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

10. It (2017)

As beautifully filmed and wonderfully acted as 2017's adaptation of Stephen King's It turned out, a common complaint among many was that it failed to fully capture the pulse-quickening, insidious terror of King's source material.

For though Bill Skarsgård's performance as Pennywise proved sufficiently unnerving, director Andy Muschietti generally relied on a fairly familiar and safely generic box of funhouse-type set-pieces in the quest for "scares."

The result was a slew of mildly tense sequences which made teens leap out of their skin while leaving anyone more genre-savvy waiting for the true terror to begin.

But again, It's critical and commercial success is well-earned due to its strong production values, fine performances and sharply drawn characters.

With one foot planted in the depravity of King's novel and another shackled by the restrictions of blockbuster filmmaking, Muschietti delivered an "edgy" horror flick by mainstream standards, albeit one that never quite stepped beyond the fringes of the safe zone.

Mood and atmosphere can do so much, but did It ever amount to more than well-crafted creepiness? This goes treble for the recent sequel, which diluted the set-pieces down even further to highly diminished returns.