The 10 Best So-Bad-They’re-Good Horror Movies of the ’90s, Ranked

To be a horror movie fan in the 1990s must have been truly spectacular. What a more fantastic time to flock to theaters than in the decade blessed by some of the most iconic and terrifying horror films. Whether it be Scream, Candyman, Army of Darkness, or The Silence of the Lambs, this decade was full of incredible chillers. While it can’t be understated how important this time was to horror cinema, not all of these remarkable films are as highly regarded.

There’s something unique about so-bad-they’re-good horror movies in the ’90s. There was an abundance of unintentionally hilarious horror comedies that have since become cult classics of the genre. They may have failed spectacularly at being scary, but these movies are so outlandish and amusing that they’re impossible to ignore. Over time, they’ve slowly garnered cult followings, becoming something distinctive in the pop culture lexicon. From The Lawnmower Man to the infamous Troll 2 and beyond, these are the ten best so-bad-they’re-good flicks any horror fan needs to see on their next ’90s horror movie rewatch.

10 ‘The Lawnmower Man’ (1992)

Directed by Brett Leonard

Starring Jeff Fahey and Pierce Brosnan, The Lawnmower Man is a 1992 sci-fi horror thriller very loosely based on a short story by the famed horror author Stephen King. Taking the concept of science gone wrong to the world of virtual reality, it follows an ambitious scientist whose experiments to heighten cognitive behaviors go horribly out of control when his latest human test subject becomes a power-hungry genius with murderous tendencies.

Outside of the terrible CGI effects and hilarious overacting, there’s much to be said about The Lawnmower Man. It’s a poorly written, incoherent, comedic mess that tries and fails to explore the interesting themes of the corruption of power and the dangers of unchecked technology. Fahey and Brosnan give decent enough performances as the leads, but their combined forces can’t help the awkward dialogue and overblown storytelling. Stephen King has famously distanced from The Lawnmower Man over the years. He’s succeeded not once but twice in having his name removed from the promotional art due to the film having so little to do with his original short story.

9 ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation’ (1995)

Directed by Kim Henkel

Tobe Hooper‘s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is widely regarded as one of the most influential slasher films of all time. The same can’t be said about its unnecessary sequels, which range from semi-decent to downright terrible. Arguably, the weakest and most outrageous installment was The Next Generation, starring future Academy Award winners Matthew McConaughey and Renée Zellweger.

To say Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is bizarre is an understatement. It’s a bonkers horror comedy with over-the-top dialogue, cringey performances, and nonsensical storylines that go nowhere. It’s hard not to laugh every time McConaughey graces the screen with his manic energy while playing the deranged Slaughter family member Vilmer. While not as good as Hooper’s original, nor does it even come close, The Next Generation is a one-of-a-kind sequel that doesn’t hold back on its ridiculousness and tells an amusing story that can’t help but make someone laugh.

8 ‘Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare’ (1991)

Directed by Rachel Talalay

In the pre-Scream era of the early ’90s, the slasher sub-genre was steadily losing momentum. Once popular ’80s franchises like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Hellraiser quickly dropped in quality as they kept churning out one critical and commercial flop after another. One of the most infamous examples of this decline was Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, the supposedly final sequel to 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.

Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare is by no means the worst of the Nightmare franchise, but it sure isn’t the most terrifying. It’s a goofy, cartoonish, and uneven mess that feels more like a spoof than a proper sequel. While he’s more effective as a terrifying dream demon, seeing the wonderful Robert Englund being a good sport is still fun as he plays a more outlandish version of Freddy Krueger, entertaining audiences with his impressive physical comedy and campy one-liners. Freddy’s Dead is not scary, but it’s hard not to laugh at some of its more ridiculous moments.

7 ‘Ice Cream Man’ (1995)

Directed by Norman Apstein

Whether it’s Leprechaun, The GingerDead Man, or Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, filmmakers sure know how to take any innocent subject and turn it into the basis of a slasher movie. Take Ice Cream Man, an outrageous 1995 dark comedy starring Clint Howard. When misbehaved children and older adults go missing around their neighborhood, a group of kids slowly suspect a local ice cream vendor is secretly a violent serial killer.

Ice Cream Man
is all-in on its premise, promising to entertain horror fans, especially those looking for a goofy, gory time.

In what could have easily been a much more disturbing and dreary horror film, Ice Cream Man never takes itself seriously. Instead, it’s an amusing and one-of-a-kind slasher parody with entertaining performances and over-the-top gore. Fans of splatter flicks like the cult classic Terrifier series will be delighted with how bloody and gross this film could get. Ice Cream Man is all-in on its premise, promising to entertain horror fans, especially those looking for a goofy, gory time.

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6 ‘Frankenhooker’ (1990)

Directed by Frank Henenlotter

From Frank Henenlotter, the unique mind behind some of the cheesiest ’80s horror movies like Basket Case and Brain Damage, Frankenhooker is a hilarious 1990 dark comedy very loosely based on Mary Shelley‘s Frankenstein novel. It follows a troubled medical student who, after losing his beloved fiancé in a freak accident, stalks the streets of New York in search of prostitutes to acquire the body parts needed to resurrect his bride back from the dead.

