10 Popular Horror Movies That Really Weren't Scary At All

Great movies, but scary? Nope.

By Jack Pooley /

Universal

Horror is perhaps the most fool-proof film genre in terms of audience turnout and studios lining their pockets: they generally don't cost much to make, and our inherent attraction to the mysterious unknown speaks for itself.

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And while what constitutes "scary" is certainly up for debate, we can most all agree that a scary movie needs to get under the viewer's skin and unnerve them to the point that it actively plays on their mind late at night, even days or weeks later.

It's a tough art for filmmakers to master, and so it's not terribly surprising, then, that even many extremely popular horror films fail to produce anything that, as they say, "sticks to the ribs."

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Without question, these 10 horror films all proved fantastically successful with audiences, and most with critics, no matter that they're not actually scary.

They might be beautiful to look at, impeccably acted, creative and even hilarious, but truly visceral terror here is in desperately short supply.

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And no, don't expect to see The Exorcist on this list, because despite what the kids say, it's still scary as hell...