The Not Quite Halloween Horror List of 2021
A new year, a new Halloween. Only, these didn't quite make it yet. To explain their rating a bit, if a movie is so bad that its on the verge of being painful, it would fall somewhere within the 1-3 range. The 4-6 range is for movies that are not good but still watchable to good movies that have left little long lasting impression. 7-10 are movies I enjoyed to love.
List activity
222 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
82 titles
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsSean GulletteMark MargolisBen ShenkmanA paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.Through 90% of this movie, I had no clue what was happening. And I still enjoyed it. There is a lot of talk about the Golden Rectangle and the Golden Spiral, I never really was a great math student, but what made this movie work was its art design. Done in HEAVILY saturated black and white, it has a very ethereal quality that makes everything pop like nobodies business. And the tone is very reminiscent of Eraserhead, get ready to see some real skin crawling stuff that makes no damn sense. Only thing is, it wasn't until the movie was just about over that I realized what the stakes were. And that is a bit of a problem as he allies and is then double crossed by people for reasons I am not yet privy to. Unless you are a numerologist or some other form of mathmagician, this may be better for someone more willing to shut their mind off and go for a wild ride.
- DirectorWilliam EubankStarsKristen StewartVincent CasselMamoudou AthieA crew of oceanic researchers working for a deep sea drilling company try to get to safety after a mysterious earthquake devastates their deepwater research and drilling facility located at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.This was pretty bad. I had heard mixed opinions but now I have to really side with the negative. Its very much like Alien, only nowhere near as good. In Alien, the characters acted very much like they were a crew working with each other for some time, and were more or less veterans. The crew here may have just met, they know next to nothing about each other or what they actually do. And there was one exchange that really drove that home. When one discounts his knowledge of what is going on with "I just watch anime," and is then responded to with "You watch anime, too?" One woman can't do the deep walk because she never did that before, which left me wondering, how the hell did she get here? Like physically, how was she there? I felt nothing for any of these characters, mostly because I was never introduced to any of them. The movie skips character building to have the crisis, then tries to convince you of how good these characters are after they're already dead. Except the survivors, who they never bothered to develop at all. This was just bad. Watch Alien.
- DirectorMarc CarretéStarsJulius CotterLiliana CabalJoe ManjónA journalist experiences a terrifying Alien abduction, when researching an extraterrestrial encounter in an old war shelter.Where do I begin? When you direct, write, and produce your own movie, there is really no one to blame but yourself. The basic idea is sound and I a can see what he intended. The trailer even made it sound very interesting without giving away much of anything. The problem is this movie devolves quick and hard. There isn't much more in the way of suspense and what does pass as it is quickly disarmed by the acting. The actors are mediocre. Its not entirely their fault, the written dialogue is just awful, but they still deserve blame for their terrible facials that kill the scenes even more. There is no rhyme or reason to the stories progression, they just kind of hop from one location to the next because its there or through sheer coincidence. The alien doesn't hold up either. Its very cheep CGI and its painfully obvious the actors aren't really reacting to something that's there. In general, its a pretty poor movie. Not quite painful but certainly disappointing.
- DirectorScott Di LallaStarsKelly McLarenCourtney FoxworthyDemetrius SagerOn Halloween night, five teens decide to liven up their party with some innocent fun: by summoning the spirits.There was a demon in this, right? Zozo is a real thing, as far as accounts of demonic entities go, dating back to Tibetan demonology in the 18th century. It became associated with Ouiji boards in 2009 by a guy who read about it from Le Dictionnaire Infernal, a compilation of demonic possession accounts written in 1818. And since then, there was a ton of rigmarole pertaining to and this movie is just intolerably boring. They spend a great deal of time dedicate to the supposed signs of the demon's presence and how the Ouiji board works and its not nearly as scary or interesting as you would think. The acting is sub par and the writing is either an exposition dump or inane drivel. The demon is invisible through out the movie but what makes it truly awful is that it has no presence whatsoever. Even in the 'rape' scene, its entirely obvious that there is nothing actually going on and they are shooting the actress from the chin up to hide the fact they have nothing to make it look like she is being attacked. The only horror to this movie is the music, which is either inappropriate for a horror movie or made from the melodious screams of cat being drowned. Fair to say, this was in the painfully terrible category.