Frankenhooker
is a wonderfully over-the-top and intentionally campy horror-comedy hybrid that goes full board with its absurdity and never lets up

With a wildly bizarre premise like that, there’s no wonder why Frankenhooker has endured as a memorable cult classic all these years. It’s a wonderfully over-the-top and intentionally campy horror-comedy hybrid that goes full board with its absurdity and never lets up. With spectacularly cheap effects, hammy performances, and clumsy dialog, Frankenhooker is an incredible horror comedy that needs to be seen to be fully appreciated.

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5 ‘Anaconda’ (1997)

Directed by Luis Llosa

Regarding animal attack movies, most are usually hit-or-miss quality-wise. 1997’s Anaconda isn’t precisely best remembered for being a good horror movie, but it is still undeniably entertaining. Starring a memorable cast of likable stars, including Jon Voight, Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, and Owen Wilson, it follows a documentary film crew on a mission to shoot a remote indigenous tribe in the Amazon jungle. However, when they encounter a sinister snake poacher along the way, they become unwilling participants in his obsessed quest to hunt down a dangerous species of giant anacondas.

Anaconda was a hit at the box office upon release. Though critically panned for its admittedly terrible CGI creature effects, that hasn’t diminished its strong cult following over the years. It’s hard not to feel joy after watching this film, especially since it has so many iconic names attached to it. They all complement each other, and their hilarious performances have helped make Anaconda a notorious stand-out of the 1990s, and its terrible reputation will only keep increasing.

4 ‘Jack Frost’ (1997)

Directed by Michael Cooney

Not to be confused with Michael Keaton‘s more child-friendly 1998 family film, Jack Frost is an atrocious 1997 slasher comedy starring Scott MacDonald, Christopher Allport, and Shannon Elizabeth in her film debut. It tells the story of a prolific serial killer who, after becoming exposed to genetic chemicals during a car crash on his way to being executed, finds his body infused with snow. Now, taking on the bizarre appearance of a snowman, he sets off on a violent rampage to hunt down the sheriff who put him away.

All it takes is one look at the film’s titular snowy antagonist to make audiences burst at the seams with laughter. Jack Frost is a complete dumpster fire that is quite aware of how awful it is. With lackluster kills, abysmal performances, and an incredibly cheap-looking snowman costume, not one second of the film is genuinely well-made or put together. It’s a one-of-a-kind, so-bad-it’s-good horror film that can’t be replicated but only gets funny the more people see it.

3 ‘Sleepwalkers’ (1992)

Directed by Mick Garris

Stephen King returns with another so-bad-it’s-good horror cult classic, this time with 1992’s Sleepwalkers, starring Brian Krause, Alice Krige, and Mädchen Amick. It follows a mother-son duo of supernatural shapeshifting monsters who coast from town to town, draining the life force out of young female victims. When they set their sights on a beautiful high schooler, one fatal mistake leads the two to go on a destructive rampage to collect her soul.

Many words can describe Sleepwalkers, except for terrifying and compelling. It’s easily one of King’s most infamous blunders, an unintentionally hilarious masterpiece featuring bizarre imagery, glorious over-the-top acting, and cartoonish kills. While Stephen King has done other incredible work, this laughable disaster is a stain on his prolific resumé that deserves to be seen by fans of his stories.

2 ‘Leprechaun 4: In Space’ (1996)

Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith

The Leprechaun series is a mindless, fun, slasher franchise that knows how ridiculous it is. While each entry could make anyone’s so-bad-it’s-good horror movie list, the fourth installment, Leprechaun 4: In Space, truly goes all out with the absurdity. Set in the distant future, it follows the titular Leprechaun (Warwick Davis) on a wacky space adventure as he finds himself wreaking havoc aboard a marine starship in search of his bride-to-be, Princess Zarina (Rebecca Carlton).

Leprechaun 4: In Space
is the perfect schlocky slasher flick that doesn’t require much attention to leave viewers in stitches.

It doesn’t take much thought to enjoy Leprechaun 4: In Space. It’s pure mindless entertainment featuring atrocious acting and embarrassing special effects. It has nothing going right with its nonsensical plot; the titular Leprechaun is never mentioned by name, only being referred to as a demon or alien, meaning there was no reason to make it a Leprechaun film in the first place. It fails spectacularly in every way to a proper horror, but that was never its intention. Leprechaun 4: In Space is the perfect schlocky slasher flick that doesn’t require much attention to leave viewers in stitches.

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1 ‘Troll 2’ (1990)

Directed by Claudio Fragasso

Anyone who is a fan of so-bad-they’re-good horror movies knows this infamous masterpiece of schlock cinema that is widely considered one of the greatest bad movies of all time. Yes, it’s Troll 2, directed by Italian filmmaker Claudio Fragasso. Centering around the vacationing Waits family and a few of their friends, it follows the group as they have a deadly encounter with a bizarre magical race of forest-dwelling goblins who intend to eat them by turning them all into plants.

It doesn’t get much better (or worse) than Troll 2. It’s the Citizen Kane of terrible movies, an absolute triumph of mediocrity and one of the most recognizable films for all the wrong reasons. From the hilarious dialog to the incredibly hammy performances, virtually every moment of every scene has solidified the film’s infamous popularity over the years. Besides Tommy Wiseau‘s The Room, nothing can top Troll 2 in terms of quality bad entertainment.

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NEXT: The 10 Best So-Bad-They’re-Good Fantasy Movies of the ’90s, Ranked