Top 10 Worst Horror Movie Trailers
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Worst Horror Movie Trailers. For this list, we’ll be looking at the worst examples of horror movie trailers giving too much away, misleading the viewer, and being generally low quality. What horror movie trailer do you think is so bad, it’s scary? Let us know in the comments!
#10: “Ouija” (2014)
A horror movie about an ouija board, a device used for supposedly communicating with the dead, is a pretty promising concept. But it was hard to get excited for “Ouija” after seeing this lackluster preview. The story is laid out pretty clearly: after losing her best friend, a young woman tries to communicate with her via an Ouija board, with disastrous consequences. But this trailer, with its cheap jump scares and unconvincing special effects, doesn’t fill us with terror, only boredom. In spite of overwhelmingly negative reviews, "Ouija" still opened at number one. We think the PG-13 rating really came in handy there.
#9: “Martyrs” (2015)
Some bad horror remakes are able to disguise their low quality with good trailers. That’s not the case with “Martyrs.” A remake of a French-Canadian film of the same name about a woman getting revenge years after a traumatic experience as a child, “Martyrs” was written off as nothing more than a cheap imitation of the original. And the trailer practically tells you not to bother, essentially giving away the antagonists’ fiendish plot. If you still want to see “Martyrs” after watching this trailer, well, we hope you like it more than the critics did.
#8: “Rings” (2017)
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Horror fans consider "Ringu" and American remake "The Ring" to be some of the genre's best offerings. But it’s a lot harder to find fans of "Rings," an attempt at a reboot. Once again, a deadly video is being passed out, with viewers having seven days to live. The "Rings" trailer runs through the days without giving much explanation as to who these characters are or why we should care about them. While this trailer is more average than bad, it is misleading, as it contains multiple scenes that aren’t in the final film. Given that the film's release was delayed by more than a year, we have a feeling the studio wasn't eager to share it with the world.
#7: “The Stuff” (1985)
Top 10 Horror Movie Trailers
We don't want to know what "stuff" the creators of this movie were on. In this forgotten 80s horror flick, a new gooey dessert treat turns out to be pure evil. If that sounds like a comedy, well, you’re right, because “The Stuff” is supposed to be a satire, and it received some pretty decent reviews. The problem here lies in the marketing, as this trailer takes itself incredibly seriously, which makes the entire movie look like an unintended joke. We still recommend “The Stuff” if you’re looking for an unconventional horror movie. It’s just too bad they couldn’t make a more suitable trailer.
#6: “What Lies Beneath” (2000)
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The combined star power of Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer, along with "Forrest Gump" and "Back to the Future" director Robert Zemeckis behind the camera, helped to make "What Lies Beneath" a box office hit. But maybe it could've made even more if its trailer didn't give away a major plot detail. Pfeiffer plays a woman who starts noticing some weird things going on at home, and her husband acting suspiciously. It turns out he has a long-kept secret, one that's revealed in the trailer. We like going into horror movies with some idea of the plot. But this trailer doesn’t understand the difference between “teasing” and “spoiling.”
#5: “Return of the Living Dead Part II” (1988)
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"The Return of the Living Dead" is a must-see for fans of zombie movies and comedy. Its first sequel belongs in the cinematic graveyard, and its trailer does it no favors. Once again, we have a trailer that basically just gives the whole movie away, with no thanks to the narrator, who spoils a major development involving one of the characters. Then again, if you’re mad about spoilers for this movie, which has a zero percent on “Rotten Tomatoes,” maybe you should reconsider your priorities. Despite its poor quality, this movie was a success, and the "Living Dead" returned three more times.
#4: “The Haunting of Molly Hartley” (2008)
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This movie was released on Halloween night, 2008, but it was more "trick" than "treat" for horror fans. Curious about it, but don’t want to sit through the 85-minute runtime? Just watch the trailer, because it goes wild with spoilers. A high school senior enrolls at a new school after a violent encounter with her mother. However, a terrible fate awaits her when she turns 18. The trailer tells you exactly what's going on and feels like watching the film on fast-forward. The lifeless narration only makes things worse. Looking for scares? Stay away from “Molly Hartley.”
#3: “The Mangler” (1995)
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The funniest trailer of 1995 wasn’t for a Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler comedy. It was for a horror movie called “The Mangler.” Based on a Stephen King short story, the titular mangler is a haunted piece of machinery: a laundry press, to be exact. Despite horror legends Tobe Hooper directing and Robert Englund starring, "The Mangler" is only scary in a "scary-bad" sense, and the trailer gives you an idea of its lack of quality. But if you’re looking for a cheesy horror movie to laugh at with your friends, it might be the perfect match.
#2: “Leprechaun” (1993)
Do you get the willies walking by a box of Lucky Charms at the grocery store? Then, you might be the ideal audience member for this wretched horror-comedy about a murderous leprechaun on a murderous quest for his pot of gold. Perhaps the best way to label "Leprechaun" is as a “Child’s Play” ripoff without any of that film’s laughs or scares. The mercifully short trailer barely shows the titular leprechaun, instead mostly focusing on the family he’s after, including a pre-“Friends” Jennifer Aniston. To anyone who watches this movie after seeing this trailer: good luck. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. “Darkness” (2002) A Terrible Haunted House Movie Trailer “The Bye Bye Man” (2017) “Candyman,” This Is Not “Slender Man” (2018) Some Things Should Just Stay Memes
#1: “Troll 2” (1990)
Seeing “Troll 2” is a rite of passage for any bad movie aficionado. If you want just an idea of why this movie, which has nothing to do with the original “Troll,” is so notorious, just watch the trailer. For two-and-a-half excruciating minutes, we watch a hapless family move to the town of "Nilbog," where some evil goblins, not trolls, are up to no good. "Troll 2's' trailer doesn't really explain what is going on in any capacity, instead just looking like a confused mess of different scenes with terrible acting and even worse dialogue. Somehow, the director made multiple films after this one. We suppose anything can happen if you dream big enough.
