|
|
|
|
Films considered the worst ever
|
| |
|
| |
The films listed here have achieved a significant level of infamy through critical and popular assertion as being among the worst films ever made. The films have either been cited by a combination of reputable sources as the worst movie of the year, or been on such a source's list of the worst movies of all time. Examples of such sources include Roger Ebert's list of most hated films, Rotten Tomatoes, the Internet Movie Database's "Bottom 100" list, and the Golden Raspberry Awards ("Razzies").
ough B-movies are not generally presented or accepted as fine cinema in the first place, some of the films from this genre have become known for being markedly worse than others, sometimes being referred to as Z-movies.
Some B-movies have become cult classics, partly as a result of their peculiarities.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Films considered the worst ever' Start a new discussion about 'Films considered the worst ever' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
The films listed here have achieved a significant level of infamy through critical and popular assertion as being among the worst films ever made. The films have either been cited by a combination of reputable sources as the worst movie of the year, or been on such a source's list of the worst movies of all time. Examples of such sources include Roger Ebert's list of most hated films, Rotten Tomatoes, the Internet Movie Database's "Bottom 100" list, and the Golden Raspberry Awards ("Razzies").
Original films
B-movies
Although B-movies are not generally presented or accepted as fine cinema in the first place, some of the films from this genre have become known for being markedly worse than others, sometimes being referred to as Z-movies.
Some B-movies have become cult classics, partly as a result of their peculiarities. Fans of low-budget cult films often use the phrase "so bad it's good" to describe movies that are so poorly made that they become an entertaining "comedy of errors". Unlike more mundane bad films, these films develop an ardent fan following who love them because of their poor quality, because normally, the bevy of errors (technical or artistic) or wildly contrived plots are unlikely to be seen elsewhere.
Glen or Glenda (1953): A semi-autobiographical quasi-documentary about transvestism, starring and directed by Ed Wood. After a nightmarish dream sequence, Glen undergoes psychotherapy to help cure his affliction. Béla Lugosi appears in this film, as he did in several other Wood films toward the end of his career. Many of Wood's fans and critic Leonard Maltin insist that this was far worse than Plan 9 from Outer Space; Maltin considers it "possibly the worst movie ever made". In his book Cult Movies 3, Danny Peary suggests that this is actually a radical, if ineptly made, film that presents a far more personal story than is contained in films by more well-respected auteurs. This film was included in the 2004 DVD documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made.
Robot Monster (1953): A science fiction film, originally shot and exhibited in 3D, featuring an actor dressed in a gorilla suit and what looks almost like a diving helmet. The film, produced and directed by Phil Tucker, is listed in Michael Sauter's book The Worst Movies of All Time among "The Baddest of the B's." It is also featured in The Book of Lists 10 worst movie list, in The Fifty Worst Films of All Time, and in the 2004 DVD documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made. The Golden Turkey Awards confers its main character the title of "Most Ridiculous Monster in Screen History" and, listing its director Phil Tucker among the runners-up to "Worst Director of All Time" (the winner being Ed Wood), states that "What made Robot Monster ineffably worse than any other low-budget sci-fi epic was its bizarre artistic pretension". Noted film composer Elmer Bernstein wrote the score for this film. It was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 and was fondly remembered by author Stephen King who quotes, and agrees with, a review in Castle of Frankenstein magazine ("certainly among the finest terrible movies ever made", "one of the most laughable poverty row quickies").
