Could you answer this questions about the use of "(as far) as..."?

1)
Sentence: It was quite a good film, as horror films go.
Question: Does this sentence just mean that the horror film at hand was good compared to the average horror film, or would you say that it conveys the idea that horror films in general are quite bad?

2)
Sentence: (As far) as horror films go, it was quite good.
Question: Is there any difference (maybe slight) between adding and dropping the "as far" part?

3)
Sentence: As far as players are concerned, the basis of the team will be the same for next season.
Question: The first thing that comes to mind is that next season most of the main players will be the same as this season. But could this sentence also mean, from a grammatical point of view, that "In the opinion of the players..."