- DirectorBrick BronskyStarsBrick BronskyJeff SibbachTom TaylorAfter accidentally killing an opponent in the ring, a professional wrestler takes a job at a group home for youth offenders. But when a psychopath wearing a wrestling mask begins butchering the teenage residents, their rehabilitation will become a no-holds-barred battle for survival. Starring Brick Bronsky (WWE), Jeff Sibbach (WCW, NWA), Doug 'Flex' Yasinsky (ECW), and F/X master Glenn Hetrick.A movie about a pro wrestler serial killer, acted by pro wrestlers. Its not great but not bad. The movie was released in 2019, but it was filmed in 1994, so it doesn't look particularly great. A mix of standard def video and the early 90s fashion really date it. The acting is not good either, and it isn't because of the wrestlers either. The 40 year old teenagers are hammy, but not enough to be really entertaining. Doug Flex does passable, and if your a fan of Troma, Brick Bronsky is still a plus. The hook that the killer uses wrestling to kill people is pretty good but some of the time its hard to tell what is happening because of the camera work. The bear hug death in particular just shows the killer's head. For how low budget the movie is, the action isn't bad as the actor does have some martial arts background. Its no Game of Death but its alright. Honestly, this movie is average at best, even for B movies, but coming off I Am Zozo, it may as well be Citizen Cain.
- DirectorDavid BrucknerDan BushJacob GentryStarsAnessa RamseyJustin WelbornScott PoythressA horror film told in three parts, from three perspectives, in which a mysterious transmission that turns people into killers invades every cell phone, radio, and television.This was an interesting anthology in that it tells a single story. An interesting concept marred by a lack of budget and a need for some ab crunches. 50,000 is a tight budget but the first story/chapter manages to spend it well. As soon as everything starts going south, it has a great sense of confusion and paranoia. And while I preferred the first, the third does manage to wrap it up, albeit with an open ending, with some clever ideas. But the middle tries to play a dark horror comedy and its just awful. Its a complete reversal in tone to the other two and to make it worse, its simply not funny. It seems to mistaken insanity with stupidity as no one acts like a rational human being. There is no straight man to work off of so it turns into a village idiot contest.
- DirectorMichael ChavesStarsLinda CardelliniRaymond CruzPatricia VelasquezIgnoring the eerie warning of a troubled mother suspected of child endangerment, a social worker and her own small kids are soon drawn into a frightening supernatural realm.And the Conjuring decline continues. A bad take on a Mexican boogieman tale, its just everything wrong with "ethnic" Hollywood movies. Need someone to be foreign, make them speak another language. But how will anyone know what they are saying? Have them repeat the line again, but in English. Nobody knows the source material being used except this fraction of a demographic? We'll paint it as exceedingly common within the community until its a stereotype. But these are all trivial matters when you sit through two thirds of the move and only then does it actually start. The first two thirds is nothing but padding as the ghost pops up to do something, and no one tells anyone what just happened. The characters speak so vaguely in this movie, they should all be politicians. They never say anything that can't and will be interpreted incorrectly, requiring saintly patience from the audience to get things started. I knew this movie was bad. And I watched it anyway. I have no one to blame but myself.