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959): Ed Wood's Plan 9 was labeled the "Worst Film Ever" by The Golden Turkey Awards. But reception from professional critics was generally positive: the review site Rotten Tomatoes reported that 62% of critics gave the film positive reviews. This movie marked the final appearance of Béla Lugosi. Wood idolized Lugosi, and before Lugosi's death, he shot a small amount of test footage of Lugosi. This was then placed in the movie and repeated several times. Following Lugosi's death, the character was then played by Tom Mason, the chiropractor of Wood's wife at the time, who played his scenes holding the character's cape in front of his face. Wood was apparently undeterred by the numerous physical differencessuch as height and buildthat distinguished Mason from Lugosi; e.g., that Mason was nearly bald while Lugosi retained a full head of hair until his death. Years later, video distributors such as Avenue One DVD began to make light of this, adding such blurbs as "Almost Starring Bela Lugosi" to the cover art. Due to difficulty in finding a willing distributor, the film was not released until 1959. It has played at the New Orleans Worst Film Festival and was included in the 2004 DVD documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made. Plan 9 was also mocked on the television series Seinfeld by Jerry in the episode "The Chinese Restaurant," in which he said, "This isn't like plans one through eight. This is plan nine, the one that worked! The worst movie ever made!"
- In 1994, Tim Burton directed Ed Wood, which included some material about the trials and tribulations of making Plan 9. In the television series The X-Files, Fox Mulder watches Plan 9 whenever he needs to focus on a difficult problem, claiming that the film is so incredibly bad that it shuts down the logic centers of his brain, allowing him to make intuitive leaps of logic. He has seen the movie 42 times. In the 1996 edition of Cult Flicks and Trash Pics, the authors state that, "The film has become so famous for its own badness that it's now beyond criticism."
The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961): A film by Coleman Francis shot silently with added narration. It features a seminude prologue (which implies necrophilia) completely unrelated to the rest of the film, and a scientist turning into a monster played by Tor Johnson. Leonard Maltin's TV and Movie Guide calls it "one of the worst films ever made". Bill Warren said "It may very well be the worst non-porno science fiction movie ever made." It was also featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964): This holiday staple was the creation of Nicholas Webster. When Martian children get to see Santa Claus only on TV, their parents decide to abduct Santa to make them happy. Like many others in this category, it has been featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000 and is also included in the IMDb's worst 100. Also cited on a 10-worst list in The Book of Lists, in The Fifty Worst Films of All Time, and in the 2004 DVD documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made.
Monster A Go-Go (1965): A Herschell Gordon Lewis film, Monster was begun as Terror at Halfday by Bill Rebane, who would later go on to make The Giant Spider Invasion; the film was left incomplete, only to be purchased by Lewis, who reportedly needed a second film to release on a double bill, and who shot some additional footage. The picture consists mostly of men sitting around drinking coffee and talking; the ending consists of a long speech by the narrator informing us that "there was no monster." All Movie Guide calls the film a "surreal anti-masterpiece". At one time it held the #1 spot on the IMDb Bottom 100. It was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 and is officaly the worst movie they have ever seen.
Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966): A low-budget horror film made by El Paso fertilizer salesman Hal P. Warren, about a family on vacation that stumbles upon an isolated house inhabited by a polygamous cult. Among its most notorious flaws, besides poor production qualities, is an opening sequence with little dialogue in which the family drives through the countryside for several minutes looking for their hotel. Also, a teenage couple is seen making out for no apparent reason nor with any connection with the plot. John Reynolds, who played the character Torgo, supposedly a satyr, wore a rigging for his legs that made his performance extremely awkward. The film gained cult popularity by being featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000. It has held the #1 spot on the IMDb Bottom 100 repeatedly. It also has a 9% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and the one positive review linked on Rotten Tomatoes is for its Mystery Science Theater appearance rather than the film itself (which the reviewer, Mike Bracken, calls "unwatchable").
Troll 2 (1990): Not only one of the "least scary horror movies ever", according to Yahoo! Movies, but "by pretty much any measure... one of the worst films ever made". A movie in which vegetarian goblins try to trick a family into turning into plants so they can devour them. Despite its title, no trolls ever appear in or mentioned in the movie (it was titled to capitalize on the success of Troll, itself a very poorly-received film). Director Claudio Fragasso removed his name from the movie, instead using the pseudonym Drago Floyd. Despite the script being written in awkward language (Fragasso, along with most of the crew, were Italian and spoke English only as a second language), Fragasso insisted the American actors deliver the lines as written. The goblins in the movie are midgets wearing burlap sacks and latex masks. Campy acting, confusing plot twists, and unintentional homosexual innuendos have contributed to give the movie a cult status comparable to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The movie's child star, Michael Stephenson, is working on a documentary about the movie titled "Best Worst Movie."
