Most Overrated Horror Movies

The Top Ten
1 The Exorcist

How is this film terrifying? How is it the scariest? How is it the best horror movie? Why is it below Steven King's IT?

I watched this film as a child, and as you would expect, it failed to terrify and impress me. Everywhere I go it is always praised and is considered "scary" and "horrifying".

An example of to point out is the "stair-crawling" scene, it isn't scary nor disturbing, it looks like a moment from a comedy film.

I watched The Evil Dead, another film involving possession, a couple of years later and that film gave me nightmares for weeks, the difference here is that the former lacks any sort of build up and scare factor while the latter has a bucket-load of it. The film also had more admirable and intelligent protagonists.

With mention of the No. 1 spot, IT isn't overrated, I haven't heard a mention of it from anybody due to it feeling obscure and rare. IT is also very scary and it doesn't even involve jumpscares like this "Exorcist" ...more

I don't really understand how this is considered the most scary and best horror movie for some people. I understand maybe when it first came out, but why still today. I would definitely say this movie is great, creepy at some points, has a good story, nice characters, a really epic third act, and some funny moments (when this is supposed to be a horror movie). So I am not calling it a bad movie, but I just think it is extremely overrated. Keep it up there as a classic sure, but not as the scariest movie ever.

If you're looking for a movie with much blood, torture scenes etc... then it's for sure that you will be dissapointed. The horror in this movie lays in the " mood " which is pretty exeptional and outstanding in this film. It's maybe not the best horror movie of all time but to put this number 1 on this list, THAT is really overrated! There are by far more horror movies out there that are overrated and that deserves to be number one if you ask me.

This movie is the king of all horror movies. People who think it's too slow or boring, don't understand the concept of building suspense. It maximizes each scare in the movie, unlike these faster pace movie's where the scares fall flat because they depend on special effects that come up looking lame.

2 The Shining

The Shining is terrible. The book is so much better. Jack Nicholson is a great actor - but he's no Jack Torrance. Instead of Tony as a horrifying apparition we get a weird talking finger. Stephen King in the book excellently portrays Danny's fear and naivety in the book but the film just has him covering his eyes. How can people compare this to films like The Exorcist or The Omen when it is just another dreadful Stephen King adaption that can't capture the heart of the novel.

I heard a lot of good things about this movie so I decided to finally sit down and watch it a few months ago and I really don't see what the big fuss is about. For me this movie was extremely boring. The only half decent part was the last 15-20 minutes. I am a huge horror fan but this movie was a huge let down. It is one of my least favourite movies of all time and I would probably never watch this again. Sorry to all the fans of this movie but I hated it

Who ever put this on the list is a moron. Just because this move doesn't deliver stupid jump scared every ten seconds does not make it overrated. This movie is a masterpiece, with a great story, growing tension, and suspense. It isn't about ghosts like many may assume, it's about one man slowly losing his mind, while the rest of his family aren't.

Must be the most boring horror movie I have ever seen.
Only good things were The brilliant use of camera in some parts & the kid.
Bad things - Everyone overacting (Specially Jack in earlier parts), Shelley duval was a pain (If jack didn't, I was gonna take the axe from him & finish it), So many useless shots, Not a good story, Scary? Hell no!, Boring, Boring, Boring... & Boring...

3 Stephen King's It

Tim Curry is wonderful (though not accurate to the book), but the rest is pretty bland and uninteresting, due to the limits of being made for TV. This also is a 2-part miniseries, not a movie, however.

I voted because this movie is awesome and how is it second. You get movies such as saw which are now just to see different ways they can kill off characters and this movie is villain is a clown. Better than saw which is an old guy or friday the thirteen where it's a retard

This movie wasn't able to live up to the brilliance of the book. I think with it being a made-for-T.V. movie, they were way too limited in what they could do. I hear they are doing a 2-part remake to be released in theatres. I hope they can capture the true horror in the new one.

Using clowns as the main scare is very cheap. I don't find any of King's works to be frightening in the slightest. If you want to be afraid, watch Nosferatu (1922) or Halloween 2 (1981).

4 The Blair Witch Project

This movie was terrible. All I got from it was arguing and motion sickness. As for the rest of the top 10, I noticed that most of the movies are from the 80's or earlier. I don't understand why so many old classics are on this list. Most of the new horror movies that this generation likes, have hardly any plot and are crammed with cheesy looking CGI effects. I just don't don't get it.

Works better as a experimental student film than anything else. Still pretty good in that regard though, even if it isn't very scary.

This film is nowhere near as scary as the "Slumber Party Alien Abduction" segment from V/H/S/2, it was just boring as Hell.

I thought this movie was very boring. It was just people running around with a camera and screaming.

5 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

I honestly do not see why this movie gets so much praise for being one of the best horror movies of all time, when I got the chance to watch this, I was bored out of my mind, cause basically nothing happens for a good while into the film, it also didn't have that much blood and gore, the body count was also extremely low, there was hardly any atmosphere throughout the movie, the constant screaming of the girl kinda annoyed me, and one other thing is the title of this movie, it didn't live up to its title what so ever.

