Horror films have been there for a long time, providing a common ground for movie-loving audiences to confront and free themselves from fear with just a pinch of thrill added on. Yet another trend came, which made jump scares a standby resort for scary movies in place of proper story building. Though jump scares are sometimes pretty effective tools that create much havoc with viewers, no balanced craft can compensate for it. Here's a list of 20 horror movies that depend too much on jump scares. Please note, this article is entirely based on the writer's opinion. Reader's discretion is advised.
20) The Darkness (2016)

The 2016 horror film, The Darkness, starring Kevin Bacon and Radha Micthell is rife with some ickiness and jump scares but utterly devoid of any plot. The storyline follows a family who find themselves haunted by supernatural forces since their trip to the Grand Canyon, but it is full of cliches and banal. While the film manages to create a few moments of chills, it doesn't offer something truly memorable or engaging for horror lovers.
19) The Autopsy Of Jane Doe (2016)

A common criticism leveled at The Autopsy of Jane Doe is its over-dependence on jump scares, rather than a coherent plot. The film follows two coroners investigating a mysterious corpse, but despite being gothic, the movie becomes muddled in its narrative progression, leaving audiences without gratifying explanations. The plot lacks both depth and logical reasoning, relying instead on surface tension. While this succeeds in generating some unsettling feelings, it above all fails to deliver a really engrossing horror experience.
18) The Possession (2012)

The Possession has been criticized for its interest in jump scares instead of a good story. The story follows a family as they deal with a cursed antique box. Sadly, the film does not pitch anything different or engage new spectrums. The characters were not well-developed, and the narrative leans upon tired horror cliches. The film, however, inventive and picturesque, ends up not sticking in your mind and just fades into more jump-scare enjoyment.
17) The Last Exorcism (2010)

The 2010 horror movie The Last Exorcism has been criticized for relying more on jump scares than a solid storyline. The film, shot in a found-footage style, narrates an exorcist's last work, but the story appears jumbled and shallow. Although at times the scares work rather well, the blend of scant plot development and incoherence cancels out the final effect for viewers, leaving little more than an insipid experience for the horror genre lovers.
16) The Possession Of Hannah Grace (2012)

Possession Of Hannah Grace tries to build tension but resolves to work with low-budget thrills, whose story is derivative and trivial. The plot focuses on a police officer turned mortuary attendant, who is faced with an eerily mysterious situation that a corpse is possessed by a demon. Poor culture-building, coupled with a formulaic story, gives this movie more of a sense of decolored mediocrity, and its exaggerated reliance on jumpscare makes it feel lazy and unoriginal.
15) The Rite (2011)

The Rite may have jump scares and a creepy atmosphere, but the story is predictable and less than complex: a young priest joins an exorcism school and discovers his own dark past. As shallow and uninspired as any entry in the exorcism genre, the reliance on jump scares drops the already underdeveloped characters in favor of an unimaginative tried-and-true plot.
14) Pray For The Devil(2022)

Prey for the Devil has been criticized for an overemphasis on jump scares at the cost of telling a gripping story. Following Sestra Ann, a young nun in training to become an exorcist, the film is rife with clichés. Undeveloped, stereotypical characters do not help keep the plot moving along. It delivers some quite exciting moments, but they don't make up for the fact that it is an exercise in hollow horror without much depth or memorable storytelling.
13) The Gallows (2015)

The Gallows was released to do its scare work in 2015. We follow a group of high school students who are haunted by the ghost of a student who died during a play. The movie has some scary moments. However, weak character development and predictability are further incentives for realizing jump scares don't carry weight. The film is packed with atmosphere and some creepy scenes that should be good for some minor scares.
12) Ouija (2014)

Jump scares have taken the centerpiece in this horror flick Ouija, frightening its viewers. There is little else to keep its narrative rolling through. This is the story of a group of teens who use an Ouija board to contact the dead and accidentally unleash a spirit bent on revenge. Without credibly developed characters or an intriguing plot, formulaic jump scares render the film predictable and shallow, lacking any real tension or suspense whatsoever.
11) Truth or Dare (2018)

