Collider film writer Jeremy Urquhart has published a ranked list of the 10 best "mindless" horror films, focusing on titles designed purely to scare or entertain rather than carry deeper social commentary. The piece distinguishes these from more thematically weighty horror films such as Get Out, The Exorcist and Hereditary, positioning the list as recommendations for viewers who want undemanding, switch-your-brain-off entertainment.

The countdown includes Dario Argento's 1985 giallo Phenomena at number 10, praised as an underrated and gleefully strange entry in his filmography, and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) at number nine, singled out as the slasher franchise's most effective execution of its familiar formula. The full ranking continues up to a number-one pick, with the author noting that while these films aren't wholly without substance, they aren't intended to be analysed for deeper meaning.