Poorly executed adaptation
Many directors adapt a book, play, game or story from another medium into a film, with varying results.
Howard the Duck (1986): Howard the Duck was loosely based on the Marvel Comics character created by Steve Gerber and starring Lea Thompson, a young Tim Robbins, and Jeffrey Jones. The film retains only two central characters: the eponymous duck and Beverly Switzler, and goes to no effort to make them look or behave similarly to their counterparts from the comics. Executive producer George Lucas disowned it shortly after its release. In his Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin calls the film a "hopeless mess of a movie". The film was also among Siskel and Ebert's picks for the "Worst Films of 1986". The film was adapted by Willard Huyck and his wife Gloria Katz and directed by Huyck, with no input from Gerber, who "was hoping against hope that the script and the movie itself weren't as bad as I thought they were. Or at least, that they wouldn't be received as badly as I thought they would," citing that many films he hated were at least successful. Huyck and Katz were once considered "luminaries", but have not made a film since. The film was so bad it was soon dubbed "Howard the Turkey". The film won four Razzies - Worst Picture, New Star, Visual Effects, and Screenplay.
Catwoman (2004): Based on the DC Comics character and starring Halle Berry, the film retains next to nothing of the Batman antagonist and the source material. In the movie, Catwoman has actual superpowers, which she lacks in the comics. The lycra catsuit was replaced with slashed leather pants, a bra, and a mask-cap, and she leaps from rooftop to rooftop in stiletto heels. As the movie character differs so widely from her comic source, the character has been cited as "Catwoman In Name Only". It has a 9% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, and was declared "arguably the worst superhero film ever made" by the Orlando Sentinel. The Village Voice summed up reviews of the film under the title "Me-Ouch." It is the winner of four Razzies for Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Director (Pitof), and Worst Screenplay. Berry arrived at the ceremony to accept her Razzie in person (with her Best Actress Oscar for Monster's Ball in hand), saying:"First of all, I want to thank Warner Brothers. Thank you for putting me in a piece of shit, god-awful movie . . . It was just what my career needed."
Alone in the Dark (2005): Based on the popular survival horror video game series Alone in the Dark, specifically Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare; starring Christian Slater, Tara Reid and directed by Uwe Boll (who became infamous for directing poorly received movies adapted from games, like the equally panned House of the Dead, BloodRayne and Postal); Rottentomatoes.com ranked the film a score of 1% as of January 2009 and lists it as the 2nd worst reviewed movie of all time. At Metacritic, it was a score of 9%. On IMDB; it has a rating of 2.2 and presently ranks 77th place in the bottom 100. In a review of Alone in the Dark, Rob Vaux states that the movie makes other "bad" movie directors feel better in comparison: "'It's okay,' they'll tell themselves, 'I didn't make Alone in the Dark.'" Another reviewer wrote that Alone in the Dark was "so poorly built, so horribly acted and so sloppily stitched together that it's not even at the straight-to-DVD level." Common criticisms of the film include an incoherent plot, excessive gunplay, poor camerawork and special effects during fight scenes, a poorly executed sex scene, an ending which directly contradicts plot points previously established in the movie, and the casting of Tara Reid as an archaeologist. The film received two 2005 Razzie Award nominations; Worst Director (Uwe Boll) and Worst Actress (Tara Reid).
Star vehicles
Some films listed here starred A-list actors who critics felt were either badly miscast, paired or grouped with other stars with whom they did not share viable chemistry, or cast in an otherwise poorly made film that relied entirely on their star power.
