10 Worst Horror Movies That Are Unintentionally Hilarious, Ranked

Who says a horror movie needs to be scary? Sure, that’s typically the goal to aim for, but one can’t always control how an audience receives a movie, and if they’re having a good time with it, who’s to say that’s a bad thing? Although a horror movie intends to frighten its audience, there is a selection of horror flicks that enjoyed a longer life by making their crowd laugh.

Certain horror films prove that terrifying an audience is overrated, especially if they offer endless laughs at midnight screenings. The following horror movies led to more chuckles than gasps, and fans of each wouldn’t have it any other way. These are the worst horror movies that are unintentionally hilarious, ranked by how entertaining these misfits of the macabre remain years later.

10 ‘Night of the Lepus’ (1972)

Lions are vicious, sharks are dangerous, but only the apex predator known as the bunny rabbit can truly strike fear into the heart of man. At least, that’s what the producers of Night of the Lepus prayed would be the case. The film follows a group of unfortunate humans who look like walking and talking carrots to a pack of giant, mutated rabbits.

Amazingly, Night of the Lepus is not an original script, but rather based on the Russell Braddon novel, The Year of the Angry Rabbit. For the skeptics who think the idea of killer rabbits is ridiculous… well, they’re right, but it’s a funny B-movie that’s worth a watch if it’s free and you’re on a plane, and you’re finding it impossible to go to sleep. It’s hard not to look at shots of rabbits running on miniature sets so that they appear large and not think, ‘I too could make a movie with a personal loan of two grand.’

9 ‘The Wicker Man’ (2006)

In the notorious 2006 remake The Wicker Man, Nicolas Cage stars as police officer Edward Malus. When Edward receives word from his former fiancée that his daughter went missing, he follows a lead that takes him to a remote island inhabited by a pagan community. Quickly, Edward perceives the villagers to be hiding a secret, but his investigation blinds him to what they have in store for him.

The original 1973 version of The Wicker Man is a creepy folk horror classic that’s still admired, but as the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, make a worse version of it later.” It’s an uphill battle to remake a movie that hangs its hat on an iconic twist ending, because you’ve already lost the shock factor of the unexpected climax. The remake disregards the subtle slow build that gives the original its atmosphere of dread, but then again, the 1973 version didn’t have a bee helmet, so they each have their strengths.

8 ‘Maximum Overdrive’ (1986)

Horror master Stephen King put away his typewriter in favor of a director’s chair to film the movie Maximum Overdrive. The movie follows the horror that ensues when a passing comet gives machines sentience to do as they please. Turns out, machines have always wanted to kill, and they get to killing immediately, because who’s to say how long this gift to murder will last.

In a crowded sea of classic cheesy 80s horror movies, Maximum Overdrive is typically remembered as the only movie King directed. Those who have watched the movie were treated to a hyper-over-the-top montage of mechanical carnage that’s elevated with a performance from Emilio Estevez as the heroic lead. Landing more closely to an R-rated Saturday morning cartoon than a serious piece of horror, Maximum Overdrive is a fun watch with a relentless pace.

7 ‘Chopping Mall’ (1986)

If watching large robots chase teenagers in a mall is the ideal premise for a movie, you’re in luck, because Chopping Mall was the only horror film brave enough to tackle the plot. The movie tells the story of malfunctioning security robots who attempt to kill a group of mall employees and their friends who stayed in the shopping plaza after hours. To be fair, Chopping Mall is frequently in on the joke of what it is, but it’s not attempting to be a comedy, which is how the movie predominantly lands.

This is possibly a silly gripe, but there’s no chopping in Chopping Mall. There is a mall, so the title gets it half right, but the security robots shoot lasers, so expectations are toyed with a little bit. There’s probably someone who wrote a fantastic slasher movie set in a mall, but then the title had already been taken, so they threw the whole thing away and wrote something like Out of Africa instead.

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6 ‘Manos: The Hands of Fate’ (1966)

In Manos: The Hands of Fate, a family gets lost in the desert of Texas and doubles down on their mistake by inviting themselves into a house against the caretaker’s wishes. The family will remember to heed future strange caretaker’s warnings, because their impromptu bed and breakfast actually houses an undead cult leader. With their car unable to start, the family is now at the mercy of evil forces.

