Movies
The Top 10 Worst Horror Director Collapses!
By now many of us have had the chance to check out M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening, and most are in agreement that it is a far cry from earlier horror gems like The Sixth Sense. So far, in fact, that it is painful to witness the dramatic decline in quality over the course of the once-promising director’s career. This got me thinking: What other acclaimed horror movie auteurs have experienced similar creative freefalls? It turns out, quite a few. So indulge me now as I incite another comments uproar with this collection of notorious director misfires. Hey, at least M. Night has nothing to be ashamed about. He’s not the only one to go from great to god-awful.
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I ranked this one low, because it wasn’t a horror movie at all, but still felt the need to acknowledge the sad fate of the great Joe Dante. How is it that the guy who gave us Piranha, The Howling and Gremlins came to this? I’m a fanatical admirer of the Looney Tunes, but this flick represents their ultimate ass-end nadir. As for Dante, we should’ve seen the writing on the wall with Small Soldiers.
Not saying that Cunningham is any kind of Orson Welles, but Friday the 13th is such a beloved film amongst horror fans that it’s a shame to see the director put his name to this, the worst of the barrage of underwater monster flicks that hit cinemas in the late 1980s. Still, probably the best thing Nia Peeples was ever a part of. Except for “The Party Machine with Nia Peeples.”
First he gave us Re-Animator. Then, From Beyond. Then, Dolls. And next came this tale of combat between people in giant robot suits in a post World War III wasteland. If this was meant as a comedy, it would probably be a lot better. But alas, it wasn’t. When it comes to giant robots, leave it to the Japanese. They have the market cornered on this particular strain of awfulness.
Admittedly, not the worst vampire movie in the world. But coming from the director of An American Werewolf in London (and considering this film was originally going to be titled A French Vampire in America), I expect a whole lot better. And I know I’ve included this flick in two lists in a row now, but what do want from me?
After the top-notch Hellraiser and the underrated Nightbreed, the acclaimed horror author-turned-director gave us this movie, which helped explain exactly why Scott Bakula never made it out of the TV ghetto. Barker hasn’t directed another movie since.
Carpenter fails miserably at recreating the remake magic that worked so well for him with The Thing. How sad is it that this forgettable schlock was one of Christopher Reeve’s last movies before the accident? And one of Kirstie Alley’s last movies before she ate half the cast of Cheers?
After seven years away from the director’s chair, Romero notoriously let down legions of fans with this bizarre revenge thriller. The zombie-meister’s rep has yet to fully recover, although even the harshest critics of his recent living dead installments have to admit they’re improvements over this.
Right before rising from the ashes with his Scream franchise, Craven delivered this stillborn clunker. Hard to believe the guy responsible for Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Serpent and the Rainbow gave us this lame vampire flick, which sunk a wooden stake into the heart of Eddie Murphy’s movie career.
This wretched tale of druidic terror was marketed as being “From the director of The Exorcist”–trust me, I still remember seeing it in the theater (along with four other movies on this list, I’m afraid). Must’ve seemed like a good idea to sell it that way, given Friedkin’s solid reputation. However, the film’s evil tree-worshipping nanny is no Regan MacNeil.
and finally, the number-one horror director collapse…
If this film about a possessed laundry folding machine wasn’t based on a short story by Stephen King, there’s absolutely no way it would ever have been made. Nothing, not Hooper, not a starring turn by Robert Englund, not a supporting appearance by Ted “Buffalo Bill” Levine, can save this unmitigated celluloid abscess. It boggles the mind that this came from the once-visionary creator of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as well as Salem’s Lot, The Funhouse, Poltergeist and Lifeforce. Proof that some great artists can simply run out of things to say.
For more news and opinions on the world of horror, including a review of The Happening, a look at evil kids in horror movies, and the final chapter of the history of the modern zombie movie, check out Brian’s daily blog, The Vault of Horror, at The Vault of Horror.net
The holiday weekend means a light week for new horror releases, but it does bring the return of Dark Castle Entertainment to select theaters. It’s being joined by 6 new horror movies.
Here’s all the new horror releasing June 29, 2026 – July 3, 2026!
For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.
You wished for it. The highest-grossing horror movie of the year (so far), Curry Barker’s Obsession, arrived on Digital on June 30.
In Curry Barker’s theatrical debut Obsession, after breaking the mysterious One Wish Willow to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.
Michael Johnston (“Teen Wolf”), Inde Navarette (“Superman & Lois”), Cooper Tomlinson (“That’s a Bad Idea,” Milk & Serial), Megan Lawless (The Death That Awaits), and Emmy Award-nominee Andy Richter (“Conan,” Elf) star.
