10 Horror Movies Everyone Wished Were Way Crazier

Horror is all about excess, but the makers of these ten films clearly didn't get the memo.

By Jacob Simmons /

The mistake a lot of people make with horror is an over-reliance on excessive blood and guts.

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Just because somebody gets disembowelled within the first ten minutes, that doesn't mean you've made a good movie. Horror is also about character development, exploring one's fears, and presenting a gripping narrative for audiences to get invested in.

That being said, maybe these ten movies could have leant a bit more into the whole "viscera and gore" aspect of horror.

For as much stick as the genre gets for being over the top, there's also plenty of examples of horror films playing it way too safe. After all, they're called "horrors" for a reason. They're meant to horrify audiences to some degree; the clue's kind of in the name.

Sadly, these ten pictures all lost sight of that whilst getting made. Despite there being some really interesting ideas on display here, a lot of these films didn't capitalise on their initial premise and delivered a thoroughly underwhelming experience.

Do we want all horrors to be balls-to-the-wall insane? Definitely not. Do we want at least some of them to be? Yes, yes we do.

10. Swimfan

High schools have always made great settings for a horror movie, but centring one around a high school swimming team? Maybe not.

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That's the scene we find ourselves in with Swimfan, a 2002 horror movie about Ben (Jesse Bradford), a successful teenage swimmer who finds himself in the crosshairs of a stalker.

Played by Erika Christensen, Madison becomes obsessed with Ben after the two have a one night stand. She will stop at nothing to get the object of her desires to notice her, including... make a shrine to him... and sending him e-mails...

Right.

Whilst Madison does go to some more extreme lengths like spiking Ben with steroids and murdering his best friend, that's about it. Seriously, only one murder in a stalker movie? What are we, five years old?

The movie gets away with quite a lot for a PG-13, but it never quite feels dangerous enough to fully invest you in the action. In the end, it's a pretty bland affair with one of the most conventional endings you could possibly think of.

Also, there's one only pool-based death! Talk about a missed opportunity.

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