If you want to keep your children from ever walking into someone's house, uninvited, this is the movie to watch.

This is my all time FAVORITE horror movie! I am literally wearing a TCM t shirt as I type this.

It's so boring, at first NOTHING happens, then they all die and in the end there's the most boring chasing scene in film history

6 Friday the 13th

I don't see why everyone says this is one of, if not THE most important, influential and legendary slasher series of all time. They're all poorly acted and predictable. I know acting isn't a huge concern in a lot of slashers, but that doesn't make it okay for the actors to suck. To the series' credit, however, I did like the first two films, and Alice Hardy was a decent character. Probably the only character in the whole series who I did care about.

Then they killed her in part 2's opening scene. Because Jason.

Another thing that bothered me about the series is how gimmicky it became. They put it in 3D, they had Jason take over other peoples' bodies, they put him in space, and they had him fight Freddy Krueger. Yes, I'm aware that Jason X started as a joke idea, but that doesn't make it any less stupid. I also know that much like Halloween's idea of "anything can happen on Halloween", Friday the 13th was going to be a series of non-related, stand-alone films. That ...more

I remember I found the first Friday the 13th movie on television on Halloween night. My friends had told me that it was so good and really scary and all of that, but as I watched this movie I was half way through until I said out loud, "This is really bad. " Of course it's iconic, but that's part of what bugs me: for none horror fans, ask them what horror movies they know and more than likely they will say "Friday the 13th" because this movie is spoofed and referenced everywhere. (It's also unbelievable that there are about 12 movies in this franchise. )

Good first movie, quickly devolved into "People go back to Camp Crystal Lake, which somehow hasn't shut down by now despite several much larger massacres than the one that shut it down the first time, and Jason kills them."

No matter how many more kills Jason has, it will never cover up the fact that he, and his series, are largely just shallow Halloween/Michael Myers clones, and largely miss what makes those movies so much better.

The early version of Paranormal Activity, it sucks and has spawned a pointless filler franchise.

Like it's even more horrible counterpart, The Exorcist, it lacks the scares and nightmare fuel that resides with its genre.

7 Halloween

This is a fantastic movie on a technical level, but I do have a lot of problems with this movie. One of them is that I just don't find it very exciting. Especially when night comes, there's a lot of scenes where nothing happens, and I understand it's meant to build suspense, but there's suspense and then there's boring. The first Alien does suspense a lot better than this movie I think because you're fixated on every single shot. I just don't feel like the original Halloween is that effective in this regard. Another problem I have is that they expect us to think of Michael Myers as kind of this unstobbale force of nature, "the boogeyman"...yet we saw him as a little kid killing his sister, which is a very human (albeit horrible) thing to do. I think this movie would have been better if you take out that beginning section, you take out his escape from the institution, and just have Laurie being stalked by a guy in a white mask, who we've never seen, and have no idea who or what he is. ...more

Overrated? Not at all. This movie will always hold up no matter the time period, because it doesn't rely on cheap scares and gore to terrify you, it instead builds suspense and thrill, which in turn is what really scares you. Laurie being chased by Michael Myers is terrifying because of the suspense and thrill. Laurie hiding in the closet is also a good example of suspense and thrill. I don't believe any other movie would ever be able to replicate the suspense and thrill John Carpenter presented in this classic film.

I hate this movie I honestly do not see why Halloween is considered a classic, its sooo boring, nothing happens until like the last 20 minutes or so, there was hardly any blood and gore, there was far too much suspense and the body count was extremely low, and too much dialogue etc. (Just my opinion)

Yup overrated. While this film was boundary-pushing back in it's time, it doesn't really hold up to the many horror films that have been made since, including those which are silimar to it.

8 A Nightmare on Elm Street

The first time I saw freddy, he cared the heck out of me. Most of the sequels felt cheesy but the first one was great.

Not really that scary, though better than The Exorcist.

9 Jaws

People who don't like Jaws or most of the movies on this list are not horror fans anyway. Stick to watching cheesy romantic comedies or whatever else you watch.

I don't even think this is scary enough to even be considered a horror movie. But, I still like it. It doesn't deserve the critical praise that it gets, but I don't hate it.

CORRECTION: jaws is a horror movie, anyone that says that this movie isn't a horror movie doesn't know anything about horror movies.

This is a thriller, not a horror. Though it is scarier than The Exorcist as many other people have said.

10 Paranormal Activity

All this movie did was make a new type of filming, having a clumsy idiot hold a camera and make the movie. It wasted my time to even bother with it, it is just paranormal thing going. It shouldn't be classified as horror, if a movie is really scary, it would give me nightmares. And I'm not easily scared so all this did was make the horror movie franchise lose a few bucks.

The worst horror movie ever made. Not scary, boring and hateful characters to boot, this stinks on almost every level. One scary image at the end of the film doesn't make up for 90 minutes I just wasted.

This should be the first.
I'm easily scared so when my friend wanted to watch this I was like oh no but we watched it and not once did I jump or scream or anything. Such a disapointment!