- DirectorWilliam T. NaudStarsMarie-Alise RecasnerRick DeanRon GardnerA group of actors are assembled in a small island to film a low-budget movie. Soon, they begin to fall prey to a mysterious killer who uses the lyrics of a weird song to determine his method of murder.I never intended to like this movie so much. This is some of the worst acting I've seen in years and most of the movie is too dark to actually see anything. A lot of the movie feels like it was made on a lark. But it somehow manages to come together with some entertaining deaths and a catchy gimmick. I love the song that the killer plays during each of his murders describing each murder to them before it happens. You'd think they would use that more in the writing but unfortunately not. The burn me deaths stand out, even if they are pretty much the same effect, because of how brutal they are. The movie is also pretty funny, though the timing is so perfect at times, I don't know if its intentional or not. This movie has a lower bar for being the low budget movie it is, but among the B movies its very good.
- DirectorDean AliotoStarsTommy GiavocchiniPatrick KelleyShirly McCallaOn a typical fall evening in 1983, a young man was videotaping his niece's 5th birthday party. As the night's strange occurrences took place, he kept his video camera running, recording the entire event.So this is a bit confusing. I saw this a while ago and remember it being really unnerving. The scene where the cameraman is frozen while the alien examines the camera and when the woman gets hit with a laser gave me goosebumps. So imagine my surprise when I showed it to someone else when none of that happened. In fact, while familiar, everything seemed off. Well, that was because back then, I had stumbled on the remake from 1998 and had shown them the 1989 original. And that may be what hurt this movie, as the remake does everything better and more. The aliens weren't as convincing, this was a no budget shot on VHS movie, and really, just track down the remake.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsCathryn HarrisonTherese GiehseAlexandra StewartTo escape a gender war, a girl flees to a remote farmhouse and becomes part of an extensive family's unusual, perhaps even supernatural, lifestyle.Well this was a slog. This is a dark fantasy film and French, I don't know why I was expecting otherwise. The plot is nonsense, just an excuse but for what I don't quite know. Things just seem to happen and I was in for a ride. Only, its Mr. Bones Wild Ride, devoid of anything thrilling or scary, and I was strapped in damn it. Set in a war between men and women, a premise so stupid it can be mistaken for modern day politics, and with enough naked children I can only assume it was shot in a certain location, the lead is kind of an idiot. She disguises herself as a man, which is code for she put on a hat and didn't even bother cutting her hair, is harassed by sheep, falls off a ladder, and nobody wants to talk to her. I ended up watching it in either Italian or Spanish which I'm admittedly not 100% fluent in, but I got the gist of it.
- DirectorLeslie MegaheyStarsJeremy ClydeMaurice DenhamCheryl KennedyCan Schalcken save his love, Rose, from the clutches of a ghastly suitor before it is too late?I have a very troublesome history trying to find this movie. One that spans a couple years and Halloweens. So when I found it this time, I figured it best not to wait. This was great. Maybe a little overly theatrical at times, but overall, this was a fantastic made for TV movie. While not scary by most modern standards, the more novel format makes for a very cozy experience, like being read A Christmas Carol in bed. The way that they work the paintings of Schalcken into the narrative does well to convey his state of mind during the periods of time in his life. This was well worth the wait and headache.
- DirectorDeborah BrockStarsCrystal BernardJennifer RhodesKimberly McArthurCourtney Bates, the younger sister of Valerie, and her friends go to a condo for a weekend getaway, but Courtney can't get rid of the haunting feeling that a supernatural rockabilly driller killer is coming to murder them all.Wow, this movie starts pretty meh. The action doesn't really start until the final act. It's slow and to be frank, kind of boring. I got some chuckles at some of the facial expressions one of the guys would make, but the build feels to stall. Then the Driller Killer finally shows up and the movie does a complete 180. He makes small appearances earlier that are entertaining but when he is actually in the movie, he just chews up every scene he's in and is just amazing. Its like the movie has abandoned all pretenses of being a serious slasher and just went hog wild on the rockabilly aspect. And the guitar drill is beautiful, a work of art that belongs in a museum. If the movie made that jump sooner, it might actually have been one of my favorite movies ever.
