10 Worst Horror Movies Of 2023
The bottom of the genre barrel.
2023 has been a pretty damn great year for horror for the most part. Genre fans have been able to savour the glorious likes of M3GAN, Infinity Pool, Talk to Me, Evil Dead Rise, Totally Killer, Saw X, Thanksgiving, and Suitable Flesh, to name just a few.
However, not all movies can be winners, and that's perhaps especially true with the horror genre, given how wildly oversaturated it is with content, both well-intended and downright cynical. But whatever the intent, the following 10 horror films represent the very worst of the worst released over the past 12 months.
From hugely disappointing video game adaptations to feckless sequels nobody asked for and dud original projects, these movies all fell dispiritingly flat. Even accepting that horror fans tend to be an accommodating and enthusiastic bunch, there was little excitement or fanfare for these films once they hit screens.
Whether horribly written and and acted, produced with an overpowering laziness, or simply failing at everything they intended to do, these pictures represent the exact opposite of what genre filmmakers should be striving for.
With 2024 on the horizon, we can only hope that the next year doesn't lower the bar further...
10. Five Nights At Freddy's
A sure-to-be-polarising choice to kick things off now, then, given that Universal's adaptation of hit horror game Five Nights at Freddy's was a stonking commercial success - no matter what critics thought of it - but the long-awaited adaptation committed the cardinal sin of being the last thing anyone wanted it to be: really damn boring.
Veering dangerously close to two hours for some god-forsaken reason, this languorously paced, backstory-stuffed romp turned out to be a supremely tame rendition of its concept, even accepting the PG-13 rating.
What should've been a tight 80-90-minute rollercoaster ride is instead a leaden slog packed with trauma-laced flashbacks, cringe-worthy YouTuber cameos, and a distinct lack of real scares.
Though the practical animatronics look pretty good and Josh Hutcherson tries his damnedest to elevate the ropey material, Five Nights at Freddy's feels like a colossally missed opportunity to make the wider world realise why these games are so beloved.
The fanbase will inevitably disagree with critics and general audiences, to which we tell them this: it's OK to enjoy bad things.