The craft of creating a great film is one that takes countless years of effort and dedication to master, many believing the ‘perfect movie’ to be impossible to achieve. Directors such as Stanley Kubrick became infamous for their meticulous and obsessive need to make every aspect of their films be exactly as they envisioned. However, what happens when a film not only falls short of these expectations but does so in such a spectacular fashion that you can’t help but enjoy it?
Updated July 15, 2022: If you are here to find a movie that’s ‘so bad it’s good,’ you’ll be happy to know that we’ve updated this article with more entries of movies with questionable quality.
When a movie is ‘so bad it’s good,’ it can often provide audiences with more enjoyment than one that is otherwise well-made. The fascinating nature of a project gone so wrong, whether it be poor writing, acting, direction, or all of the above, makes it impossible to take your eyes off the screen. Many of these films achieve cult status over the years, and go on to reach far more fame than their creators may have ever dreamed, though not quite for the reasons they had hoped. Like them or hate them, here are some must-see cinematic failures that have left their marks in film history.
15 The Cat in the Hat
In what may be the most perplexing entry on this list, 2003’s The Cat in the Hat has become one of SNL alumni Mike Myers’ most polarizing works. This love-it-or-hate-it live-action remake of the beloved Dr. Seuss story struggles to hold its grip on reality and focuses more on attempts to over-stimulate its child audience with rapid-fire jokes and set-ups that come and go in a flash. The overall consensus on this film remains torn, as general audiences couldn’t decide if they found Myers’ portrayal of the titular character to be endearing, creepy, annoying, or a bizarre combination of the three.
With enough jokes being thrown at the wall, though, some do manage to stick, and with creative scenarios and set design, there’s still something to enjoy about this otherworldly romp for those interested in being absolutely confused for 82 minutes.
14 Master of Disguise
It’s a tragic thing to see when performers, known for delighting audiences with their talent, miss the mark entirely and leave viewers with that crippling ‘second-hand embarrassment’ feeling. Dana Carvey in 2002’s Master of Disguise is a prime example. Though Carvey’s talents at impersonation and character acting are not to be understated, the film reeks of overly childish writing mixed with uncomfortable and awkward jokes that fall and splatter harder than a 1% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Audiences couldn’t get away fast enough, however there is an undeniable charm to just how hard the movie tries to make its viewers laugh, only to fail spectacularly at every attempt. For those looking for their next bad movie to enjoy and have patience to spare, it’s worth the watch.
13 Catwoman
Being in a world where superhero movies are currently money-making machines for studios, it’s entertaining to look back at a time when the film industry just couldn’t nail down the transition from comics to screen. In what is cited as one of the lowest points for not only comic book movies but for lead actress Halle Berry’s career, 2004’s Catwoman blew audiences away at just how poorly it interprets the classic character. Giving the anti-hero a new bizarre origin story, as well as many on-the-nose cat-like behaviors, such as literally being enamored by cat nip, left fans confused and insulted by (if not laughing at) the patronizing portrayal.
Though lovers of bad movies aren’t the only ones who can look back and laugh, as Halle Berry has since acknowledged the film’s lackluster performance and even showed up in person to accept the Razzie Award for ‘Worst Actress’ for the role.
12 Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
One of the oddest movies about Santa Claus, this 1964 science fiction comedy follows the Martians deciding to abduct Santa Claus (played by John Call) from Earth to provide the children of Mars a bit of Christmas cheer. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is a silly, yet charming, classic of ‘so bad it’s good’ cinema. A poorly written script, weak special effects, and cringe-worthy dialogues only make this low-budget kids’ movie cuter. Remember this Christmas-themed twist on the alien invasion genre around the holidays.
11 Howard the Duck
Described by SBS as “the film Marvel is too embarrassed to talk about”, 1986’s Howard the Duck centers on a sarcastic anthropomorphic bird that has to save the world from Dark Overlord. The George Lucas-backed film was a commercial disaster and won four Golden Raspberry Awards (for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, Worst New Star, and Worst Visual Effects). However, Howard the Duck became a cult classic decades later.
