True North” by a-ha, “Girls Night Out,” by Babyface, and “The Car,” the seventh studio album by Arctic Monkeys. (Sony Legacy/Capitol/Domino via AP)
— The cover image — and later the title — of Arctic Monkeys’ new album came from a photo taken by drummer, Matt Helders. It’s a oddly mournful shot of a car alone in a parking lot. “I had a hunch when I saw it for the first time that it should be the next record cover,” says singer Alex Turner. “The Car,” out Friday Oct. 21, is the band’s seventh studio album and features 10 new songs written by Turner. Singles include the lush breakup song “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” and “Body Paint,” which sounds almost rock opera-esque with David Bowie-like flourishes.
— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy
TELEVISION
— “Doc Martin” is getting a proper and extended farewell on Acorn TV. The 10th and last season of the British comedy revolving around an irascible small-town doctor (Martin Clunes) begins Monday with two new episodes, followed by one weekly through its next-to-last episode on Nov. 28. On Dec. 26, the documentary “Doc Martin — A Celebration” will pay tribute to the series, followed by its finale on Dec. 31. The big question: Does Doc revisit his decision to resign from his practice in Portwenn? Eileen Atkins is back as Doc’s daunting Aunt Ruth, with Lesley Nicol and Rupert Graves among the guest stars.
— The purported goal of IFC’s “Documentary Now!” is to honor innovators in the genre. Its real mission, of course, is to make us laugh, and it’s garnered the usual impressive names for the six-episode season beginning Wednesday. Helen Mirren is back as host, with guest stars including Cate Blanchett, Harriet Walter, Jonathan Pryce, Nicholas Braun and legendary pop singer Tom Jones. The two-part season opener, written by John Mulaney, stars Alexander Skarsgård as a German filmmaker fighting nature and more to make his masterpiece — as in “Burden of Dreams,” which detailed Werner Herzog’s quest to make 1982’s “Fitzcarraldo.” The series is also available on AMC+.
— Young viewers are in luck this week. “Ghostwriter” returns Friday, Oct. 21 on Apple TV+, with new stars Princess Mapp, Nour Assaf and Daire McLeod. As the pals attempt to solve an ongoing ghostly mystery, they find themselves in the company of characters inspired by “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” “Charlotte’s Web” and other stories. There’s a promising newcomer with Netflix’s four-part animated series “Oni: Thunder God’s Tale,” also out Friday, Oct. 21 and including Momona Tamada, Craig Robinson and George Takei in the voice cast. In a world of “oddball gods and monsters” inspired by Japanese mythology, untested Onari is determined to guard her village from the enemy called the “Oni.”
— AP Television Writer Lynn Elber
100 worst horror films of all time
Horror at its worst
Horror can be great. The genre can expose social ills or collective moral rot and give poignant commentary on grief. It can also be fun, frightening and refreshingly low-stakes. However, as the 100 movies below prove, horror can be something else entirely when directors don’t stick the landing.
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#100. 14 Cameras (2018)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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)
– 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!
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#70. Jacob’s Ladder (2019)
– Director: David M. Rosenthal
– Stacker score: 36.3
– IMDb user rating: 3.5
– Metascore: 31
– Runtime: 89 minutes
“Jacob’s Ladder” brings another subpar horror remake to this list. This rehash of Adrian Lyne’s excellent 1990 horror-thriller stars Michael Ealy as Jacob, a traumatized ex-military surgeon who discovers his seemingly dead brother is alive, all while suffering from a paranoia-induced state where he can’t determine what is real and what is not.
Thanks to a sluggish lead performance and a lack of stakes due to the clear hallucinatory quality of Jacob’s visions, “Jacob’s Ladder” proves that not every story needs an update.
#69. Dark Tide (2012)
– Director: John Stockwell
– Stacker score: 36.3
– IMDb user rating: 4.3
– Metascore: 23
– Runtime: 114 minutes
In this subpar ‘killer shark” film that barely registers as a worthy peer of “Jaws,” Halle Berry stars as Kate, a former “shark whisperer” who’s given up her life’s work following a dangerous attack. However, she puts her fears aside when a wealthy businessman and his son offer her much-needed money to take them on an adventure to a deadly feeding ground (dubbed “Shark Alley”). Naturally, bloody chaos ensues.
#68. A Sound of Thunder (2005)
– Director: Peter Hyams
– Stacker score: 36.3
– IMDb user rating: 4.2
– Metascore: 24
– Runtime: 110 minutes
Based on a short story by Ray Bradbury, “A Sound of Thunder” straddles the line between fantasy and horror. Charles Hatton (Ben Kingsley) runs a company called Time Safari that allows big-game hunters to travel back in time to kill dinosaurs. But when a hunter falls and kills a butterfly he unleashes a (wait for it) butterfly effect that changes the course of history. The short story deserves better than this film, which mixes terrible CGI with some questionable acting that turns Bradbury gold into … something else entirely.
#67. Valentine (2001)
– Director: Jamie Blanks
– Stacker score: 36.3
– IMDb user rating: 4.8
– Metascore: 18
– Runtime: 96 minutes
After four popular girls reject the nerdy Jeremy Melton (Joel Palmer), a fifth betrays him in front of the school bullies at a 1988 Valentine’s Day school dance. Thirteen years later, the five girls are looking for love — but when one of the girls is murdered after a bad date, the other four unite to defeat the killer in the Cupid mask. Gosh, who could it be? Critics admitted that the film had its stylish moments but ultimately panned it as flaky and derivative.
