In terms of horror, 2024 had a strong start, with Late Night with the Devil coming out in March and being an early highlight of the year. After that, the solid hits kept on coming, including Longlegs, Smile 2, Heretic, and The Substance. And with the buzz and positive early reviews for Robert Eggers' upcoming Nosferatu, that film looks nicely rounding up another triumphant 12 months for the genre.
However, that doesn't mean there haven't been a couple of disappointments this year. Although our Worst Horror Movies of 2024 (So Far) list covered a heap of unwatchable films, there have been plenty of diabolical features released since then.
While watching the following underwhelming sequels, schlocky slashers, and embarrassing rip-offs, it's challenging to find a single redeemable quality in any of them. Several of these duds failed so badly, they sank without a trace before anyone took notice.
Though the horror community had plenty to enjoy in 2024, this article proves the year was far from perfect.
10. The Watchers
To M. Night Shyamalan's credit, his work is always entertaining, even when it's atrocious. Well, apart from The Last Airbender.
Shyamalan's Trap may have been flawed, but it was still enthralling thanks to its goofy tone, otherworldly performances, and ridiculous leaps of logic. The same cannot be said about The Watchers, which was helmed by M. Night's daughter.
Ishana Shyamalan's feature-length debut revolves around an artist, Mina (Dakota Fanning), who finds shelter in a remote bunker after getting lost in an Irish forest. The three residents in the bunker inform Mina she can't leave, since the area is populated by vicious creatures.
Intriguing set-up aside, The Watchers is a huge mess. There's an attempt to modernize Celtic fables, but it's insultingly simplified so the mysterious antagonists come across as generic monsters. The mystery is captivating at first but it becomes less interesting the more that's unravelled.
To be fair, the chilling score, superb cinematography, and stellar performances are mild positives, but the trope-riddled script and limp pacing make The Watchers a total slog. Contrary to what the title suggests, it's not worth a watch.
9. Night Swim
Night Swim had an uphill battle from the beginning, considering its selling point is an evil swimming pool. However, a silly premise doesn't necessarily lead to a bad movie. For example, Oculus was awesome, and its pitch was "haunted mirror".
Sadly, Night Swim is drowning in cliches and non-compelling characters. And thanks to the PG-rating, it doesn't have any grisly kills to satiate gorehounds. Instead, Night Swim contains multiple scenes of swimmers splashing around while being attacked by seemingly nothing. The actors try their best, especially Oscar nominee Kerry Condon, but their one-note characters give them nothing to work with.
Instead of embracing its campiness, Night Swim takes the ridiculous concept dead seriously. Considering the pool summons ghosts, plays Marco Polo with a child, and cures a swimmer's physical ailments, it's obvious Night Swim would've benefited by playing up how goofy it is. And when it's revealed the pool can grant wishes, viewers will wonder if the film was meant to be a parody.
Interestingly, Night Swim started life as a four-minute short which was released ten years prior. Based on how bereft of ideas this feature-length version is, it should've stayed that way.
8. Tarot
Although tarot started off as an innocent card game, it's been erroneously associated with occultism for centuries. As a result, having a horror film revolving around these playing cards doesn't sound like the worst idea in the world. That's why it's a shame to see how abominable 2024's Tarot turned out.
In this teen horror, a bunch of friends break the rules of a tarot reading, causing them to be cursed. The premise may be paper-thin, but the supernatural slasher could've been passable if it had some legitimate frights and creative kills. Too bad this dreary garbage failed on both accounts. The tone keeps flip-flopping whether to play up the bonkers premise or not, causing the end result to be neither funny nor unsettling.
Not even the most skittish person will be scared watching Tarot, since every jump scare is telegraphed. And despite the film's brevity, it feels twice its length due to how unbearably slow each scene is. Though the actors do their best - especially MCU Spider-Man's Jacob Batalon - their performances aren't enough to make Tarot entertaining, or even tolerable.
