10 Terrible Horror Movies Everybody Loves

As with all cinematic genres, there are good and bad horror films. Various productions from visionaries in the vein of Jordan Peele, Ari Aster and Robert Egger have been acclaimed as some of the greatest pictures produced across the course of the last decade regardless of genre, effortlessly transcending the usual wave of lukewarm critical reception.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the genre is littered with films that are so devoid of quality, innovation or originality that watching them is a horrifying experience for all the wrong reasons. While negative reviews are part of the package deal when it comes to this genre, several notable horror offerings are quite literally that bad they sap the audience's will to live. Seriously, go watch M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening and try to claim with a straight face afterwards that you still have one iota of faith left in humanity.

Fortunately for our collective souls, we arrive at last in a strange netherregion, existing in the void somewhere between the inimitable top tier and the detestable dregs pooling at the bottom. While the offerings that populate this inexplicable category might be terrible, what sets them apart is that the fact they hold beloved status amongst fright fans worldwide, despite this lamentable status quo.

It shouldn't - and doesn't - make sense, but this is horror. Things rarely do.

Everything about 2018's Bird Box screams spectacular success. Boasting an impressive ensemble cast featuring America's Sweetheart Sandra Bullock and the inimitable John Malkovich to name but a few, Bird Box swiftly became the most watched film on Netflix at the time of its release.

The movie's harrowingly unique premise and white-knuckle set-pieces meant that it became a fan favorite in short order. Indeed, many viewers acclaimed the chilling dystopian horror as the sight-based equivalent of genre redefining installment A Quiet Place, released to rave reviews earlier in the same year.

To say that such lofty praise was a laughably over-the-top exaggeration is akin to saying Joe Exotic was mildly flamboyant. Bird Box is a thoroughly entertaining, gripping experience carried by some strong performances, but make no mistake - this is your classic horror crap-fest dressed up behind gargantuan viewing numbers and an A-list lead. The characters are weak and undeveloped, a status quo that is compounded by significant elements of the overall narrative coming across as lazily flimsy.

The irony of Bird Box is that the movie's success actually lies at the heart of its shortcomings. The sequences that embrace the tropes of the genre, placing an emphasis on scare and shock factor over dramatic quality, are what make Susanne Bier's nail-biting offering such a fan favorite.

Bird Box is not a good movie, but frankly, it doesn't have to be.