#66. Girls Against Boys (2012)
– Director: Austin Chick
– Stacker score: 35.7
– IMDb user rating: 4.8
– Metascore: 17
– Runtime: 93 minutes
After a recent breakup and sexual assault, “Girls Against Boys” protagonist Shae (Danielle Panabaker) is fed up with being traumatized by men. Her friend and co-worker Lu (Nicole LaLiberte) proposes a solution: Kill all the men who have mistreated them. Unfortunately, the film’s rote, self-serious take on slashers makes what could be a tongue-in-cheek feminist critique into yet another dreary B-movie.
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#65. Jinn (2014)
– Director: Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad
– Stacker score: 35.7
– IMDb user rating: 4.1
– Metascore: 24
– Runtime: 97 minutes
“Jinn” is inspired by its titular supernatural being, which has roots in pre-Islamic folklore. The film follows Shawn (Dominic Rains), who finds himself targeted by a malevolent jinn after uncovering an ancient family curse. While the film received praise for drawing on under-used mythology, it was criticized for its on-the-nose scares and confounding plot.
#64. Trick (2019)
– Director: Patrick Lussier
– Stacker score: 35.7
– IMDb user rating: 4.9
– Metascore: 16
– Runtime: 100 minutes
In this stale take on John Carpenter’s slasher classic “Halloween,” no-nonsense detective Mike Denver (Omar Epps) must find escaped serial killer Patrick “Trick” Weaver (Thom Niemann), who was previously locked up after slaughtering several of his high school classmates at a Halloween party. Now that Trick has escaped police custody, it’s up to Mike to track him down before he goes on another killing spree. Sound familiar?
#63. Surf Nazis Must Die (1987)
– Director: Peter George
– Stacker score: 35.7
– IMDb user rating: 3.7
– Metascore: 28
– Runtime: 83 minutes
In this B-Movie, a group of surfer neo-Nazis murder an oil well worker named Leroy (Robert Harden), taking over several of California’s beaches along the way. In response, his mother, Eleanor “Mama” Washington, breaks out of her nursing home to enact revenge. While the film could’ve gotten by on its absurdist merits, it received poor reviews for its meager satire and lack of intensity.
#62. 11-11-11 (2011)
– Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
– Stacker score: 35.7
– IMDb user rating: 3.9
– Metascore: 26
– Runtime: 90 minutes
As “11-11-11” reminds us, the only thing more dangerous to be in a horror movie than a lone teenager is an atheist. In this film, the atheist in question is famed author Joseph Crone (Timothy Gibbs) who travels to Barcelona after the death of his wife and kid and starts to chase down a pattern of mysterious happenings that keep relating to the number 11. This movie came out the week of November 11, 2011, which might be the only explanation for why the film was made.
#61. Yoga Hosers (2016)
– Director: Kevin Smith
– Stacker score: 35.7
– IMDb user rating: 4.2
– Metascore: 23
– Runtime: 88 minutes
Director Kevin Smith had an incredible run in the 1990s. Beginning with “Clerks,” Smith made a name for himself with his inventive, intimate love letters to nerd culture. But his films in the 2010s were … less incredible. “Yoga Hosers,” which opened at the Sundance Film Festival, follows two teen yogis as they team up with a manhunter to fight off an evil spirit. The two young stars are Johnny Depp and Smith’s daughters, with Depp himself playing the manhunter. Although the newcomers in the cast were praised for their charm (nepotism be damned), it wasn’t enough to save this film from being universally panned by critics.
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#60. Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
– Director: John Carl Buechler
– Stacker score: 35.7
– IMDb user rating: 5.2
– Metascore: 13
– Runtime: 88 minutes
“Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood” is part-“Friday the 13th” sequel, part-“Carrie” ripoff, and all misfire. In the film, a psychokinetic teenage girl (played by Lar Park Lincoln) accidentally releases Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) from his underwater prison in Crystal Lake, forcing the two to face off as Jason resumes his murderous ways. You’re better off rewatching the original “Carrie” or “Friday the 13th” films rather than checking out this rehash of the two.
#59. Silent Hill: Revelation (2012)
– Director: M.J. Bassett
– Stacker score: 35.7
– IMDb user rating: 4.9
– Metascore: 16
– Runtime: 95 minutes
Based on the video game “Silent Hill 3,” the movie’s titular revelation refers to teenager Heather Mason (Adelaide Clemens) learning that her life has been a lie on her 18th birthday. This film was panned by critics and despised by fans. But it did feature performances from future “Game of Thrones” favorites Kit Harington (Jon Snow) and Sean Bean (Ned Stark). Perhaps the film would be better received if it was presented as an alternate reality horror spin-off of the HBO series.
#58. The Last Heist (2016)
– Director: Mike Mendez
– Stacker score: 35.2
– IMDb user rating: 3.6
– Metascore: 28
– Runtime: 84 minutes
In “The Last Heist,” a bank robbery takes an unexpected turn when one of the robbers’ hostages (Henry Rollins) turns out to be a vicious serial killer. Although Rollins received praise for his antagonistic performance, reviews found little to like about the rest of the film, which they criticized for its poor shock value and subpar special effects.