The easy insult when something is poorly written is to say, “Ha, that must have been written by AI,” but Manos: The Hands of Fate stands as proof that bad writing existed long before ChatGPT. The little independent horror movie is drunken, unrehearsed community theatre put to film, but in that silliness lies its charm. Manos: The Hands of Fate was made on a bet, and after watching 70 minutes of hilariously dubbed lines, nonsensical plotting, and awkward staging, it won’t be clear who won or lost.

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5 ‘The Happening’ (2008)

The Happening asks: what if plants fought back against humans by making them hurt themselves and taking away their ability to act? Mark Wahlberg stars as Elliot Moore, a high school science teacher who attempts to protect himself and his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel) from the airborne threat changing those around him. With seemingly nowhere to run, Elliot and Alma will need to think fast before they join the mass casualties of the plant-based toxin.

There’s a growing school of thought that The Happening was cheesy on purpose, but it’s hard to believe 20th Century Fox signed off on an estimated budget of 48 million to get into the business of being ironic. Granted, it’s the same studio that made From Justin to Kelly, but that movie didn’t star Mark Wahlberg. Stiff dialogue and performances that come off as detached add a little extra seasoning to an absurd plot to make The Happening an underrated comedy of the 2000s.

4 ‘Troll 2’ (1990)

Troll 2 tells the story of a family who goes on a farming vacation only to find a town inhabited by vegetarian goblins disguised as humans. The youngest of the family, Joshua (Michael Stephenson), is the only one aware of the evil goblins thanks to the ghost of grandfather Seth (Robert Ormsby). And yes, for those unfamiliar with the fantasy/body horror/family movie, there are no trolls in the movie Troll 2.

Troll 2 has become a beloved cult classic known for its incoherent storyline, quotable cringe performances, and villains that look like Ewoks wearing cheap Halloween masks. Even the horror fan who has seen everything will enjoy new experiences in Troll 2, such as the scene when a teen is seduced into eating corn on the cob. The unorthodox approach to the production is the subject of the documentary Best Worst Movie, which also dives deep into the fandom surrounding the early 90s horror oddity.

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3 ‘Birdemic: Shock and Terror’ (2010)

Global warming turns birds into aerial vessels of destruction in Birdemic: Shock and Terror. Couple Rod (Alan Bagh) and Nathalie (Whitney Moore) are enjoying a romantic getaway at a hotel that possibly offers hourly rates when they discover birds have gained the ability to shoot acid and explode on impact. Unable to run from the sky, Rod and Nathalie do their best to survive frequent attacks from birds that are shocking and terrifying.

It’s borderline inspirational that writer and director James Nguyen didn’t allow the lack of a budget to stop him from making a movie that absolutely required money for special effects. The end result is a movie where actors swat at birds that have the realistic quality of screensaver animation from 1994. Sequels Birdemic 2: The Resurrection and Birdemic 3: Sea Eagle continued the story and completed a trilogy to satisfy hardcore fans.

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2 ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night: Part II’ (1987)

After Billy Chapman (Robert Brian Wilson) went on a killing spree in the first Silent Night, Deadly Night, the blood-soaked torch is passed to his younger brother Ricky (Eric Freeman) in the sequel. Choosing his victims based upon a warped concept of “Naughty” or “Nice”, Ricky uses a surprising level of strength to festively kill.

Silent Night, Deadly Night: Part II might be one of the boldest attempts at filmmaking, where the goal was to use as much footage from the first film as possible to pad out the sequel. The new footage following Ricky’s rampage accounts for roughly half the film, and what’s been added is top-tier, meme-creating garbage of the most delicious variety. Silent Night, Deadly Night: Part II is a Christmas tradition for horror fans, and a first-round choice for any enjoyably bad horror movie marathons.

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1 ‘Plan 9 From Outer Space’ (1957)

Some horror movies are so bad that they become good, and then hit a new level of bad, and then finally land in a rare category of bad masterpiece. Such is the case with Plan 9 From Outer Space. Directed by the godfather of schlock, Ed Wood, Plan 9 From Outer Space packs aliens, government conspiracies, and reanimated corpses into 80 minutes of black-and-white glory.

Special effects that include sets that look primed to fall over and flying saucers hanging from a string reveal the paltry budget the movie was made for. However, the shoddy visuals, the hard-to-follow plot, and the poor acting made Plan 9 From Outer Space the stuff of B-movie legend. If Plan 9 From Outer Space had been made slightly more competently, it would likely have been a forgotten movie lost to time, but every poorly written line and odd continuity error has allowed the film to be celebrated and enjoyed for decades after.