The Conqueror (1956): A Howard Hughes-funded box-office bomb featuring John Wayne as Genghis Khan and the redheaded Susan Hayward as a Tatar princess. The movie was filmed near St. George, Utah, downwind from a nuclear testing range in Nevada and is often blamed for the cancer deaths of many of the cast and crew, including Hayward, Wayne, Agnes Moorehead, Mexican actor Pedro Armendáriz, and director Dick Powell (although according to an A&E Network Biography episode, Wayne also typically smoked five packs of cigarettes a day). The film appears in Michael Sauter's book The Worst Movies of All Time and made the 10-worst list in The Book of Lists. Hughes thought the movie was so bad that he bought up every copy (which cost him about $12 million), and he refused to distribute the film until 1974, when Paramount reached a deal with him. This would be the last film that Hughes would produce.
Heaven's Gate (1980): The cast included Isabelle Huppert and Kris Kristofferson, in addition to Christopher Walken, Jeff Bridges, Willem Dafoe, John Hurt, Mickey Rourke, and Sam Waterston among others. It was directed by Michael Cimino, who had won an Academy Award for directing Deer Hunter (1978), a film that had also won four other Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In contrast, Heaven's Gate was nominated for five Golden Raspberry Awards - with Cimino winning for director - as well as an Academy Awards for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration by Tambi Larsen and James L. Berkey. The film received such a poor showing at the Toronto Film Festival that the cast and director were escorted away to avoid harm. The film grossed slightly less than $3.5 million in the United States of its more than $40 million budget, and contributed to the end of United Artists as an independent studio. Cimino's career did not recover. The movie's title has become a synonym for total disaster; when the 1995 Kevin Costner film Waterworld overran its filming schedule and went over-budget it was often described as "Kevin's Gate" by the press, in homage to Cimino's film.
Inchon (1982): Although the movie had a cast of prominent stars, including Laurence Olivier (during the twilight of his film career, in which he had taken many critically panned roles. This was due to Olivier's failing health, meaning he could no longer act on stage, and so only films were left), this war epic "won" four Razzies: Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Olivier), Worst Director (Terence Young), and Worst Screenplay. It was named Worst Movie of the Year by Esquire. This movie was also criticized for being financed and produced by the Unification Church, and UC head Sun Myung Moon was a "special advisor" to the film. It has never been released on video or DVD.
An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1998): Sort of a self-parody, this movie portrays the making of a movie considered extremely horrendous by its director (Eric Idle). Since his name is Alan Smithee, he can't put that name in the credits, and he destroys all copies of the movie. Also starring Jackie Chan, Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg, Oscar-nominated actors Ryan O'Neal and Sylvester Stallone, this film was widely panned by critics upon its release. It won five Razzies, including Worst Picture. With an estimated budget of $10 million, Burn Hollywood Burn only grossed approximately $45,000, making it a tremendous box office flop. Roger Ebert gave the film a zero out of four stars, calling it a "spectacularly bad film — incompetent, unfunny, ill-conceived, badly executed, lamely written, and acted by people who look trapped in the headlights." It is also on his "most hated" list. In the documentary Directed by Alan Smithee, director Arthur Hiller stated he had his credit replaced with the pseudonym Alan Smithee because he was so appalled with the botched final cut by the film's producers.
Battlefield Earth (2000): Based on the first half of L. Ron Hubbard's thousand-page novel of the same name, starring John Travolta, Forest Whitaker and Barry Pepper, this film had the third worst 3,000-plus-theater opening weekend up to that time. It was criticized for its poor script, hammy acting by Travolta, overuse of tilted camera angles, laughable dialogue and several plot inconsistencies. More than one reviewer called the film "Travolting". Rob Vaux called the film a "crime against celluloid". Roger Ebert predicted that the film "for decades to come will be the punch line of jokes about bad movies." It has a three percent Rotten Tomatoes rating (listing 3 positive reviews out of 96). The film won seven Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture and Worst Screen Couple (John Travolta and "anyone on the screen with him"). In 2005, an eighth Razzie (for Worst "Drama" of Our First 25 Years) was awarded to the film. Maxim magazine printed, "Even Quentin Tarantino couldn't revive Travolta's career after this movie."