#57. Lost Souls (2000)
– Director: Janusz Kaminski
– Stacker score: 35.2
– IMDb user rating: 4.8
– Metascore: 16
– Runtime: 97 minutes
A group of priests and a Catholic school teacher (Winona Ryder) begin to believe that a writer (Ben Chaplin) is actually the Antichrist. The atheist writer is wary at first, but begins to believe the teacher as unexplainable things begin happening. This was the first directing gig for Academy Award-winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (who won Academy Awards for both “Schindler’s List” and “Saving Private Ryan”) and this clunker proves that he’s best as a director when the phrase “of photography” follows.
#56. Leprechaun (1993)
– Director: Mark Jones
– Stacker score: 35.2
– IMDb user rating: 4.7
– Metascore: 17
– Runtime: 92 minutes
Yes, Jennifer Aniston made her film debut in a horror movie about a killer leprechaun. Warwick Davis stars as the titular villain, although critics unfavorably compared his character to the better-known horror icon Chucky. Nevertheless, “Leprechaun” spawned five sequels and a 2014 reboot.
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#55. One Missed Call (2008)
– Director: Eric Valette
– Stacker score: 35.2
– IMDb user rating: 4.0
– Metascore: 24
– Runtime: 87 minutes
The most terrifying part of the premise of “One Missed Call” — that people begin receiving voicemails from their future selves detailing the date, time, and circumstances of their death — is that many of us are guilty of erasing voicemail messages before listening to them. Listen, future self, if it’s really important, send a text! Don’t watch the film, but take some time to look at the stills, which feature Ed Burns holding a flip phone.
#54. The Fog (2005)
– Director: Rupert Wainwright
– Stacker score: 35.2
– IMDb user rating: 3.7
– Metascore: 27
– Runtime: 100 minutes
A remake of the 1980 horror film of the same name, “The Fog” tells the story of a town with a dark past that is haunted by a mist full of nasty spirits. Where John Carpenter’s original was full of tension, atmosphere, and talent, nothing in the remake comes close.
#53. Jaws 3-D (1983)
– Director: Joe Alves
– Stacker score: 35.2
– IMDb user rating: 3.7
– Metascore: 27
– Runtime: 99 minutes
The third entry in the “Jaws” franchise, “Jaws 3-D” was produced in the then-trendy format to generate some buzz around a flailing series. This time, the action moves to SeaWorld in Orlando, because why the hell not? A big part of why people hate this film so much has to do with the original being so beloved. For viewers of a certain generation, this is like making a “Citizen Kane” sequel where he’s still trying to track down that damn Rosebud … but this time, he’s at Disneyland!
#52. Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)
– Director: Jeff Broadstreet
– Stacker score: 34.6
– IMDb user rating: 3.1
– Metascore: 32
– Runtime: 80 minutes
Yes, there’s a 3D, straight-to-DVD remake of one of the greatest horror films ever. “Night of the Living Dead 3D” marks the second remake of George A. Romero’s 1968 classic, although no one from the original worked on this version. While “Night of the Living Dead 3D” follows the same basic premise — a group of people hole up in a farmhouse and fight zombies — there’s a reason why this version bypassed theaters. Stick to the classics!
#51. The Tortured (2010)
– Director: Robert Lieberman
– Stacker score: 34.6
– IMDb user rating: 5.4
– Metascore: 9
– Runtime: 79 minutes
In “The Tortured,” married couple Elise (Erika Christensen) and Craig Landry (Jesse Metcalfe) kidnap and torture John Kozlowski (Bill Moseley), a serial killer who tormented and killed their only child. While the couple rushes to enact revenge, the police launch a manhunt to find John. As New York Daily News’ Elizabeth Weitzman writes: “There’s really nothing here to recommend… It is bluntly written, poorly shot and edited, and cruel without being clever.”
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#50. Bats (1999)
– Director: Louis Morneau
– Stacker score: 34.6
– IMDb user rating: 4.0
– Metascore: 23
– Runtime: 91 minutes
While all the films on this list are bad in one way or another, there should be some special commendation for this specific kind of sweet, simple, unposturing filmmaking. In “Bats,” a government experiment gone wrong creates hyper-intelligent, meat-eating bats. When the fluttering devils descend on a Texas town, a bat specialist is brought in to save the day.
#49. A Haunted House 2 (2014)
– Director: Michael Tiddes
– Stacker score: 34.6
– IMDb user rating: 4.6
– Metascore: 17
– Runtime: 86 minutes
As with the 2013 original, this sequel aims to satirize found footage horror films. In this installment, protagonist Malcolm (Marlon Wayans) has moved on from his formerly possessed ex and plans to start over with his new girlfriend, Megan (Jaime Pressly), and her two children. But, of course, supernatural occurrences soon begin to torment them. Like its predecessor, “A Haunted House 2” received poor reviews for its vulgar, crude humor and its failure to effectively satirize the subgenre it was trying to poke fun at.
#48. Species II (1998)
– Director: Peter Medak
– Stacker score: 34.6
– IMDb user rating: 4.4
– Metascore: 19
– Runtime: 93 minutes
In the first “Species,” Natasha Henstridge played a beautiful, evil half-human, half-alien. But forget that! In the sequel, she portrays a government creation made to study how to combat future alien invaders. After an astronaut gets infected with something, he comes home and starts living it up with the ladies. Unfortunately, any woman who sleeps with the astronaut gets pregnant with alien embryos and dies. Madness ensues in this horribly acted, oversexed sequel.
