10 Must See Made For TV Horror Movies

Those small-screen horror movies you need to track down.

by Andrew Pollard
Body Bags
Showtime

While there's nothing better than taking a trip to your local cinema to eagerly consume the latest in big-screen horror film - especially with the genre having served up so many great offerings in more recent years - there have been times when the small screen has played host to some truly terrifying horror pictures.

The term made-for-TV is one that may instantly scream low budget, low effort, and low quality to some, but that doesn't always have to be the case. For horror fans, the decades have seen the world of TV serve up plenty of fantastic movies - and that's what the focus is on here. 

And for those wondering, Tommy Lee Wallace's 1990 take on It isn't included here. While that is a fantastic adaptation of Stephen King's source material, led by a magnetic, majestic, maniacal Tim Curry, Wallace's It is technically a two-part miniseries rather than an outright TV movie, per se.

So, with all of that in mind then, here are ten TV horror movies absolutely worth going out of your way to track down.

10. Body Bags

Body Bags
Showtime

Premiering in 1993, Body Bags is dripping with horror royalty. After all, this three-story anthology offering was directed by the legendary duo of John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper, not to mention has fun cameos from Wes Craven and Sam Raimi in addition to Carpenter and Hooper having minor roles themselves; Carpenter's Coroner being a particular delight.

As for those three stories, a young college student starts a new job at a gas station on the night when a serial killer is on the loose, a vain businessman gets more than he bargained for when he splashes the cash to combat his thinning hair, and a baseball star's world is turned upside down when he loses an eye. And in terms of cast, there's a great ensemble on display, including Mark Hamill, Stacy Keach, David Warner, Robert Carradine, David Naughton, and Blondie's Debbie Harry.

Simply put, Body Bags is a blast, managing to bring some great gore to the table while also not taking itself too seriously. Forget your chin-stroking elevated horror, for sometimes there's nothing better than seeing a gloriously campy, mustachioed Mark Hamill screaming in agony after having a cassette tape mishap.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.