Curiously enough, Howard the Duck has an unsung legacy in the history of film. Lucas’ company Industrial Light & Magic essentially created Photoshop in order to disguise the wires used for puppetry, a special effects technique that has later been used in everything from the Terminator sequels to The Matrix. “This oddball flick about a dimension-warped anthropomorphic waterfowl gave rise to a special effects technique that revolutionized the way action cinema was made. We wouldn’t have The Matrix without Howard the Duck,” Polygon wrote.
10 The Giant Spider Invasion
A hilariously cheesy wonder, The Giant Spider Invasion is one of the most entertaining B Movies of the 1970s. The so-called plot follows gargantuan spiders from another dimension landing in a small Wisconsin town. Bill Corbett, who skewered this science fiction horror on Mystery Science Theater 3000 remembers this cheesy sci-fi film as potentially dangerous in its awfulness:
Aside from the silly premise that a meteor could cause some sort of interdimensional gateway, which leads (somehow) to an army of Brobdingnagian spiders — well, by the end of the movie the giant spider is obviously a car with a spider float glued onto it. Scary! But only in that you might laugh until you choke.
9 Mac and Me
What was originally conceptualized as a marketing tool for McDonald’s mixed with a shameless rehash of E.T., Mac and Me makes no attempt to hide what it is. Released in 1988, this meandering family adventure made back just under half of its budget, was slapped with abysmal reviews, and then was promptly forgotten. Thanks to the internet, however, many ‘so bad it’s good’ aficionados have gotten a chance to experience this once-forgotten failure.
Held back by its derivative plot, awkward special effects, and laughably unnatural product placement, this endearing flop has a lot to enjoy and provides a memorable experience for all the best/worst reasons. The film also lives on through an ongoing inside joke between actor Paul Rudd and Conan O’Brien.
8 Plan 9 From Outer Space
Considered to be the grandfather of all ‘so bad it’s good’ movies, it requires multiple viewings in order to catch all the mistakes on display here. Being the most notable of infamous filmmaker Ed Wood‘s works, 1959’s Plan 9 From Outer Space has everything that a fan of bad movies needs, and then some.
Charming cardboard sets compliment the store-bought flying saucers, zipping over the heads of actors portraying some of the most unintentionally funny performances and dialogue in cinema history, all making it clear that Wood’s vision for this picture was to finish it as soon as possible, quality notwithstanding (especially because his main star, Bela Lugosi, died in the middle of production). Achieving cult status by the 1980s after taking the number one slot in a book cataloging the 50 worst films of all time, Plan 9 From Outer Space took its place in history as the first of many movies that you love to hate.
7 Showgirls (1995)
Only very few movies can compete with Showgirls in terms of being simply the best bad movie ever made. The NC-17-rated film became a cult camp classic and attracted so much attention (the wrong kind) due to its mediocre performances, laughable dialogue, badly shot erotic scenes, and for being, almost deliberately, silly. The film centers around a “street-smart” stripper, Nomi Malone, played by Elizabeth Berkley, who aspires to become a showgirl in Las Vegas. The movie was also a financial failure as it did not even cover its $45 million budget. It was no secret that the audience absolutely hated it.
The only silver lining is that Showgirls‘s terrible reputation made it something anyone would watch just to enjoy its excellency in being the worst. The funny part comes mostly from its serious tone despite being a melodramatic mess. It was desperately argued that Verhoeven’s film is intentional about its satire of the American Dream success fantasy. However, it’s still hard to take the movie seriously because of questionable choices, like making teen sitcom star Elizabeth Berkley the main character and following a flat plot with no serious or interesting twists. The director might have had a different vision for the movie when he made it, but the way it was received is what made it one of the best bad movies out there to absolutely enjoy.
6 Dragonball Evolution (2009)
Comic book adaptations have a different level of suckiness when they fail as movies, and Dragonball Evolution is here to prove it. It tells the story of Goku (Justin Chatwin) and his friends going on a mission to find the seven dragon balls and save the planet from their evil nemesis, Piccolo (James Marsters), who is after the dragon balls as well. The movie’s official genre is Action/Fantasy; however, one could almost say that the movie deliberately aimed to create a new genre of utter sloppiness.
One of the reasons why this adaptation flopped is because it was very different from the original anime, not just in plot but also in characters who were hugely tempered to the point of bringing disappointment to all the anime’s fans. Dragonball Evolution went far and beyond in the wrong direction, so much so that it unintentionally provided the audience with another movie that they can laugh about and be glad they weren’t any part of.