#47. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
– Director: Danny Steinmann
– Stacker score: 34.6
– IMDb user rating: 4.7
– Metascore: 16
– Runtime: 92 minutes
“Friday the 13th: A New Beginning” picks up after the events of “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter,” with adult Tommy Jarvis (John Shepherd) still struggling with the PTSD of killing Jason Voorhees. He’s soon forced to confront his childhood trauma when a new killer with a hockey mask goes on a killing spree. Although the film was meant to introduce a new antagonist to the “Friday the 13th” franchise, its low box office returns and unfavorable reception from critics and fans dissuaded executives from killing off Jason after all.
#46. Stranded (2013)
– Director: Roger Christian
– Stacker score: 34.1
– IMDb user rating: 3.5
– Metascore: 27
– Runtime: 84 minutes
“Stranded” follows four astronauts on a lunar mining base who are forced to fight for their lives when bloodthirsty, shape-shifting aliens attack. The film is one of the rare movies with an infamous 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, which means that 15 critics gave it a poor review.
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#45. Martyrs (2015)
– Directors: Kevin Goetz, Michael Goetz
– Stacker score: 34.1
– IMDb user rating: 4.0
– Metascore: 22
– Runtime: 86 minutes
A remake of the 2008 French Extremity classic of the same name, “Pretty Little Liars” actress Troian Bellisario stars as Lucie Jurin, a young woman who violently seeks revenge against the family who tortured her as a child. The movie was largely considered a tamer, overly derivative adaptation of its fearless predecessor.
#44. The Hills Have Eyes Part II (1984)
– Director: Wes Craven
– Stacker score: 34.1
– IMDb user rating: 3.7
– Metascore: 25
– Runtime: 86 minutes
In “The Hills Have Eyes Part II,” a group of bikers (led by Janus Blythe’s Rachel/Ruby, reprising her role from the previous film) become stranded in the desert on their way to a race. Sure enough, they soon find themselves facing off against the family of inbred cannibals who live nearby. The movie was slammed for being overly derivative of the original, with director Wes Craven even including insert shots from the first film throughout the sequel.
#43. Shark Night (2011)
– Director: David R. Ellis
– Stacker score: 34.1
– IMDb user rating: 4.0
– Metascore: 22
– Runtime: 90 minutes
In this forgettable mish-mash of the “cabin in the woods” and “when sharks attack” subgenres, college student Sara (Sara Paxton) and her friends arrive at her family’s lake house for a weekend of partying. However, they’re horrified to learn that the Louisiana lake they’re staying at is secretly littered with killer sharks. With its PG-13 rating, “Shark Night” fails even to deliver the bloody gore and titillating voyeurism expected of such a horror film.
#42. Slender Man (2018)
– Director: Sylvain White
– Stacker score: 34.1
– IMDb user rating: 3.2
– Metascore: 30
– Runtime: 93 minutes
Based on the popular internet creepypasta character of the same name, “Slender Man” follows a group of girls whose attempts to prove that the lanky crypid isn’t real go awry when one of their friends mysteriously disappears. The film faced criticism for coming out on the four-year anniversary of the 2014 Slender Man stabbing in Wisconsin, with one of the convicted teens’ fathers calling its existence “extremely distasteful.” IndieWire critic David Ehrlich unfavorably compared the attempts of the film to capitalize on creepypastas to the much more successful take of “The Ring” on the VHS era.
#41. Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1992)
– Director: David Price
– Stacker score: 33.5
– IMDb user rating: 4.3
– Metascore: 18
– Runtime: 92 minutes
Possessed little kids are always scary. And small towns in Nebraska are pretty frightening as well. But “Corn II” never even approximates the fear factor of the original. In the sequel a journalist (Terence Knox) and his son arrive in Gatlin, Nebraska, somehow unaware of the murderous child cult lurking in the town’s cornfields. Clearly, Knox is not the greatest of journalists. Perhaps the eight-year gap is to blame for the brutal sequel.
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#40. Piranha 3DD (2012)
– Director: John Gulager
– Stacker score: 33.5
– IMDb user rating: 3.7
– Metascore: 24
– Runtime: 83 minutes
The first “Piranha 3D” is a surprisingly self-aware horror-comedy … and the sequel is not. Rather than attacking Lake Victoria again, the ruthless school of fish descends upon a waterpark. The spoof is great when it’s perfect, but when it’s anything less, it’s tough to watch. The highlight of the film is seeing David Hasselhoff play a lifeguard again.
#39. Eloise (2016)
– Director: Robert Legato
– Stacker score: 33
– IMDb user rating: 4.5
– Metascore: 15
– Runtime: 89 minutes
“Eloise” follows four friends who break into a long-abandoned asylum hoping to find a death certificate that could net one of them a huge inheritance. However, they’re soon haunted by the institution’s former residents and discover disturbing truths about their own connections to the asylum. The film was criticized for its confusing plot and poor production value, with the Los Angeles Times writing that its sets and costumes belonged “more to a TV drama than a low-budget thriller.”