Truth or Dare is packed with a lot of jump scares but lacks an engaging storyline. The movie tells the story of a group of friends who play Truth or Dare, a dangerously deadly game. However, the plot has too many clichés, its depth is quite shallow, and the characters, being poorly fleshed out make the movie dull and forgettable.
10) The Exorcist: Believer(2023)

The Exorcist: Believer tries to follow the age-old exorcism narrative but fails vehemently. The 2023 film is predictable and lacks freshness that adds to the already available horror storytelling. While the movie achieves certain moments of tension during the jump scares, these shallow frights tend to cancel out the game in its entirety, leaving the movie uninspired and incapable of beating the predecessor they have tried hard to refer back to.
9) Boogeyman (2023)

Boogeyman is based on Stephen King's short story. However, it isn't as scary as King's other stories appear on screen. It is about a grieving family and how they deal with a supernatural being left by a stranger. with a slow narrative, which makes you wait for the jumpscares, the story doesn't take you anywhere at the end, leaving the audience unsatisfied
8) The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts Of Georgia (2013)

The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia is basically underwhelming jump scares and tension, with a complicated yet predictable plot. It tells the tale of a family that moves into a haunted farmhouse; however, the motivation of the characters is not clear and the narrative is fragmented. With a liberal use of jump scares, the film feels shallow and per formula, especially on suspense and depth of theme.
7) One Missed Call(2008)

The story follows a group of friends who begin to receive mysterious phone calls determining the process and timing of their imminent deaths. Although the plot of One Missed Call initially appears to be compelling, the lack of depth and character development brings it down. All in all, a movie whose strength lies in its rush of jump-scares instead of any real horror element: minimal tension and suspense.
6) When the Lights Went Out (2012)

The 2011 horror film When the Lights Went Out is based on a true story about a family who was haunted by a sinister spirit in their council house. However, with unclear motivations, the characters seem lost. Since the story itself is slightly erratic, this film turns shallow and cliché, heavy on jump scares but light on true tension or suspense.
5) Sinister 2 (2015)

Sinister 2 is filled with boring scares and creepy imagery, but the film is obvious in its plot and lacks the in-depth qualities of its predecessor. The story is about a mother and her twin sons moving into a rural home only to learn that the site is of a terrible crime. The development of the characters is muddled and overreliance on jump scares gives the film a vague and formulaic feel.
4) Insidious: The Last Key (2018)

The plot of this movie, exploring Elise's backstory, had potential but is rather cliched and more or less devoid of any real tension. The characters feel like placeholders, and the plot is convoluted. Such a sad thing, because the Insidious series has its scary moments, and this movie feels like a lazy attempt to scare people making this latest outing feel just underwhelming.
3) The Devil Inside (2012)

Directed by William Brent Bell, this movie comes across as a sloppily done cash grab in the found-footage genre. The film's effort at employing documentary-style footage is shaky and altogether unfounded, with a disjointed plot that adds new life to stale cliches and lingering questions. And while it's filled with jump scares, even those can't really mask the mediocre storytelling and two-dimensional characters.
2) The Nun (2018)

The Nun is considered a spiritual successor to the movie Conjuring 2 and revolves around a young nun who is dispatched to investigate an inexplicable death in a remote abbey in Romania. While the movie has its jump-scare moments, because of the predictable and lackluster plot, the jump scares do not earn their place. However, the performance of the lead actors manages to at least make it bearable in a cold atmosphere.
1) Evil Dead Rise(2023)

Evil Dead Rise was an utter failure. Relying on mediocre jump scares and heinous gore, the movie seems desperate to shock rather than intend to explore the Evil Dead universe. The story follows the reunion of two sisters whose lives get muddled with flesh-possessing demons. The movie is a faceless experience that's hardly scary and fails to walk the walk for the franchise.

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