- DirectorFrank HenenlotterStarsRick HearstGordon MacDonaldJennifer LowryOne morning, a young man wakes to find that a small, disgusting creature has attached itself to the base of his brain stem. The creature gives him a euphoric state of happiness but demands human victims in return.This is not a subtle movie. Its about addiction and beats that point home with a hammer. And that is actually good because it is so blunt. They don't get clever with it, its literally this stuff makes you feel good and it messes your life up royal, hurting everyone you love, and ultimately it is going to kill you. And on top of that, that is Zacharley! The horror movie host out of New York for those who don't know, and he kills his role as Aylmer. Just hearing him say "juice," it really makes your skin crawl. He is so wicked as the parasitic drug, he really feels like an irresistible compulsion to ruin yourself. And Rick Hearst is no slouch either. He really plays the role of the addict incredibly well, struggling fruitlessly for control only to find they aren't strong enough. I very much recommend this movie.
- DirectorMardi RustamStarsNeville BrandAldo RayTina LouiseVacationing teens are systematically kidnapped and taken to a strange, rural hospital, run by a mysterious group that needs their blood.Now admittedly, I rate movies to scale. I don't expect as much from a no budget B movie than I do a blockbuster and take that into account when I rate them. This movie was just boring. For the majority of the run, nothing happens. People are kidnapped and are maybe given to the aliens, or not as there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to when the transaction takes place. On a couple occasions, I thought the teens were captured at the hospital, only to then be tied up at the gas station. The evil attendants are terrible at their job and most of the deaths are boring, with the exception of two. Its watchable but about an hour in, you start to feel ts wearing out its welcome. Though I will be remiss, sorry Heather, but you are far, far too old for Prince Andrew.
- DirectorBrian YuznaStarsJeffrey CombsTommy Dean MussetJason BarryAfter 13 years in prison, the mad scientist from Re-Animator (1985) gets a new chance to experiment with the arrival of a young prison doctor, who secretly hopes to learn to reanimate dead people. Good intentions turn to horror.I was told this wasn't great because of lack of funding, but I disagree. The writing is the bigger offender here. Its one of those movies where you can tell that for the guy writing it, English is not their native language. Its not wrong per say, but there is something in the dialogue that just isn't quite right. That isn't to say that it isn't entirely doable. An actor with enough chops can deliver them. But unfortunately the list begins and ends with Jeffrey Combs. But its a watchable movie still. Its budget certainly shows but it isn't a complete travesty and they try to get the gory spectacle of the previous movies. And to their credit they didn't resort to cheap and crappy CGI. It is certainly the weakest of the Re-Animators however.
- DirectorRobert ScottStarsMichael St. MichaelsThaddeus GolasDouglass BellA family takes delivery of a new television set, unaware that it is the gateway by which killer zombies enter the world.Another video store classic though I confess I never actually saw it in mine. Which is a shame as it does have some pretty cool box art. And cosmetics are what I have to say is the strong point to this movie. It looks really good. Yes its obvious there is no screen that the zombies are crawling out of, but they look very good with such a limited budget. And on top of that, they are all very unique. While there is no actual backstory about them in the movie, you can pick up little tidbits of one just by their portrayal. Its a shame the quality doesn't carry over to the actors with actual speaking rolls. To call them subpar is possibly the understatement of the year. The end result is alright though. Maybe a little better than average but not quite in that area where I would recommend it to everyone.