#38. Dracula 3D (2012)
– Director: Dario Argento
– Stacker score: 33
– IMDb user rating: 3.5
– Metascore: 25
– Runtime: 110 minutes
It’s still shocking that Italian horror legend Dario Argento’s take on a story as iconic as “Dracula” yielded such negative results. Yet the auteur’s first 3D film is overwhelmingly schlocky and riddled with poor visual effects. Critics also panned Thomas Kretschmann’s far from the menacing portrayal of the titular vampire.
#37. Saturn 3 (1980)
– Directors: Stanley Donen, John Barry
– Stacker score: 33
– IMDb user rating: 5.1
– Metascore: 9
– Runtime: 88 minutes
In “Saturn 3,” the serene intergalactic existence of lovers Alex (Farrah Fawcett) and Adam (Kirk Douglas) is threatened when the shady Captain Benson (Harvey Keitel) arrives and announces his plans to replace one of the base’s scientists with his 8-foot-tall robot. Famed film critic Roger Ebert slammed the movie for its “shockingly low” intelligence, also criticizing the ludicrous love triangle between the three leads.
#36. The Devil Inside (2012)
– Director: William Brent Bell
– Stacker score: 33
– IMDb user rating: 4.2
– Metascore: 18
– Runtime: 83 minutes
Twenty years after her mother killed three people and then turned herself in, Isabella (Fernanda Andrade) goes to the mental hospital to understand what happened that night. As you could probably guess from the title, Isabella gets some priests involved to attempt an exorcism and demonic shenanigans ensue. The only reason to watch this film is to find out why critics hate the ending with such vitriol.
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#35. Saturday the 14th (1981)
– Director: Howard R. Cohen
– Stacker score: 32.4
– IMDb user rating: 4.6
– Metascore: 13
– Runtime: 75 minutes
Real-life couple Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss star in “Saturday the 14th,” which—contrary to what its title might suggest—is actually a spoof of ’30s and ’40s classic horror films rather than the “Friday the 13th” franchise. In the film, a family inherits an old mansion that contains all of the world’s monsters, apart from a vampire couple who are desperate to get their hands on the infamous Book of Evil. The movie was criticized for its lackluster humor and inability to capitalize on its central star power.
#34. Temple (2017)
– Director: Michael Barrett
– Stacker score: 32.4
– IMDb user rating: 3.6
– Metascore: 23
– Runtime: 78 minutes
In “Temple,” three Americans (played by Logan Huffman, Natalia Warner, and Brandon Tyler Sklenar) travel to Japan in search of an ancient temple. However, their adventure takes a dark turn when malevolent spirits confront them. The Hollywood Reporter’s Justin Low characterized the film as “more of a half-hearted attempt at exploiting typical J-horror themes than an actual homage.”
#33. Transylvania 6-5000 (1985)
– Director: Rudy De Luca
– Stacker score: 32.4
– IMDb user rating: 4.9
– Metascore: 10
– Runtime: 93 minutes
With a title inspired by Glenn Miller’s song “Pennsylvania 6-5000,” this horror comedy film stars Jeff Goldblum and Ed Begley Jr. as tabloid reporters tasked with locating Frankenstein’s monster in Transylvania. They bump into other classic horror monsters on the ground, including a mummy, a vampire, and a werewolf. Despite its on-paper zany premise, the film received poor reviews for its subpar humor and questionable special effects.
#32. Smiley (2012)
– Director: Michael J. Gallagher
– Stacker score: 32.4
– IMDb user rating: 3.4
– Metascore: 25
– Runtime: 95 minutes
Another entry in the storied genre of “teenage girl tries to dodge a supernatural killer,” the power of “Smiley” is all in the creepy face that director Michael J. Gallagher has given to his Big Bad: a leathery mug with nothing but a stitched smiley face. Now, logistically, the fact that the killer has no eyes or nose probably makes him easier to dodge, cutting two important senses out is not a great strategy for a manhunter. Then again, anyone willing to do that to themselves in the first place is not to be messed with. In “Smiley,” the killer is summoned when someone types “I did it for the lulz” in a chat three times, so at least there were no innocent victims.
#31. Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000)
– Director: John Ottman
– Stacker score: 32.4
– IMDb user rating: 4.3
– Metascore: 16
– Runtime: 97 minutes
The sequel to 1998’s “Urban Legend” moves the myth-inspired deaths from a college campus to a film school. The sequel struggles to create the same fun, claustrophobic world of a college campus that made the first one work. And without a star like Jared Leto at the center, the film feels a bit rudderless. Why Eva Mendes or Anthony Anderson weren’t given bigger roles is anyone’s guess.
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#30. The Apparition (2012)
– Director: Todd Lincoln
– Stacker score: 32.4
– IMDb user rating: 4.1
– Metascore: 18
– Runtime: 82 minutes
In “The Apparition,” a couple’s home is haunted by a supernatural force that was summoned during a college psychology experiment. Hopefully, a helpful expert will clear things right up! “The Apparition” is predictable and a bit dumb, but worst of all, it’s boring — a major sin in the horror world.
