Many of TV's worst horror series prove that taking a feature film and lengthening or re-imagining it into an episodic structure just doesn't work. The bottom of the barrel for horror TV also includes series that would have survived a single-season run had they been developed today, and backed by bigger-budget streaming giants. Whether a network anthology like American Horror Story, a streaming original like Stranger Things, a prequel like Hannibal, or an adaptation like The Haunting of Hill House, there's a place for horror on television.
Psychological, sci-fi, supernatural, or procedural, the best horror shows understand how to be technically cinematic without relying solely on special effects and gore, while also being built on solid scripting and premises. These are all standards the worst series get wrong, leading to quick blips on the TV radar while reminding audiences there are better options out there.
10 'The Stand' (2020-2021)
Created by Josh Boone & Benjamin Cavell
Based on the popular novel by Stephen King, The Stand failed to wow social-distancing audiences during its 2020 release. The eight-episode miniseries is a dystopian horror story of a post-apocalyptic world where a handful of plague survivors hold the fate of mankind. Perhaps it was too timely or there were too many other options available deterring a fan base from forming, but The Stand's structural woes made it unsalvagable.
Despite its big-name cast that included James Marsden, Whoopi Goldberg, and Alexander Skarsgård, this is yet another horror adaptation that provided a disservice to its source material. The time-jumping pacing and lack of real character development left audiences turning to other series during their binge-watching.
9 'Van Helsing' (2016-2021)
Created by Neil LaBute
A series with so much potential ended up becoming a disappointment over its five-season run. Van Helsing is the SyFy series starring Kelly Overton as Vanessa Helsing, a distant descendant of the acclaimed vampire hunter, who awakes from a coma to discover the world is overrun and controlled by vampires. Her unique genetic makeup makes her immune, making her humanity's last hope to regain society. Simply put, it's The Walking Dead but with vampires.
The first season earned positive recognition from critics, but the enduring inconsistency and repeated mistakes make it one of the worst horror series. The modernization of the iconic character suffered from poor scripting, lack of character development, and any sort of comedic breather from its dark, depressing tone.
Van Helsing
Drama
Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
*Availability in US
- Release Date
- July 21, 2016
- Creator
- Neil LaBute
- Cast
- Kelly Overton , jonathan scarfe , Christopher Heyerdahl , Tricia Helfer
- Main Genre
- Horror
- Seasons
- 5
8 'The Purge' (2018-2019)
Created by James DeMonaco
As if multiple movies with rotten reviews weren't enough, franchise writer James DeMonaco took a stab at bringing the premise to TV. The Purge series covers the same annual 12-hour event where all crime is legal as an attempt to instill order in society. Characters throughout the two seasons discover just how far they will go to survive and keep their moral code intact.
Like the movies, the series receives a visceral reaction from franchise fans who continue to provide an audience base for a premise that is rinsed and repeated with each installment, amping up the violence to stomach-churning, psychologically taxing levels. Until there is something new to tell, The Purge remains one of the worst TV installments in the genre.
The Purge
TV-MA
- Release Date
- September 4, 2018
- Creator
- James DeMonaco
- Cast
- Gabriel Chavarria , Derek Luke , Hannah Emily Anderson , Max Martini , Jessica Garza , Paola Núñez , Joel Allen , Rochelle Aytes
- Main Genre
- Horror
- Seasons
- 2
7 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' (2021)
Created by Sara Goodman
One of the most quintessential slasher movies of all time got a streaming debut from Prime but failed to live up to its cinematic predecessor. I Know What You Did Last Summer follows a group of teens as they are stalked by an all-knowing yet mysterious killer one year after a fatal graduation night accident. In an attempt to bring the formulaic premise to a technology-driven new generation, the series missed the mark.
A bland installment in the genre, IKWYDLS lacks the drive to motivate audiences to care, causing its early cancellation. The plug-and-play "I know your secret" premise worked in the past for series like Pretty Little Liars and season four of You, but not for this reboot. The melodrama with a murder in the background isn't enough to convince critics and audiences of a status other than one of the worst horror series and horror reboots.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
TV-MA
- Release Date
- October 15, 2021
- Cast
- Madison Iseman , Brianne Tju , Ezekiel Goodman , Ashley Moore , Sebastian Amoruso , Fiona Rene , Cassie Beck , Brooke Bloom , Bill Heck , Sonya Balmores , Spencer Sutherland , Chrissie Fit
- Main Genre
- Horror
- Seasons
- 1
- Creator(s)
- Sara Goodman
6 'Hemlock Grove' (2013-2015)
Created by Brian McGreevy & Lee Shipman
Hemlock Grove is the divisive horror series that foreshadowed the potential of the genre's rising icon, Bill Skarsgård. A former industrial town in rural Pennsylvania, Hemlock Grove is home to the wealthy and the poor, with dark creatures lurking among them, all of whom carry a secret. The Netflix original has a loyal and defensive fan base that champions its praise, while critics say otherwise.
