25 of the Worst Horror Movies Ever Made, According to Rotten Tomatoes

Horror is unfairly maligned as a genre. If we think of high art as work that provokes an intellectual response and low art as something that provokes more of a physical one, horror falls firmly in the latter category for most. After all, shrieking in terror is a pretty physical response.

While there are absolutely some undeniable masterpieces in the horror genre, there are also a lot of schlocky stinkers. It’s not always about budget, either. Classics like The Blair Witch Project (1999), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), and Night Of The Living Dead (1968) were all made for peanuts but went on to transcend those limitations and make a big impact on pop culture.

Usually even a crappy horror movie has something going for it. But you’d be hard-pressed to find anything worth writing home about when it comes to the flicks that made it onto Rotten Tomatoes’ roundup of the worst horror movies of all time, like 2008’s One Missed Call. A remake of the 2003 Japanese horror movie of the same name by Takashi Miike, it placed first overall and has a score of 0 percent on the site, with film critic Wesley Morris dubbing it “hopelessly disconnected” and “another demonstration of how certain studios and producers care neither about us nor the skill required to pull off a respectable work of garbage.”

Other entrants onto the list—like FeardotCom (2002) and 2023’s Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey—did slightly better, earning a 3 percent score overall. But within the top 25, nothing cracks past a 6 percent score, and there are plenty of cynical by-the-numbers remakes (like 2017’s Flatliners) and sequels with recycled plots (see: 1988’s Return of the Living Dead Part II) to go around. You can check out the worst of the worst down below. Bear in mind that to even make it onto the rankings to begin with, these flicks had to have at least 20 reviews. (Ouch.)

Making a completely unwatchable horror film takes some doing. Further on, we break down the six that scored a flat 0 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Remarkably, one actor—Michael Landes of Final Destination 2 (2003) and the first season of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, both of which are great—pops up in two of these. It’s not his fault!

One Missed Call (2008) // 0 Percent Score

Premise: This 2008 J-horror remake focuses on a curse that manifests through phone calls and results in candy popping out of dead people’s mouths.

“Fun” fact: Guillermo Del Toro passed up the opportunity to direct this in order to focus on Hellboy II: The Golden Army, which has a vastly more impressive 86 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Better movies to watch instead: The Ring (2002), The Grudge (2004)

Jaws: The Revenge (1987) // 0 Percent Score

Premise: Apparently great white sharks are big on holding a grudge, because in this follow-up to the 1975 summer blockbuster, one is out for vengeance against the Brody family and is willing to head down to the Bahamas to get it.

“Fun” fact: Star Michael Caine won his first Oscar in 1986 for Hannah and Her Sisters, but missed the ceremony because he was too busy shooting this clunker. He famously quipped: “I have never seen [Jaws: The Revenge], but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.”

Better movies to watch instead: Jaws (1975), Cujo (1983)

Cabin Fever (2016) // 0 Percent Score

Premise: This inexplicable remake of 2002’s Cabin Fever follows the original beat for beat but doesn’t have the novelty value of starring the guy from Boy Meets World. Why was this film made? Your guess is as good as ours.

“Fun” fact: One of the decisions the creative team made for their remake was to remove the comedic elements of the original.

Better movies to watch instead: The Evil Dead (1981), 28 Days Later (2002)

The Disappointments Room (2016) // 0 Percent Score

Premise: A New York couple moves to rural North Carolina and are either haunted by the house’s previous occupants, go bonkers or—get this—possibly both.

“Fun” fact: Some of the North Carolina locations used in this movie were also used in Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth (which has 38 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes). 

Better movies to watch instead: The Others (2001), Poltergeist (1982)

Homecoming (2009) // 0 Percent Score

Premise: An obsessive stalker does a Misery on her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend and predictably, chaos ensues.

“Fun” fact: One of the filming locations was North Allegheny Senior High School in Pennsylvania, whose alumni include Christina Aguilera.

Better movies to watch instead: Misery (1990), Single White Female (1992)

Beneath The Darkness (2011) // 0 Percent Score

Premise: An unhinged mortician-turned-murderer terrorizes a group of teenagers when they discover his secret (which involves dancing with his wife’s corpse).

“Fun” fact: Beneath The Darkness grossed a mere $9600 at the domestic box office.

Better movies to watch instead: Psycho (1960), The Shining (1980)

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