Based on a story by director James Kondelik (Behind The Walls) and a screenplay by Canadian writer Victor Rose, survival thriller Pitfall headed home to Digital on June 30. Family is murder in this Cineverse release.
In Pitfall, a young man becomes separated from his friends in the woods and plunges into a ten-foot pit lined with spikes, impaling his leg and leaving him helpless. As reality sinks in and his situation grows dire, he realizes the fall wasn’t an accident.
The film stars Richard Harmon (Final Destination: Bloodlines), Alexandra Essoe (The Pope’s Exorcist), and UFC champion Randy Couture (The Expendables) as the ruthless killer who stalks his prey in the woods. Marshall Williams (The Ice Road), Jordan Claire Robbins (The Umbrella Academy), and Matt Hamilton (Murder for Sale) also star.
The Amityville IP leans into Jaws with Amityville Shark House, just in time for the Fourth of July holiday too, as it released on Digital June 30.
Will Collazo Jr. (Amityville Thanksgiving) and Shawn C. Phillips (Amityville Karen) co-direct from a script they wrote with Julie Anne Prescott.
In the movie, after discovering an ominous shark idol hidden beneath the decaying floorboards, Richard unknowingly awakens an ancient and savage force. As the entity begins to merge with him, a quiet coastal town descends into blood-soaked chaos.
With each victim claimed, the monstrous predator grows stronger, fueling a cult’s belief that their dark god has been reborn. Now, the race is on to stop the carnage before evil consumes everything in its path.
Phillips and Prescott also star alongside Tasha Tacosa, Maritza Brikisak, Gigi Gustin (The Retaliators), Adam Marino, and Carl Solomon.
Available on Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD as of June 30 is Jacked, directed by John Fucile from a script he co-wrote with Simon Fraser.
The synopsis: “Set in the summer of 1987, JACKED follows two small-town teenagers whose day at the lake turns into a fight for survival after their car breaks down and they encounter a violent stalker.”
Marla Jean Robison, Tom Koch, Anthony Cipriani, Wynn Reichert, Kam Perez and Bella Marie star.
Get ready to work up a killer sweat and maybe spill some blood with Slashercise, a workout meets slasher hybrid that arrived exclusively on Bloodstream on July 1.
Written and directed by Ama Lea (Deathcember), the retro-styled feature follows “a masked killer known only as Meathead as he stalks the fitness clubs of Los Angeles, turning workout sessions into blood-soaked nightmares. As the city’s top trainers are picked off one by one, a group of determined fitness fanatics must fight back before they become the next bodies on the mat.”
Vanessa Decker (Stiletto), John Bloom (The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs), Spencer Charnas (Ice Nine Kills), Sarah French (Blind), Kelli Maroney (Night of the Comet), Sarah Nicklin (V/H/S/Halloween), Diana Prince (The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs), Jared Rivet (The Once and Future Smash), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), Tiffany Shepis (Victor Crowley), and Lisa Wilcox (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) star.
After a record-breaking box office run, A24 and director Kane Parsons’ feature debut is heading back to theaters with bonus footage. AMC Theatres is unleashing Backrooms: Everything Must Go Editiontoday, July 3.
In the film written by Will Soodik, the owner of Cap’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire discovers a strange doorway in the basement of the furniture showroom. He sets out to explore the mysterious, liminal space, walking headfirst into a creepypasta nightmare.
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsvestar.
AMC describes this release as a “theatrically exclusive post-credit” with additional footage from Kane Parsons. Expect 16 minutes of bonus footage, with the new version clocking in at 2 hours and 6 minutes.
The Last Exorcism director Daniel Stamm and Dark Castle Entertainment are back with Lockbox, in select theaters July 3. It adapts Soren Narnia‘s Knifepoint Horror Podcast story “Winthrop” by Emmy-winning playwright Justin Yoffe.
In Lockbox, “Seeking peace after her mother’s death, Ellen retreats to a rural town and takes in her severely traumatized cousin Winthrop. Their fragile domestic balance shatters when an erratic neighbor warns that Winthrop is dangerous. As strange phenomena escalate, Ellen must put everything on the line to defend Winthrop from a dangerous otherworldly entity determined to track him down.”
Lou Taylor Pucci (Touch Me, Evil Dead), Carla Gugino (The Haunting of Hill House, Gerald’s Game, The Fall of the House of Usher) and Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, Backrooms) star.
This week’s new release roundups are presented by Lockbox.
Be careful who you let in. Carla Gugino and Lou Taylor Pucci star in Lockbox, only in select theaters this Friday. Get tickets.
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