5 So-Bad-They’re-Good Horror Films I Love

We all have them.

Those little guilty pleasures we are actually embarrassed to talk about. Movies, books, TV shows, songs, etc. that are so epically bad, yet you still gravitate towards them over and over again…

Since it’s almost Halloween, I’ve been thinking about writing a piece talking about some of the greatest movies in the horror genre. Or perhaps sharing a list of my favorites. But since everyone is probably doing that already, I thought perhaps I could shake things up a little by talking about those obscure movies I don’t mention very often.

Oh, and some of these films are real stinkers! Yet, if they are on… well, you will probably find me watching them with a big grin on my face.

So, if you are looking for some ‘so-bad-they’re-good’ movies to watch these Halloween with your friends or on your own, here are my recommendations:

Resident Evil (2002) and Resident Evil: Apocalipsis (2004)

Ok, ok! I’m cheating! These are two separate movies, but they work as a perfectly bad double feature!

Let me start by saying that I haven’t played the games they are based on, and I’m only casually familiar with the lore. So I’m not considering them ‘bad’ just because they’re not a faithful adaptation of the source material.

The fact is, the effects are terrible, the story is so muddled it hurts, and some of the acting will probably make you cringe. And yet, if it’s on, you can bet I’m watching them!

I confess I’m a sucker for anything that has Milla Jovovich kicking someone’s ass. And if that movie also has creepy zombies –which, ironically, terrify me!- I’ll like it even more. So, of course, these two first films from a series that gets increasingly more terrible as it goes on, are actually some of my favorite bad horror movies to watch during a calm night.

Bride of Chucky (1998) and Seed of Chucky (2004)

Yes, I’m cheating again! Sue me.

Much like Resident Evil, these late entries to the Child’s Play saga work perfectly as an indistinguishable unit. To be honest, I don’t remember the exact details of each of them, but I have fuzzy memories of odd and hilarious moments and characters from both.

When I watched the movies as a kid I loved them. I don’t even remember how many times I rented them at my local Blockbuster –yes, that was a thing. All I know is that I absolutely adored these films. They successfully started my love for Chucky, and the character of Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) was an excellent addition to the series.

I have yet to see Cult of Chucky, but if it has the absurd campiness of these two films, then I will probably enjoy it quite a lot.

Ghost Ship (2002)

You have probably seen the opening sequence of this film in a list or two of great horror scenes or something of the sort. And, most definitely, Ghost Ship has one of the greatest lead-ins I have ever seen in any movie.

When I was a kid that film made quite an impression on me. It also helps that it has exactly the kind of ghosts I’m most terrified of: those who look human –for the most part-, and seem to enjoy their villainous ways a little too much.

The thing is, Ghost Ship has a story with a lot of potential. Unfortunately, it falls apart really quickly, and it becomes utterly uninteresting and clichéd. Not to mention that the ending makes no sense whatsoever.

Still, I enjoy it a lot. The interactions with the ghosts and the long sequence in which Katie (Emily Browning) shows Epps (Julianna Margulies) what happened inside the ship, are some of my favorite moments from any horror movie.

Thirteen Ghosts (2001)

Oh, man! What was in the water during the first decade of the new millennium?! Terrible horror movies were everywhere. And this one was no exception to the rule.

Talk about a movie with shabby effects –please pay attention to one of the last deaths, and try not to laugh at the obvious dummy that was used in that scene!- and an overblown story. Thirteen Ghosts is a mess, but…it’s such a fun mess!

I confess that part of the reason why I like it so much is the fact that all the ghosts are actually based on real people –there are fun little featurettes you can watch in the DVD that tell you the story behind each of them. I think that that detail upped the creepy factor for me, and when I was younger I was terrified of this movie.

The concept is actually very interesting, but it ultimately crashes and burns really fast. Nonetheless… I love it!

Pet Sematary (1989)

If you grew up during the nineties, it’s very likely that, to you, ‘horror’ meant Goosebums, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and endless reruns of Stephen King movies. And none of them terrified me more than Pet Sematary.

From Rachel’s creepy sister Zelda (Andrew Hubatsek), to the nightmare-inducing design of Victor Pascow (Brad Greenquist), it’s a movie that stays with you for weeks. In fact, I remember having awful dreams about it when I was a child, and like the little masochist I was –and am-…I loved it!

So imagine my surprise when years later I looked it up and watched it again, only to find that…wow, the acting is terrible!

The story is wonderful, and the concept is quite scary. So it should work perfectly, right? Well, not really. The acting is simply too shockingly bad, and the movie sometimes drags on unnecessarily.

Still, it’s a great movie to watch on a Halloween night, if only for the few but effective scares it delivers. I hope one day we do get the adaptation that the book deserves, but in the meantime, it will remain my precious little guilty pleasure!

What are your favorite so-good-they’re-bad horror movies?