It may sound harsh, but Tarot's best quality is its forgettability.
7. The Exorcism
It has to be addressed that The Exorcism, which stars Russell Crowe, has no connection with The Pope's Exorcist, which the Gladiator actor starred in the previous year. As bad as The Pope's Exorcist was, The Exorcism is dramatically worse.
This psychological thriller centres around alcoholic actor Anthony (Crowe), who's hired for a horror film. When he starts behaving erratically, his daughter worries he's given in to his addictions. But over time, it becomes clear Anthony has been consumed by a malevolent force.
In The Exorcism's defence, it has some neat ideas. Having the story revolve around a possession movie was a great opportunity for meta-commentary, especially with the nods to other "cursed" productions like The Omen and The Exorcist. Also, Anthony is a surprisingly complex character, which Crowe explores perfectly.
Unfortunately, The Exorcism falls victim to the usual cliches. The filmmakers mistake loud noises for effective jump-scares, the choppy editing makes every potentially scary scene hard to follow, and there isn't a single line or shot during the possession sequences that hasn't been done to death in superior films.
Mr. Crowe, you're better than this
6. Stupid Games
It sounds impressive how Stupid Games was shot in six days with a mere $10,000 budget. But after watching the paranormal indie, it's obvious the creators should've spent a bit more money and put in a lot more time.
When the electricity goes out at a house party, a group of friends decide to pass the time by playing a board game called Quest for Truth. Things start innocently enough, with the game cards asking players to perform certain tasks, but as the tasks become darker and overly specific to the players' personalities, it becomes apparent something else is at play.
Sadly, this Jumanji knock-off takes forever to get going. Even though Stupid Games is only 86 minutes, it takes almost an hour before anything happens that resembles action. The first 15 minutes primarily consist of aimless waffle that comes across as unsubtle padding. Every line delivery sounds over-rehearsed, robbing the movie of any authenticity or spontaneity.
Our central characters are insufferable, so it's difficult to empathise with them when things take a nasty turn. Also, the thought process and behaviour of those characters are so profoundly unrealistic that suspension of disbelief is virtually impossible.
With nobody to root for, little scares, and bloodless kills, Stupid Games isn't even enjoyably terrible. Despite the short run-time, anyone who watches this dreck will be ticked off they didn't do something better with their time, like watching paint dry
5. The Platform 2
The Platform centred around a vertical prison where the inmates on each level eat off a descending table filled with food. The prisoners on the higher floor can fill their bellies, while the inmates at the bottom are left with scraps, which leads to chaos.
This dystopian thriller had a lot to offer, including extreme violence, political commentary, dark humour, and Beckett-like philosophizing, leaving audiences hungry for more, especially since little was explored about the prison's origin. So, when a sequel was announced, it looked like answers would finally be given.
Though the prison's inner workings are expanded upon in The Platform 2, its true purpose is left unexplained. For that reason, this follow-up feels like a retread of the first instalment, except with less compelling ideas. Rather than taking its time fleshing out the characters, everything feels rushed, almost like the sequel had to have a mandated run-time.
A key character from the original is brought back, which was the perfect chance to connect both narratives. But since the character's reintroduction occurs at the last second, it comes across as gimmicky and forced. Although The Platform felt like a story that could benefit by being turned into a franchise, this sequel was egregiously mishandled.
4. Slaughterhouse On The Hill
In this mockumentary horror, a group of friends head to an abandoned abattoir they used to hang out when they were teens. While drinking into the night and talking about the good old days, they discover they're being hunted by a pig-masked murderer.
The film is told with a story-within-a-story structure, with a documentary host, TJ Emerson, detailing how the brutal massacre unfolded. However, this layout ruins the flow, since the action is constantly interrupted by the host's banal observations. Also, there are times where it's painfully obvious the actor portraying Emerson is reading his lines from a cue card.