- DirectorPeter NewbrookStarsRobert PowellRobert StephensJane LapotaireEnglish country squire Sir Hugo Cunningham searches for immortality by literally 'bottling up' the Spirit of the Dead, or Asphyx.This was a movie I became interested in after seeing a classic trailer and saw the ghost. Little did I expect that this would be a very good reimagining of the legend of the Wandering Jew. The Christian overtones help drive this even further, both as an excuse to trespass where man was not meant to go and as divine punishment for doing so. By capturing one's asphyx and sealing the ghostly manifestation away, one can attain immortality, for whatever that may entail. And the asphyx looks great. Using a similar method used to create the ghosts in Ghostbusters, it looks like a wretched, tortured thing whose pained wails really get under your skin. The same can't be said about all the effects however, as the old man mask at the end of the movie is simply awful. This turned out to have been a pretty good time, had I found it later and knew more on how long Kanopy streams their movies for, I'd have saved it for Halloween.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsScott GlennIan McKellenAlberta WatsonNazis are forced to turn to a Jewish historian for help in battling the ancient demon they have inadvertently freed from its prison.this was much weaker than I suspected it to be. Michael Mann knows how to make the scenes look kind of nice but that's kind of it. And even then, they're still incomprehensible. Either its the backlighting swallowing up the characters or no lighting at all, whenever something seems to be happening, rest assured you will understand none of it. And this carries over to the writing as well. It doesn't seem to matter what the characters are saying, there is no telling how any conversation will take a turn. The confrontation with the priest especially had me dumbstruck at how fast it escalated. then there are the little details like the one character casting no reflection and the priest going mad. There is no pay off to any of them, or even a coherent explanation. Now these aren't major inconsistencies but there sure are a lot of them. In spite of these criticisms, its not an awful movie. As I said, there are some brief moments where the cinematography shines and they are just enough to carry the film to its conclusion. Maybe saying its a bit sub par is a good description.
- DirectorJamie BlanksStarsJared LetoAlicia WittRebecca GayheartA college student suspects a series of bizarre deaths are connected to certain urban legends.A movie inspired by Scream to its detriment and at the time did little to stand out amongst the imitators. But as its own film, its not that bad. The gimmick is unoriginal, urban legends are the horror film's non union Mexican equivalent, but they do make for a worthy place to start a film. While the 90s griminess is very in your face at the beginning, it does balance out as you become more acclimated to it. But the number of references is off putting, and kind of feeds into the criticism that the movie is painfully unoriginal. And the killer, Ghostface is a recognizable villain even today. The Urban Legends killer is a bloke in a fur lined winter jacket. A fur lined winter jacket that everyone in the world has on campus. In what looks like 110 degree heat. This makes it interesting because of the number of red herrings, but it is still pretty ridiculous. This movie is on the upper end of being average. Its done well enough but it doesn't stand out in a crowd.
- DirectorLarry HagmanStarsRobert Walker Jr.Gwynne GilfordRichard StahlA technician brings a frozen specimen of the original Blob back from the North Pole. When his wife accidentally defrosts the thing, it terrorizes the populace, including the local hippies, kittens, and bowlers.Will all y'all please shut the hell up!? Much of this movie was improvised and boy does it show. Dialogue is often incoherent rambling and the actors are frequently stepping on each other's lines. There are some really big names in here, for five minutes, and nothing could have been gotten out of any of them. The comedy is bad, feeling both very dated and probably not even that funny at the time. Which is a shame, as the blob itself looks good. Not as good as the 80s remake but better than the 50s original. And the bowling alley set was great. But that still doesn't make this a good movie, just slightly more tolerable.
- DirectorChris W. FreemanStarsNicholas GonzalezSean CarriganStevie Lynn JonesParanormal investigator Felix Fojas arrives in a sleepy Midwest town to investigate the mysterious loss of his old lover, Amanda, and reconcile sins of the past. While investigating he finds connections to several local girls. Now Felix must battle the forces of evil and unravel the mysterious events plaguing this small town in order to save Amanda's daughter, Sarah and her soul.I think the biggest problem with this movie is that it never quite clicks. There was an attempt but nothing was really compelling. I couldn't bring myself to care for the characters. I couldn't take the monster seriously. I just kind of sat there, struggling to keep my brain from shutting off. It doesn't help that the folklore the movie is based on has absolutely no roots, heh, in the region where the movie takes place. The monster is too obscure, and it doesn't help that it isn't explained until late in the movie. Its lackluster. There is no better way to describe it.