#29. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
– Director: Rob Hedden
– Stacker score: 32.4
– IMDb user rating: 4.5
– Metascore: 14
– Runtime: 100 minutes
The eighth “Friday the 13th,” released in the 1980s, “Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan” is a mess of a film. Jason Voorhees manages to be transported from the bottom of a lake to a party boat for high school graduation, where he does Jason Voorhees things (i.e. murder). Though the film has one of the greatest subtitles ever, barely any of the action actually takes place in Manhattan — which is bad news for anyone looking for fish-out-of-water fun on the level of “Babe: Pig in the City.”
#28. Death Ship (1980)
– Director: Alvin Rakoff
– Stacker score: 31.9
– IMDb user rating: 4.8
– Metascore: 10
– Runtime: 91 minutes
As “Death Ship” opens, survivors of a cruise ship accident are rescued by a mysterious freighter. However, they soon discover that they’re aboard a Nazi torture ship searching for victims since World War II. Although the movie was panned upon its release for its ludicrous borrowing from voyeuristic films like “Psycho,” it has become a cult classic since its release.
#27. Soul Survivors (2001)
– Director: Stephen Carpenter
– Stacker score: 31.9
– IMDb user rating: 3.8
– Metascore: 20
– Runtime: 84 minutes
Yet another film about a young woman attempting to avoid death by supernatural forces, “Soul Survivors” follows Cassie (Melissa Sagemiller), who survives a car crash only to become extremely haunted. The mix of confusing plot elements with bad direction ultimately dooms this entry into the overcrowded teenage horror genre. But it’s worth noting that the cast is pretty stacked: Casey Affleck, Eliza Dushku, and Luke Wilson all have supporting roles.
#26. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
– Director: Adam Marcus
– Stacker score: 31.9
– IMDb user rating: 4.1
– Metascore: 17
– Runtime: 87 minutes
The ninth installment in the “Friday the 13th” franchise is about as bad as you’d expect the ninth installment in any franchise to be (except “Fast and the Furious,” which has broken every rule of franchises). This time, after Jason Voorhees’s body is destroyed by FBI agents at Camp Crystal Lake, his evil spirit starts jumping from host to host. The film was sold as the final “Friday the 13th” film, but eight years later, Jason was back. In Hollywood, a profitable franchise is like a horror film villain — it’s impossible to kill.
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#25. Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
– Director: Rick Rosenthal
– Stacker score: 31.9
– IMDb user rating: 3.9
– Metascore: 19
– Runtime: 94 minutes
The eighth installment in the “Halloween” franchise finds Michael Myers once again trying to kill Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) before heading to his old home to kill the cast members of a reality show being filmed there. The film oozes early 2000s vibes, starring Busta Rhymes and Tyra Banks, but feels a bit inessential after “Scream” did the Y2K slasher better and with a greater sense of fun.
#24. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
– Director: Joe Chappelle
– Stacker score: 31.3
– IMDb user rating: 4.7
– Metascore: 10
– Runtime: 87 minutes
The sixth installment of the “Halloween” franchise follows a young woman on October 31st attempting to escape from (who else?) Michael Myers. This film was released six years after “Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers,” the longest gap in the franchise’s 40-year run. Oddly, after a lukewarm response to the theatrical cut, fans found an earlier version with an alternate ending which has since become a bit of a cult sensation. The fact that it was better than the film that hit theaters in 1995 is not saying much. Fun fact: this was Paul Rudd’s first post-“Clueless” starring role.
#23. Nothing Left to Fear (2013)
– Director: Anthony Leonardi III
– Stacker score: 30.8
– IMDb user rating: 4.4
– Metascore: 12
– Runtime: 100 minutes
Loosely based on the urban legends surrounding Stull, Kansas (which some believe contains one of the “Seven Known Gates to Hell”), “Nothing Left to Fear” follows new-in-town Pastor Dan (James Tupper) and his family, who soon find their lives turned upside down when the former Pastor Kingsman (Clancy Brown) uses them to summon the devil. For a movie about gateways to hell produced by Guns N’ Roses band member Slash’s production company (Slasher Films, naturally), “Nothing Left to Fear” is a remarkably dull take on small-town horror.
#22. Prom Night (2008)
– Director: Nelson McCormick
– Stacker score: 30.8
– IMDb user rating: 3.9
– Metascore: 17
– Runtime: 88 minutes
A remake of the 1980 film starring Jamie Lee Curtis, “Prom Night” tells the story of a high school senior who a deranged faculty member stalks. The action begins when freshman Donna (Brittany Snow) witnesses the murder of her family by a teacher who has become obsessed with her. On the night of her senior prom, the teacher breaks out of custody and goes on a rampage to reunite with Donna. This film regurgitates many clichés while simultaneously dealing with its distasteful subject with an embarrassing timidity that undercuts any possibility for genuine horror.
#21. Boo 2! A Madea Halloween (2017)
– Director: Tyler Perry
– Stacker score: 30.2
– IMDb user rating: 3.8
– Metascore: 17
– Runtime: 101 minutes
Tyler Perry is at it again in “Boo 2! A Madea Halloween,” which finds the titular Madea (played by Perry, duh) facing off against a whole manner of monsters and boogeymen at a haunted campground. The crude raunchiness of Madea films is already an acquired taste. But this stab at horror comedy went over particularly badly, garnering the film three Golden Raspberry Award nominations, including Worst Actress, Worst Screen Combo (for Perry and his entire Madea get-up), and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off, or Sequel.