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002): This action movie, starring Lucy Liu and Antonio Banderas, was universally panned by critics, earning a rare zero percent rating (with 103 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes, where it remains as the worst critically reviewed film on the site. Critics variously described the film as "A picture for idiots", "Boring to an amazing degree", "A fine achievement in stupidity and dullness", "Dreadful", "Gives new meaning to the word incoherent", and "the film is bad on just about every level". One critic even called it "Simplistic: Bullets Vs. Humans." Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post wrote, "You could run this film backward, soundtrack included, and it would make no less sense."
Gigli (2003): A Martin Brest movie featuring Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, with appearances by Al Pacino and Christopher Walken, that was declared by many to be the worst movie of 2003. Originally a black comedy with no romantic subplot, the producers demanded script rewrites throughout filming, hoping to cash in on the Lopez-Affleck romance that was big news in celebrity-watching publications of the time such as Us and People. This film only grossed $6 million, making it one of the biggest box office bombs of all time. Many especially avoided it because they thought it was just a vehicle for the Lopez-Affleck relationship. Some reviewers dubbed the film "The ultimate turkey of all time" — perhaps aptly, considering one notorious scene in the film involved Lopez's character's sex talk to Affleck's character as she invited him to perform oral sex on her: "It's turkey time." "What?" "Gobble, gobble." Winner of seven Razzies (including 2005's Worst "Comedy" of Our First 25 Years).
Bad crossover
Sometimes stars in other fields, such as music, will attempt to parlay their existing fame into a movie career. If this works well enough the star can have a dual career in both fields, or move on exclusively to a film career. Other times, this turns out to have been a mistake and they often stop after the first try.
From Justin to Kelly (2003): American Idol finalists Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini starred in this movie musical. It stayed in theaters for only two weeks before being released to stores on DVD six weeks later. The film was rushed into production to capitalize on the popularity of the TV series American Idol. When asked about why she did the film, Clarkson told Time Magazine, "Two words: Contractually obligated!" On Metacritic.com, it has a score of 14/100 points; Rotten Tomatoes lists only 5 positive reviews out of 57 in total. As of December 2008, it is in the number 25 position in the IMDb bottom 100 with a score of 1.7 out of 10. The film was awarded a special Razzie (for Worst "Musical" of Our First 25 Years) in 2005; however, it was also nominated for four Teen Choice Awards. Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote, "for the panting masses of American Idol fans who imagine winning and going to live happily ever after in Lotusland, the message couldn't be clearer. You, too, might one day end up starring in the motion picture equivalent of Cheez Whiz."
Bad comedy
Some comedic films fail because they are simply not funny to a wide enough audience. Many bad comedies include a series of dry, tepid jokes and overused comical events; these mostly fail due to poor or rushed writing or acting, or because they just "try too hard". Other movies fail because of an attempt by a comedic actor to try something different or a non-comedic actor to attempt comedy. Another reason may be a misunderstanding of the place of bad taste in comedy; although bad taste may be funny if comedic elements exist, bad taste is not by definition funny.
Leonard Part 6 (1987): Writer and star Bill Cosby appeared on various talk shows denouncing the movie and warning people against wasting their time or money on it. Scott Weinberg at DVD Talk said, "Movies this bad should be handled with Teflon gloves and a pair of tongs." It won three Razzies for Worst Picture, Worst Actor, and Worst Screenplay. Cosby accepted the awards in person, on the condition that they be made from 24-karat (99.999%) gold and Italian marble. This film was also one of Cosby's last forays into feature films before his semi-retirement from the silver screen. He followed the film up with Ghost Dad, which also received extremely negative reviews.