- DirectorDon Michael PaulStarsMichael GrossJon HederRichard BrakeWhen a group of hunters genetically modify Graboid eggs, they face an all-out war against the larger, terrifyingly intelligent Graboids, and the swiftly multiplying Shriekers.Its far better than the series low point at number 3. Its still far from its high point at the first movie. The Tremors franchise has a rocky history starting out strong, cratering at its third outing and then pretty much flatlining in mediocrity. The CGI is alright this time around and the shriekers look good, but its still has that same problem of being not quite real. This is especially evident with the CGI globs of viscera which look out of place and don't interact with anything. The deaths aren't anything special and the characters are just Burt Gummer and who the hell cares. There is nothing really left to this series. The African variant, the prehistoric variant, and now the GMO; the franchise ran its course with the second movie and has been left in a vegetative after 3.
- DirectorFrank LaLoggiaStarsLukas HaasLen CariouAlex RoccoAn author tells the story of how, as a young boy growing up in a 1960s small town, he was haunted after witnessing the murder of a little girl.Its a little old but still good. This movie may be the most traumatic representation of a child murder put to film. When the ghost girl reenacts her own death, it actually gets to you even more so than Pennywise biting off a kid's arm. And a lot of this has to do with how good the young actress played the scene. The rest of the movie never quite reaches that point again, but still maintains a good suspense throughout. The ghost effects are very dated, particularly the lady in white's gown lifting before she throws herself over the cliff, but there is some very consistent writing in the main plot. Perhaps too much as the story branches off into a secondary story pertaining to racism, and its still very well told, but has absolutely nothing to do with anything else. It doesn't tie back to the kid nor does it influence the father in the end, it just wraps itself up and is never talked about again. Which is a shame. There is also an issue where maybe what you can do isn't what you should do, as the ending of the movie has a special effect scene that feels radically out of place. And on top of that, seeing everyone around the burning house not doing anything, especially when there may be someone still in there, and now that I think of it that kind of is a flaw with the movie. Quite a bit of time passes, you'd think that matters would be handled during the time lapse, but that would interfere too much with the side story. Look, the movie works. Try not to overthink it.
- DirectorRobert WieneStarsBruno DecarliBernhard GoetzkeHermann PichaAfter years travelling the world, Count Greven returns home with the art treasures he has collected. But his disposition has altered dramatically and he is a troubled man. Will he suffer alone or can he be helped and freed from this malady?Its hard to really write about silent movies. Its difficult to differentiate performances as the technique is so exaggerated. And Bruno Decarli is not an exception. But I was surprised by Conrad Veidt was however. Playing the Buddhist that haunts the Count, his portrayal was very muted which in turn makes him stand out even further. Paranoia plays a key role in the film, which makes the film very interpretive. The Count is very manic in his portrayal, helping drive home the unreliability of the narration. As far as silent movies go, its good. Not a standout movie for Veidt like The Hands or Orlac or The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. Maybe it would benefit from a more modern version like Mad Love was for Orlac.
- DirectorDean AliotoStarsRyan MerrimanJamie TisdaleMyk WatfordWhen an ambitious ghost hunter performs a risky ritual, opening a portal to "the other side," he and his team quickly find themselves way in over their heads in a fight for survival against an ancient demonic force.I was wondering what the guy behind The McPherson Tape was up to. The answer is not much. Its not that its poorly written, so much as it really was ill conceived. Like, every take, you wonder if that was really the best take. It feels like there isn't one direction that actors are working towards and none of them are able to read the room. The native American talks in a foreboding manner, than his sister sarcastically tells the story of how she killed her father, and it throws the tone of the scene into utter chaos. Ultimately, it makes it so you can't take anything seriously. Then there are the events that sound scary on paper but are ridiculous in execution, like locking a door only to immediately hear the possessed girl dive head first through a window in the next room. Look, this is bad. But I did laugh so I'll give it a little more leniency than it probably deserves.