And Why You Should Take the Time to Watch Them

There is a long list of horror movie failures to watch online from the comfort of your own home. Bad movies are fun to watch once in a while and they can tell you alot about what mistakes to avoid when you are writing your own stuff, whether it’s a novel, short story or movie script.

Here we take a look at some of our personal favourites.

Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2010)

Birdemic: Shock and Terror is an American independent romantic horror film (and I use those terms loosely) by ‘visionary’ director James Nguyen. The plot follows a group of people as they attempt to survive a sudden attack of eagles and vultures, along with the occasional confused owl, that seem to be infected with a ‘let’s go bat shit crazy’ deadly virus.

The film may be put in the “so bad it’s good” category because of the poor special effects, wooden acting, and nonsensical story. Despite the low-budget and amateurish production, it has become something a cult classic. Just make sure you have plenty of beers before you start watching. Here’s a little taster – hang on till you see the flying birds.

Troll 2 (1990)

A family on vacation encounters a group of vegetarian goblins who wan to turn them into plants. With inferior special effects and a plot that was written while high on something, this does have some comedic moments. The film did later have a resurgence as a cult movie mostly among stoners who find it absolutely hysterical.

Overall, Troll 2 is a train wreck of a movie and unless you want your eyes to start bleeding while you watch it, we suggest giving it a wide birth. Except you’re not now, are you?

The Boogeyman (1980)

Evil through a broken mirror sounds like an interesting premise but that’s about as far as this movie gets in terms of originality. It tries to blend Amityville, Halloween and the Exorcist and gets it badly wrong. Even the presence of horror stalwart John Carradine can’t save this horses head of a script and wooden acting.

Directed by Ulli Lommel, tries to make the most of the low, low budget and the abominable script without much success. The tagline for the film was ‘the most terrifying nightmare of childhood is about to return’ but the only terrifying thing is how The Boogeyman later became a cult favourite. Your guess is as good as mine. Even the trailer looks like everyone involved was in a coma.

Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)

Directed by Ed Wood Jr, this movie makes it on to every crap horror movie film list on the planet and for good reason. “Plan 9 from Outer Space” is often considered a terrible film due to its low-budget production values, poor acting, nonsensical plot, and technical flaws, such as visible strings holding up UFOs and inconsistent day/night scenes. The film has gained a cult following as a “so-bad-it’s-good” movie.

The plot ” revolves around aliens who come to Earth with a plan to stop humanity from developing a weapon that could destroy the universe. They do this by reanimating dead human bodies and turning them into mindless zombies. A small group of humans, including a pilot and a police detective, team up to try to stop the aliens and their undead minions before it’s too late.

Along the way, they encounter a range of bizarre characters and situations, such as a fake psychic, a cemetery full of talking corpses, and a vampire. The film ends with a dramatic showdown between the humans and the aliens, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Classic stuff!

Night of the Lepus (1972)

Killer rabbits are never a good idea for a horror movie and Night of the Lepus proves that point exactly. Profoundly stupid and badly acted, even the funnier moments don’t make up for the dreadful whole. Avoid if you can, it just might grind your belief in humanity into the dirt.

The plot of “Night of the Lepus” involves a rural community in the American Southwest that is facing a growing problem with a population of wild rabbits. The locals turn to a group of scientists for help, who decide to test a new experimental serum on the rabbits in order to control their numbers. However, the serum has an unexpected side effect, causing the rabbits to grow to massive size and become extremely aggressive.

The giant rabbits then begin attacking humans, causing chaos and destruction across the countryside. A small group of people, including a rancher and a couple of scientists, team up to try to stop the monstrous rabbits before they can cause further harm. The film is known for its use of real rabbits with miniature models and actors to create the illusion of giant killer rabbits.

The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)

The movie follows a defecting Soviet scientist who is transformed into a mutated beast after being exposed to radiation in the desert. The film is known for its sparse dialogue, confusing editing, and lack of a coherent storyline, making it difficult to follow or understand.

The film’s technical flaws, such as poorly synced audio and out-of-focus shots, also contribute to its reputation as a poorly made movie. The film has gained a cult following as a “so-bad-it’s-good” movie, with fans enjoying its unintentional humour and low-budget charm.

The Horror of Party Beach (1964)

Cycle gangs, teenagers on the beach and some pop music, why not combine this with some atomic beasts from the deep. Daft as brushes with lines such as ‘can they be killed’ and ‘they ARE the living dead’ makes this a good introduction to bad horror. At just over an hour long it’s not going to take too much out of your life and there’s plenty of screaming bikini clad victims along the way and dumb as dishwater guys in cardigans.

The Giant Spider Invasion (1975)

You can’t have bad horror without a few spiders to oil the works. The Giant Spider Invasion has a simple premise – small, isolated town gets overrun by giant spiders – but that’s as far as the ingenuity gets.

People running into cobwebs and screaming are bad enough but the larger spiders (which come from another world no less) look like they were constructed out of oversized pipecleaners and cushions. The trailer ends with the immortal words: There’s never been a film like this before. We concur.

That’s our lot for now, but we’ll have some more in the not too distant future. For now, what makes your worst horror movies list? Answers below.