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#20. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1978)
– Director: John De Bello
– Stacker score: 30.2
– IMDb user rating: 4.6
– Metascore: 9
– Runtime: 83 minutes
“Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!” is a spoof of B-movies … because how else would a movie with a title like that get made? In the film, a group of scientists fights to save the world from killer nightshades with the help of some shockingly toothless satire. Although the movie was a critical bomb, its box office success spawned three killer (tomato) sequels.
#19. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)
– Director: Joe Berlinger
– Stacker score: 30.2
– IMDb user rating: 4.0
– Metascore: 15
– Runtime: 90 minutes
As they say in the magazine business, three makes a trend, and “Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2” is the third straight follow-up to the much-loved original on this list of terrible horror films. It’s hard to remember now, but “The Blair Witch Project” was a cultural event. There were questions whether it was scripted or even if it was actually real. The sequel, made incredibly quickly, would never have that element of surprise. Instead, it was held up against the original first offering—so it never had a chance.
#18. The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) (2011)
– Director: Tom Six
– Stacker score: 30.2
– IMDb user rating: 3.8
– Metascore: 17
– Runtime: 91 minutes
Did you think the first “Human Centipede” was gross? Not only is its sequel grosser you also have to sit through the director’s social commentary! In “The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence),” watching the original film inspires maniacal Englishman Martin (Laurence R. Harvey) to create his own human centipede — this time with 12 people instead of three. Director Tom Six presumably wants to stick it to the people who bemoaned the original film’s torturous gore and violence … but the sequel merely amounts to a nasty waste of time.
#17. Mother’s Day (1980)
– Director: Charles Kaufman
– Stacker score: 29.7
– IMDb user rating: 5.3
– Metascore: 1
– Runtime: 91 minutes
Before he was a widely respected auteur filmmaker, Charles Kaufman disgusted audiences with “Mother’s Day,” a film in which two brothers kidnap and assault young female campers for the pleasure of their unhinged mother. Although the movie has become notable for its satire of popular media’s effect on society (the brothers spout countless TV references), it received pushback for its cynical violence as a whole.
#16. Piranha II: The Spawning (1981)
– Directors: James Cameron, Ovidio G. Assonitis, Miller Drake
– Stacker score: 28.6
– IMDb user rating: 3.7
– Metascore: 15
– Runtime: 94 minutes
Before James Cameron’s long-awaited “Avatar” sequel “The Way of Water” hits theaters this December, it’s worth remembering that his directorial debut was a sequel about killer piranhas. “Piranha II: The Spawning” was a notoriously difficult production due to producer Ovidio G. Assonitis’ overbearing quest for creative control and Cameron being forced to work with an Italian crew that didn’t speak English.
Although Cameron disowned the movie for several years, he eventually acknowledged it as his directorial debut instead of 1984’s “The Terminator.”
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#15. I Know Who Killed Me (2007)
– Director: Chris Sivertson
– Stacker score: 28.6
– IMDb user rating: 3.6
– Metascore: 16
– Runtime: 105 minutes
If you have fond memories of watching Lindsay Lohan in films like “The Parent Trap,” “Freaky Friday,” and “Mean Girls,” don’t distort them by watching this mess of a horror thriller. Lohan stars in “I Know Who Killed Me” as a young woman who, after she’s abducted and tortured, returns to society claiming she’s a different person entirely. Named on several “worst movies” lists, the violent yet ludicrously plotted movie also won eight Golden Raspberry Awards (including Worst Picture and Worst Actress for Lohan).
#14. Vampires Suck (2010)
– Directors: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
– Stacker score: 28.6
– IMDb user rating: 3.4
– Metascore: 18
– Runtime: 82 minutes
These days, it’s cool to enjoy the teen melodrama at the heart of the “Twilight” films. But that obviously wasn’t always the case and “Vampires Suck” is living (dead) proof. The film parodies the first few “Twilight” movies, casting Jenn Proske in the role of “Becca,” who finds herself torn between a vampire and a werewolf. However, the movie’s attempt at satire was steamrolled by critics and audiences alike, with Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers famously giving it a four-word review: “This movie sucks more.”
#13. The Mangler (1995)
– Director: Tobe Hooper
– Stacker score: 28
– IMDb user rating: 4.3
– Metascore: 8
– Runtime: 106 minutes
Directed by Tobe Hooper, the man behind the 1974 masterpiece “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” “The Mangler” may have suffered from overly hyped syndrome. Still, the elevator pitch for this film is delightfully wild: in an old-school laundromat, the folding machine has been possessed and acquired a taste for blood. If you’ve ever been enticed by the idea of a machine to fold your clothes, perhaps you’ve been spared from disaster.
#12. Cabin Fever (2016)
– Director: Travis Zariwny
– Stacker score: 28
– IMDb user rating: 3.7
– Metascore: 14
– Runtime: 99 minutes
The original “Cabin Fever” was released in 2002, which means, by the rules of “Spider-Man” reboots, it’s not unheard of to restart the series this quickly. Even so, it’s pretty wild that “Cabin Fever 3: Patient Zero” (which you may remember from earlier on this list) was released only two years before this reboot. Please, gatekeepers of the movie industry, we’re begging you — cure this fever once and for all!