Where audiences gave it a pass for three seasons, critics would not overlook season one's bland development into boredom, season two's solution of more gore added to its chaotic presentation of genre tropes, and season three's commitment to being just plain bad. Hemlock Grove is an example of Netflix's early days of original content and one that could've used the production and script value the streaming giant fuels into horror projects today.
Hemlock Grove
Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US
- Release Date
- April 19, 2013
- Cast
- Landon Liboiron , Bill Skarsgard , Famke Janssen , Madeleine Martin , Camille De Pazzis
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Seasons
- 3
5 'The Mist' (2017)
Created by Christian Torpe
Another translation of a Stephen King nightmare couldn't jumpstart viewers into yearning for a long-running series. The Mist takes place in a small Maine town where a mysterious fog rolls in forcing its residents to fight for survival against not only the deadly creatures lurking within the vapor but their neighbors as well. The King novella was adapted into a feature film in 2007, earning a positive response from audiences.
The single 10-episode season succeeded in the special effects department but floundered in every other aspect. Viewers lost interest with each passing episode that lacked solid horror storytelling and compelling performances. The Mist is just another example of if a horror movie isn't broke don't fix it with a TV series.
The Mist
TV-14
Horror
Sci-Fi
Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US
- Release Date
- June 22, 2017
- Creator
- Christian Torpe
- Cast
- Morgan Spector , Alyssa Sutherland , Gus Birney , Danica Curcic
- Main Genre
- Horror
- Seasons
- 1
4 'Freddy's Nightmares' (1988-1990)
Created by Wes Craven & Jeff Freilich
Bringing the iconic Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) to the small screen seemed like a good idea given the franchise's rising popularity in the 80s, but it was a short-lived lesson learned. An anthology series that featured Krueger as a host, Freddy's Nightmares featured the villain in a series of horror stories in Springwood. Because it was a syndicated series, various writers and directors took a stab at telling their version of a Freddy Krueger nightmare.
With 44 episodes across two seasons, Freddy's Nightmares was an unfortunate poor execution of the iconic slasher's potential. Many of the horrific elements that make the premise scary, like the graphic violence and gore, were cut through TV censorship. The lack of continuity behind the scenes, including budget and time slot, led the series to become just another bad horror TV show.
Freddy's Nightmare is not available to rent or buy
3 'Chambers' (2019)
Created by Leah Rachel
A haunted heart and visions from beyond the grave piqued the interest of horror audiences with a unique premise that ultimately flatlined. Chambers is a Netflix original show about a young woman named Sasha (Sivan Alyra Rose) who receives a heart transplant after suffering a heart attack. As she recovers from surgery and begins to live a new normal, Sasha starts getting unsettling premonitions and developing unusual personality traits. Uma Thurman and Tony Goldwyn co-star.
Chambers stood in its own way, leaning more on melodrama after promising a horror story very different from the genre standard TV audiences were used to. Lacking sustainable substance to warrant a multi-episode medium, the series may have worked better as a movie, in a reversal of fortunes compared to other series it stands in the worst rankings with.
Chambers
TV-MA
Drama
Fantasy
Horror
Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US
- Release Date
- April 16, 2019
- Creator
- Leah Rachel
- Cast
- Sivan Alyra Rose , Uma Thurman , Kyanna Simone , Nicholas Galitzine
- Seasons
- 1
- Main Genre
- Drama
2 'Baywatch Nights' (1995-1997)
Created by David Hasselhoff, Michael Berk, & Gregory J. Bonann
What would have been more entertaining than two seasons of Baywatch tackling sci-fi horror would be Mystery Science Theater 3000 watching Baywatch Nights. The spin-off features David Hasselhoff as Mitch Buchannon while he opens a P.I. agency alongside Ryan McBride (Angie Harmon) and Garner Ellerbee (Gregory Alan Williams). The trio solves cases that include stalkers in the first season and turns to supernatural and sci-fi "horror" in the second.
With the name Baywatch attached to it, any spinoff gets a pass with audiences knowingly going into it assuming it will be bad. The series suffered from a major identity crisis by trying to bring more to the small screen than its original series. Baywatch Nights couldn't decide between police procedural, thriller, horror, sci-fi, and action, blending it all into what amounted to one of the worst horror series of all time.
Buy on Amazon
1 'South of Hell' (2015)
Created by Matt Lambert
Even with a clever title, recognizable starlet, and genre legends like Jason Blum and Eli Roth producing, South of Hell only managed a short eight-episode network run. Mena Suvari stars as Maria Abascal, a demon hunter in South Carolina who works as an exorcist-for-hire while also battling her own actual inner demon named Abigail. Airing on WEtv, South of Hell was an odd-duck scripted series among a slew of reality series that, maybe in the hands of another network or streaming giant, could have lived up to its potential.
South of Hell remains one of the worst horror series that could've been one of the greats with an opportunity to showcase Suvari's talents and elevate her to TV scream queen status. Lacking a firm direction and the right budget, the premise and performances faltered before they could ever get going.
Watch on Prime
NEXT: The 10 Best Horror Shows, Ranked
