Horror Movie Set-Ups You'd Least Like to Be Trapped In
List of the horror movie set-ups you’d least like to be trapped in, as ranked by horror movie fans. The scariest part of most horror movies is not the jump scares or the demonic mask of the creepy serial killer.The real most terrifying aspect of any given horror movie is imagining yourself stuck in that setting and situation. A haunted house run by a maniacal butler is never scarier than when you’re visualizing yourself within those ghostly walls. Would you be able to survive a crazy serial killer with a chain saw that never seems to run out of juice? Will you be able to be smarter than the dozens of characters who get an ax to the head?
This list of horror movie premises you want no part of covers the top horror movies you would not want to be stuck in, even in your wildest nightmare. These movies have inescapable villains- from a disturbing dead girl stuck in a video tape to death himself- making it far less likely that you’d survive within that horror movie universe.
What horror movie set-ups would you least like to be stuck in? This list features scenarios like serial killer toys to walking, flesh-eating dead folks, none of which you would ever want to meet face-to-face. If your favorite horror movie premise isn't on the list, make sure to add it.
- Ashley C. Williams, Dieter Laser, Akihiro Kitamura
- Released: 2009
- Directed by: Tom Six
"Outside the more outré work of Takashi Miike and David Cronenberg, you wont have seen anything quite like Dutch avant-garde artist Tom Sixs totally bizarre off-the-wall oddity. Internationally ...more - Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: James Wan
Photographer Adam Stanheight (Leigh Whannell) and oncologist Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) regain consciousness while chained to pipes at either end of a filthy bathroom. As the two men realize ...more - Donnie Wahlberg, Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith
- Released: 2005
- Directed by: Darren Bousman
On the hunt for the twisted vigilante and serial killer Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) and his team must apprehend the elusive murderer to rescue eight people trapped ...more - Suze Lanier-Bramlett, Robert Houston, James Whitworth
- Released: 1977
- Directed by: Wes Craven
Wes Craven's cult classic about cannibalistic mountain folk on the trail of stranded vacationers in the arid Southwest. - Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith
- Released: 2000
- Directed by: James Wong
Alex Browning (Devon Sawa), is embarking on a trip to Paris. Alex experiences a premonition -- he sees the plane explode moments after leaving the ground. Alex insists that everyone get off the plane ...more - Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, Allen Danziger
- Released: 1974
- Directed by: Tobe Hooper
When Sally (Marilyn Burns) hears that her grandfather's grave may have been vandalized, she and her paraplegic brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain), set out with their friends to investigate. After a ...more - John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Heather Langenkamp
- Released: 1984
- Directed by: Wes Craven
In Wes Craven's classic slasher film, several Midwestern teenagers fall prey to Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a disfigured midnight mangler who preys on the teenagers in their dreams -- which, in ...more - Tim Curry, Seth Green, John Ritter
- Released: 1990
- Directed by: Tommy Lee Wallace
Maine friends struggle with the embodiment of evil. - Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Gore Verbinski
It sounds like just another urban legend -- a videotape filled with nightmarish images leads to a phone call foretelling the viewer's death in exactly seven days. Newspaper reporter Rachel Keller ...more - Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison
- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Drew Goddard
When five college friends (Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams) arrive at a remote forest cabin for a little vacation, little do they expect the horrors that ...more - Betsy Russell, Chester Bennington, Cary Elwes
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Kevin Greutert
Saw VII is 2010 horror film written by Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton and directed by Kevin Greutert. - Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie
- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Rob Zombie
An empty fuel tank and a flat tire lead two couples down a terror-riddled road to the House of 1000 Corpses. "House of 1000 Corpses" is at its core a story of family - a cast of twisted individuals ...more - Ali Larter, A.J. Cook, Michael Landes
- Released: 2003
- Directed by: David R. Ellis
Kimberly (A.J. Cook) has a premonition of a horrible highway accident killing multiple people -- including her and her friends. She blocks the cars behind her on the ramp from joining traffic -- and ...more - Gina Philips, Justin Long, Jonathan Breck
- Released: 2001
- Directed by: Victor Salva
After making a horrific discovery in the basement of an old abandoned church, Trish (Gina Philips) and her brother Darry (Justin Long) watch their routine road trip home from college turn into a ...more - James Caan, Kathy Bates, Frances Sternhagen
- Released: 1990
- Directed by: Rob Reiner
After a serious car crash, novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), who claims to be his biggest fan. Annie brings him to her remote cabin to recover, ...more - Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Bryan Bertino
Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) are expecting a relaxing weekend at a family vacation home, but their stay turns out to be anything but peaceful. First, a mysterious and dangerous ...more - Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence
- Released: 1987
- Directed by: Clive Barker
Sexual deviant Frank (Sean Chapman) inadvertently opens a portal to hell when he tinkers with a box he bought while abroad. The act unleashes gruesome beings called Cenobites, who tear Frank's body ...more - Desmond Harrington, Eliza Dushku, Emmanuelle Chriqui
- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Rob Schmidt
Friends Jessie (Eliza Dushku) and Carly (Emmanuelle Chriqui) are traveling with pals Scott (Jeremy Sisto), Evan (Kevin Zegers) and Francine (Lindy Booth) when they have car trouble in West Virginia. ...more - Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Zack Snyder
When her husband is attacked by a zombified neighbor, Ana (Sarah Polley) manages to escape, only to realize her entire Milwaukee neighborhood has been overrun by the walking dead. After being ...more - Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher
- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Steven Quale
During a bus ride with his colleagues to a corporate retreat, Sam (Nicholas D'Agosto) experiences a horrifying vision: the suspension bridge that they -- and many others -- are crossing starts to ...more - Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes
- Released: 1978
- Directed by: John Carpenter
On a cold Halloween night in 1963, six year old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 17-year-old sister, Judith. He was sentenced and locked away for 15 years. But on October 30, 1978, while being ...more - Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper, Morfydd Clark
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Alexandre Aja
When a massive hurricane hits her Florida town, young Haley ignores the evacuation orders to search for her missing father, Dave. After finding him gravely injured in their family home, the two of ...more - Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow
- Released: 1973
- Directed by: William Friedkin
One of the most profitable horror movies ever made, this tale of an exorcism is based loosely on actual events. When young Regan (Linda Blair) starts acting odd -- levitating, speaking in tongues -- ...more - Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman, Kris Lemche
- Released: 2006
- Directed by: James Wong
Six years after a group of high-school students first cheated death, another teen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has a premonition that she and her friends will be involved in a horrifying roller-coaster ...more - Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: James Wan
Parents (Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne) take drastic measures when it seems their new home is haunted and their comatose son (Ty Simpkins) is possessed by a malevolent entity.