#11. Armed Response (2017)
– Director: John Stockwell
– Stacker score: 27.5
– IMDb user rating: 3.7
– Metascore: 13
– Runtime: 93 minutes
Another (predictably) poor outing for WWE Studios, John Stockwell’s 2017 stinker is yet another film on this list to receive the infamous 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes. “Armed Response” follows a group of trained operatives investigating a mysteriously vacant prison facility—only to find themselves tormented by a lie-detecting supercomputer.
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#10. Murder-Set-Pieces (2004)
– Director: Nick Palumbo
– Stacker score: 27.5
– IMDb user rating: 3.7
– Metascore: 13
– Runtime: 105 minutes
In “Murder-Set-Pieces,” a German photographer (Sven Garrett) lives a twisted double life: by day, he takes erotic photographs and by night, he does unspeakably horrible things to sex workers. The film features several notable cameos from iconic horror performers, including Gunnar Hansen of “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and Tony Todd of “Candyman.” However, big names be damned, many viewers took issue with the excessive sadism and snuff film-like qualities.
#9. Feardotcom (2002)
– Director: William Malone
– Stacker score: 27.5
– IMDb user rating: 3.4
– Metascore: 16
– Runtime: 101 minutes
It never was fully explained to us why this film is called “Feardotcom” and not “Fear.com.” The unfortunate title led to some strange marketing around the film, including the riveting and definitely not confusing tagline: “Feardot.com.” Regardless of the questionable branding, “Feardotcom” tells the story of an investigation into the death of four people who all logged onto a website (either Fear.com or Feardot.com, or maybe even Feardotcom.com). Sure that site kills you, but it’s not nearly as scary as checking your mentions on Twitterdotcom.
#8. BloodRayne (2005)
– Director: Uwe Boll
– Stacker score: 25.8
– IMDb user rating: 2.9
– Metascore: 18
– Runtime: 95 minutes
“BloodRayne” follows Rayne (Kristanna Loken), a vampire who escapes from an 18th-century freakshow to join a team of vampire slayers. Think: a much worse version of “Blade” only somehow “BloodRayne” also got two sequels.
#7. Transylmania (2009)
– Directors: David Hillenbrand, Scott Hillenbrand
– Stacker score: 25.3
– IMDb user rating: 3.8
– Metascore: 8
– Runtime: 92 minutes
In this spoof on vampire horror films, former bloodsucking king Radu (Oren Skoog) convinces a group of college students to study abroad in Romania, where a coven of bloodthirsty vampires stalk at boozy parties. Too bad “Transylmania” lacks the campy humor or blood-chilling thrills to make its comedy or horror elements work!
#6. Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
– Director: Joseph Sargent
– Stacker score: 24.7
– IMDb user rating: 3.0
– Metascore: 15
– Runtime: 89 minutes
The fourth “Jaws” film is a special kind of bad: The Brody boys have left SeaWorld and returned to Amity where their mom still lives. But guess who wants revenge? A shark, that’s who. A shark that somehow can sense that these people are related and are the ones to kill. The shark knows all this. It has human feelings.
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#5. The Walking Deceased (2015)
– Director: Scott Dow
– Stacker score: 24.2
– IMDb user rating: 3.5
– Metascore: 9
– Runtime: 88 minutes
Long after the heyday of “Zombieland” and “The Walking Dead” had passed, director Scott Dew still thought a zombie parody film was a good idea. “The Walking Deceased” follows a group of dopey survivors struggling through the apocalypse, led by Dave Sheridan’s Sheriff Lincoln (who yes, is a parody of Rick Grimes). Apart from its outdated parody premise, the movie also received heat for its misogynistic and homophobic sense of humor.
#4. The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019)
– Director: Daniel Farrands
– Stacker score: 20.3
– IMDb user rating: 2.9
– Metascore: 8
– Runtime: 94 minutes
Yes, somehow a movie in which Sharon Tate (played by Hillary Duff) has supernatural visions of her impending Manson murder was greenlit. Unsurprisingly, this horror take on a real-life tragedy was a critical bomb, receiving flack for its exploitative premise and schlocky take on Tate’s experiences.
#3. House of the Dead (2003)
– Director: Uwe Boll
– Stacker score: 19.8
– IMDb user rating: 2.1
– Metascore: 15
– Runtime: 90 minutes
Impressively, director Uwe Boll managed to get three films in the top eight of this list. The German director is responsible (or maybe, to blame) for “House of the Dead,” in which a group of ravers have their drug-aided island dance party interrupted by all sorts of monsters looking for blood. Incredibly, Boll gets his films financed on the same planet where Vincent Van Gogh died in poverty—go figure.
#2. The Human Centipede III (Final Sequence) (2015)
– Director: Tom Six
– Stacker score: 18.1
– IMDb user rating: 2.8
– Metascore: 5
– Runtime: 102 minutes
This series’ evil-surgeon-gone-way-too-far concept taps into our worst rubbernecking instincts. But without the shock of the original, this film is just a terrible thing to subject a viewer to.
#1. Alone in the Dark (2005)
– Director: Uwe Boll
– Stacker score: 18.1
– IMDb user rating: 2.4
– Metascore: 9
– Runtime: 96 minutes
In this mess of a movie, paranormal detective Edward Carnby (Christian Slater) must team up with an anthropologist with a photographic memory (Tara Reid) to stop evil demons from taking over the Earth. Worst of all for Carby, the anthropologist is his ex-girlfriend … because of course she is.
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