I fell asleep when I watched it, that was the only film I ever fell asleep watching. Bad acting, boring plot. Its just a snooze-fest!

The Contenders
11 The Conjuring

This movie was a breath of fresh air. Most of the horror films today have no plot, bad acting, and fake looking special effects. The Conjuring reminded me of 70's gems like The Exorcist and The Omen. They may have been slow by todays standards but the plots and effects were perfect. This movie shouldn't be nowhere near this list.

Why is this here? It's more professional than The Exorcist, it is also scarier.

One of the best Horror films in modern times.

Most overrated horror film ever.

Period

12 Saw

The Saw movies have a certain reputation of being terrible, but the first Saw was actually pretty interesting and enjoyable

It's impressive, but it isn't scary. (scarier than The Exorchit though)

13 The Ring

What are you all talking about? This movie is scary. It's normal when you see it after the first time you saw it that it becomes less scary ( every horror movie does ). But saying ( like one of the comments ) that this is crap and not professional is ridiculous. Naomi Watts gives an outstanding performance ( way better than the Japanese actresses and actors ). Another comment is saying that this only good for 12 years old because at 15 it doesn't make you scary anymore and it doesn't give you no goosebumps is hardly a serious comment about the movie itself. Just because you are not scary anymore doesn't mean that this is a bad movie. One of the best horror movies and not overrated at all.

I remember when I was 12 this movie was built up so much and was meant to be the scariest thing ever and at the time when I saw it, it was. However watching the same movie 3 years later it is really disappointing, no goosebumps or jumps throughout this entire movie. This is the type of movie that only appeals to 12 year olds.

It is creepy only if you have the time to sit and watch some hot chick solve a mystery about a haunted video tape that kills anybody who watches it in seven days. More of a thriller really.

For the hundredth time Hollywood, deformed ladies crawling on the ground with hair covering their faces are not scary!

14 Child's Play

Watch Nostalgia Critic's review of it and you won't be scared anymore.

Honestly, I laugh at this film (in a good way) than be scared.

Once, I loved this movie but now it's borderline stupid.

This movie is more funny than scary.

15 The Grudge

Too slow and not really scary ( the music is more scary than the film itself ) but Sarah Michelle Gellar is always a Delight to watch.

This was arguably the worst big budget horror movie I have ever seen.

This movie is easily top 3.

16 The Cabin In the Wood

This movie had such bland acting and lazy performances. I felt no emotion to any of the characters and was quite dissatisfied with the feeling of the movie. This movie made me laugh more than it should have and that's not a hood thing. Just because it's different doesn't mean it's good. One of my least favorite films of all time. And dear god, don't even get me started on that horrendously stupid ending.

17 Zombieland

I recently watched this movie. To me, it was more funny than anything. Still, it wasn't bad enough to be on this list.

No wonder it's on this list, because it's a comedy.

This is a comedy boi

18 Jeepers Creepers

Bad movie, leading to a worse series. The Creeper is a very boring villain with a goofy design and no real motivation other than that he has to exist for the movie to exist.

19 Hellraiser

I am a huge horror fan and love most of them. However, I just couldn't ever really get into this one. I like it okay I guess, but I didn't find it that scary and am always a little bored. I have tried to give it a chance a few times, but my opinion hasn't changed. I can appreciate that it's a classic. Just not for me I guess.

20 Nosferatu (1922)

I'm not saying the movies bad or anything, but I'm gonna be brutally honest here

21 Scream 2

In response to fire, The Exorcist is garbage.

About Scream 2 though, this film lacks effort and fails to impress and scare me.

This one was no where near the movie the first was. The Exorcist/Thing were purely terrifying movies!

I liked the first scream movie better, this one was good to but pretty dull at times.

22 The Thing

The Thing (1982) overrated really? In my opinion no it is definitely not overrated in any way shape or form, The Thing (1982) is one of my all time favourite horror movies.

Yes, it may very well be the most overrated horror film of all time.

It is kind of overrated

23 The Sixth Sense

Agreed. While the scary scenes at least have an undercurrent of dread and tension, and the acting is great, this film doesn't work well. Too slow for the first half, too stupid in the second, characters who don't talk like human beings and (most importantly) a plot twist that makes absolutely no sense. All of M Night's usual faults that people whinge about crop up here, but this is given a pass? Why?

If you're complaining about how this movie isn't scary, guess what...it isn't even SUPPOSED to be scary. It's a drama film.

What? It's not supposed to be much of a horror but psychological movie. It was still the best M. Night Shaymalan movie.

Huh? Whoever made this list is insane...

24 Insidious

I'll give it this, the visuals, atmosphere and score are fantastic, but the problem with Insidious is that when it comes to the story, it is a uninspired mess. The main plot revolves around a couple whose child is taken from them by demons and then decide to get the help of a "psychic" to help get their child back. Hold on a minute, haven't we heard of that before... (Poltergeist). Anyways, top it all off with an ending that was obvious and predictable, Insidious mostly flashes on the outside instead of the inside. But hey that's just my thoughts.

25 Wes Craven's New Nightmare
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