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992): A comedy starring Sylvester Stallone along with Golden Girls star Estelle Getty, about a cop whose elderly mother meddles in his life, to the point of going on raids and chases with him. The film won three Razzies: one each for Stallone and Getty, as well as for Worst Screenplay. It also has a 6% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. In a 2006 interview with Ain't It Cool News, Stallone himself referred to it as "maybe one of the worst films in the entire solar system, including alien productions we’ve never seen", that "a flatworm could write a better script", and "in some countries – China, I believe – running [the movie] once a week on government television has lowered the birth rate to zero. If they ran it twice a week, I believe in twenty years China would be extinct."
Freddy Got Fingered (2001): A comedy film directed by, written, and starring Tom Green. CNN's Paul Clinton called it "quite simply the worst movie ever released by a major studio in Hollywood history" and listed the running time as "86 awful minutes." The film was nominated for 8 awards at the 2001 Razzies, and won for Worst Picture, Worst Actor, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, and Worst On-Screen Couple. Tom Green accepted his awards in person, directing to the other nominees in attendance during his acceptance speech that "I don't think that I deserve it any more than the rest of you. I'd like to say that; I don't think that it would be true, though." Roger Ebert gave the film a rating of 0/5 stars, commenting that "This movie doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence with barrels" and also commenting that a day may come where Freddy Got Fingered becomes a milestone for neo-surrealism, but one will never become one for being funny. However, Ebert amended his critiques in his review of Stealing Harvard:
The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002): The Eddie Murphy vehicle endured numerous script revisions and languished for two years after filming was completed, until its release in August 2002. The movie cost $110 million to make and market, but earned just $7.1 million worldwide. A majority of critics lambasted the awful acting, terrible dialogue, and lack of humor. It was nominated for five Razzies: Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Murphy, who was also nominated for I Spy and Showtime), Worst Screenplay, Worst Screen Couple (Eddie Murphy with Owen Wilson in I Spy, Robert De Niro in Showtime, and himself cloned in Pluto Nash), and Worst Director (Ron Underwood). Murphy did not promote the film upon its release. Pluto Nash has a 6% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Entertainment Weekly called 2002 Eddie Murphy's "annus horribilis" (a play on the term "annus mirabilis") due to the critical and commercial disaster of his three films released that year. In an episode of Robot Chicken, the staff of the company behind the film commit mass-suicide because of the film's poor box office showing.
Exploitation
Filmmakers sometimes try to overuse content considered taboo or shocking by the general populace as a means to draw in curious film-goers (see shock value). When executed poorly, this method can backfire. These films are commonly cult classics, however, as the overdone scenes of nudity, death, violence, and gore are often so poorly executed that they become more humorous than shocking.
Myra Breckinridge (1970): The 1970 film based on the book of the same name by Gore Vidal and starring Raquel Welch, Mae West, and Farrah Fawcett provoked controversy due to scenes that seemed a bit questionable for the time period. It also started with an X rating but then had to be cut down to an R. Some stars from the 1940s and 1950s were also shocked to see footage from their films seen as sexual in-jokes, even some, like Loretta Young, suing them to remove the footage. There were also conflicts between Raquel Welch and Mae West on the set. Critics have panned the film, with Time Magazine saying "Myra Breckinridge is about as funny as a child molester. It is an insult to intelligence, an affront to sensibility and an abomination to the eye." Gore Vidal blamed the movie for a decade-long drought in the sale of the original book.
Cattive ragazze (1992): An Italian film written and directed by Marina Ripa di Meana, notorious for its controversial use of public funds. Critic Paolo Mereghetti, describing the dialogue as "vulgar and idiotic" and the acting as "much worse" and saying that this film "may be of use only to understand what cinema is not", wrote of it: "It may compete as the worst film in cinema history. And win".