But even if the embedded narrative was dropped, Slaughterhouse would still be an absolute car crash. The barbaric kills are unconvincing, thanks to the amateur prosthetics and fake blood. There's an asinine amount of slow-motion, which feels like a lazy attempt to stretch out the 67-minute run-time. The characters are so devoid of... well... character, it leaves zero impact when they have their limbs or heads lopped off.
Though Slaughterhouse on the Hill can be viewed online for free, any poor soul who watches this will feel like asking for their money back.
3. Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood And Honey 2
Blood and Honey 2 is unequivocally better than the first instalment. However, that isn't saying much, since the original is arguably 2023's worst movie.
This time around, Winnie-the-Pooh and his bloodthirsty companions are forced to leave 100 Acre Wood after their home is burned down. After making their way to Christopher Robin's hometown, the sadistic bear prepares for another massacre.
Okay, let's get the positives out of the way, which won't take long. The costumes are dramatically better, the production values are a little higher, and... that's pretty much it.
Everything else, including the filmmaking, editing, and sound, is bafflingly unpolished. Any plot elements that sound mildly intriguing are diluted by the rushed pace, woeful acting, and first-draft script. Even though these horror films are supposed to launch a cinematic universe involving classic childhood characters, it's hard to understand why since the creators seem lacking in fresh ideas.
Yes, it improved on its predecessor, but Blood and Honey 2 is still a terrible movie at the end of the day. As such, this Winnie-the-Pooh follow-up won't appeal to anybody, not even the most dedicated slasher advocates.
2. Alien Hunt
Ridley Scott's Alien had such an influence on the sci-fi genre, it was destined to spawn copycats. With that said, there's never been a mockbuster as shameless as Alien Hunt. This trainwreck has all the hallmarks expected from an Asylum-worthy film, including a non-sensical story, appalling acting, and a rudimentary script.
However, there are three major flaws that stand out. Firstly, Alien Hunt doesn't hide the fact it copied H.R. Giger's iconic design. The alien, which is called Trixie, is literally a Xenomorph with eyes. The film also unabashedly rips off Predator, since the story involves an extra-terrestrial terrorising a group of people in the woods.
Alien Hunt is so cheap, calling it a micro-budget indie seems generous. Every item, whether it's a uniform, a gun, or the cardboard road signs looks fake. And finally, the filmmakers haven't a clue how to shoot, stage, or light anything. Even though the Xenomorph suit in Alien was astounding, the Alien crew kept it in darkness to make the acid-blooded creature more menacing. Trixie, on the other hand, is regularly paraded around in natural daylight, so it never looks like anything except a costumed performer.
Apart from the "so bad, it's good" crowd, Alien Hunt can't be recommended to anybody.
1. The Mouse Trap
It's obvious the Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey films were made to take advantage of a public domain character. Although this practice is disrespectful, the way The Mouse Trap defiles the Mickey Mouse IP is on another level.
In this brainless slasher, an arcade employer watches the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, Steamboat Willie, which somehow inspires him to go on a murder spree while dressed as the beloved Disney character.
Half of The Mouse Trap's scenes involve the unappealing cast traipsing around an amusement park, with long sequences of them playing air hockey and laser tag. Even if the kills were somewhat imaginative (which they aren't), it's nearly impossible to tell what's going on during the hack-and-slash moments due to the sporadic camera movements, horrible lighting, and deranged editing. The sound quality is so poor, it's hard to make out any of the murderer's threats or one-liners (although it's clear he's trying to mimic Pennywise's voice).
Also, the story doesn't make any sense. At the halfway point, the Mickey-masked maniac inexplicably develops the ability to teleport and move objects with his mind.
The fact this project was announced the same day Steamboat Willie went into public domain proves the filmmakers wanted to make a horror movie about Mickey Mouse for the sake of it. But since The Mouse Trap doesn't have a single innovative idea or serviceable quality, there's nothing to justify its existence.
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