5 Gotti (2018)
With a perfect 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s hard to argue against the cinematic disaster that is Gotti. Not to be confused with the awesomeness of John Travolta, who plays the lead character, and his undeniable skills as an actor, the movie is an absolute gangster-movie catastrophe that will probably win you some rightful laughs. The movie is a mob story that portrays the true life of the notorious mobster, murderer, and tax evader John Gotti.
The movie’s corny lines, ridiculously plain plot, and general bad lighting give it a free seat on this list. The whole story, as it was shot and edited, just fails to deliver a comprehensible chain of events and leaves its audience with confusion that is aggravated by the deliberate surface-level stupidity of some characters and scenes.
One can never truly appreciate how amazingly and hilariously bad this movie is without having seen some high-profile gangster movies like Goodfellas, or The Godfather. Gotti perfectly delivers the exact opposite of the mysterious, engaging, and compelling quality of a genuinely good gangster movie. It’s just so bad it makes the audience defenseless against its charming ridiculousness.
4 Birdemic: Shock and Terror
Severin Films
For those brave adventurers on the hunt for the worst movie of all time, it would be foolish to overlook Birdemic: Shock and Terror. It’s to be expected that movies made by independent studios would not be given the funding and assets of a regular feature film; however, even with a pitifully small $10,000 budget, it manages to miss the mark on even the lowest of expectations.
Written and directed by filmmaker James Nguyen and released in 2010, the independent ‘romance/thriller’ film depicts a dystopian world where all humans are replaced by stiff wooden actors, and all birds are hysterically bad CGI creations fixated on the destruction of humankind. When you’re not busy admiring how pathetic the sound design and special effects are, you’ll be amazed by the poorly paced, agonizingly slow plot. With sloppy directing and equally bad acting, the only thing that could make the viewing experience better is to pop in Birdemic 2 and make it a double feature.
3 Fateful Findings
No bad movie list is complete without mentioning the works of Neil Breen, a filmmaker in a class of his own, who is beloved for his low-budget independent flicks that take themselves extremely seriously, even if the audience doesn’t. Released in 2013, Fateful Findings serves as the most notable example of his works, though remains in good company among his ever-growing list of lovably bad film ventures.
Breen gives himself the starring role in this sci-fi action thriller as a famous author turned expert hacker tapping into major government secrets, who is nonsensically one step ahead no matter what comes his way. A complicated plot filled with ridiculous twists, over-the-top acting, and hysterical sound design makes the movie a ‘so bad it’s good’ classic, and the more serious the film takes itself, the more enjoyable it gets.
2 Troll 2
A rare case in film where the sequel has more notoriety than the original, Troll 2 has become one of the go-to examples of the ‘so bad it’s good’ formula. Cementing itself as a must-see cult classic, this 1990 comedy/horror was never meant to be a sequel, but rather its own standalone venture known as Goblins.
American film distributing companies decided to brand it as the next entry in the pre-existing Troll franchise, despite the fact that no trolls are featured; rather, the creatures are referred to as goblins, and the film itself has zero connection to the original’splot. Michael Stephenson, who was a child actor during the production, went on to begin his own filmmaking career, and in 2009 released a comedy/documentary on the production of Troll 2, titled Best Worst Movie.
1 The Room
The kingpin of bad movies, there will never be another film quite like The Room, for better or for worse. Writer-director Tommy Wiseau has become beloved by audiences who’ve seen his distinctive accent and iconic line delivery, and he remains the mastermind behind what has been deemed the “Citizen Kane of bad movies.” There’s no shortage of quotable lines from this 2003 independent drama, all of which are instantly recognizable to so many casual movie viewers that many who haven’t even seen the film could recite them. Themes of infidelity, drug abuse, and even death are all poorly executed by a story that rivals that of a middle-school fan-fiction.
Actor James Franco’s 2017 film, The Disaster Artist is a biographical comedy/drama based on the fascinating production that went into The Room, and serves to demonstrate how even years later, fans still can’t stop finding new angles to look at the “disasterpiece”. Though it may not have been the first bad movie to be enjoyed for its immense shortcomings, it is no doubt the most famous example, and likely the one movie that pops in everyone’s head when they look back on the absolute best of the worst.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