Showgirls (1995): A large amount of hype was put behind promoting the sex and nudity in this NC-17 film, but the results were critically derided. Most of the hype revolved around the film's star, Elizabeth Berkley, who only two years before had been one of the stars of the teenage sitcom Saved by the Bell (in which she played a young feminist). The film won seven of the thirteen Razzie Awards for which it was nominated. It almost ruined the career of the writer, Joe Eszterhas, who has had difficulty living down the embarrassment. The film, however, has garnered a cult following over the years. The edited R-rated version removes much of the gratuitous nudity and replaces it with story elements which attempt to make the plot understandable. TBS broadcast the film on television in their prime time schedule, but added digitally animated solid black underwear to hide breasts and genitalia. It is now regularly broadcast by VH1 as part of their Movies That Rock series.
Sequels, prequels, remakes, and clones
Often, an attempt is made to capitalize on the popularity of a successful film by making a sequel (or prequel), writing a new script loosely based on the ideas of the old one, or if the film is old enough, remaking the movie altogether. Sometimes these films do not live up to their predecessor. Some factors resulting in poor performance are:
- different continuity which makes a film a sequel in name only
- budgetary constraints
- the film may not feature the stars associated with the original
- the film may not be made by the same producers, directors, writers and editors
- the target audience's lack of interest in furthering the story of the predecessor
- declining actors attempting to reprise roles from the height of their career for which they are no longer suited
- a perceived attempt to capitalize on a popular concept with little or no original material
- the original was poorly received in the first place
While they are usually considered inferior to the original, others end up being poorly done movies in and of themselves and sometimes taint the film they were meant to emulate or continue.
Comedy sequels
Caddyshack II (1988): The sequel to the critically acclaimed 1980 comedy Caddyshack received two Razzies for Worst Original Song and Worst Supporting Actor (Dan Aykroyd). It holds a 0% from 8 critics at Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of 3.4 out of 10 on IMDb, as of January, 2009. The film was also listed on ESPN Page 2's "Worst Sports Movies Ever" at number 4, in contrast to the original Caddyshack being listed at number 8 on the "Top 20 [Best] Sports Movies of All-Time". Caddyshack II continues to appear on numerous "worst movies ever" and "worst sequels" lists including a number 2 spot on the Entertainment Weekly list of Worst Sequels Ever.
Superhero, science fiction, and fantasy movies
Batman and Robin (1997)
- Based on the DC Comics series, this film has been criticized due to a weak script, campy performances, and a ridiculous plot. Another source of annoyance to viewers was the portrayal of Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger), whose performance included numerous "ice" puns. Although somewhat financially successful (it made $107 million domestically), the unpopularity of this film brought Warner Bros.'s billion dollar Batman franchise to a halt, changed plans to release a second animated film theatrically to direct-to-video, and canceled plans for a fifth film in the series. Not until 2005 was a new Batman movie made, Batman Begins, which was a complete reboot of the franchise that ignored the four previous films. George Clooney said that he would personally refund anyone who saw the film. He often apologizes for the movie in interviews, and joked on David Letterman's Late Show that Arnold Schwarzenegger "helped me ruin the Batman franchise." In an article for MSN Movies, David Fear called it the "worst superhero film", and Maxim goes a step further by declaring it the worst movie ever made.
Other
Staying Alive (1983): The sequel to Saturday Night Fever, directed by Sylvester Stallone and starred John Travolta. Panned by critics despite bringing in $68 million at the box office, the film was ranked the Worst Sequel Ever by Entertainment Weekly and it has a 0% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. The film is also listed on Roger Ebert's Most Hated list.
Jaws: The Revenge (1987): The fourth film in the Jaws series ignores the events of the more successful but widely panned Jaws 3-D, and uses a plot involving a Great White shark seemingly plotting to murder the surviving members of the Brody family after recurring character and youngest son Sean Brody is killed by a shark. The shark appears to have a psychic bond with matriarch Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gary), as it is able to track down family members, even following Ellen from Amity to the Bahamas. At the end, the shark is heard to roar repeatedly as it receives electric shocks (which is biologically impossible) before being struck by the broken bowsprit of a sailboat driven by Ellen and either being impaled or exploding depending on which ending is used. In the 'explosion' ending, marine biologist Jake (Mario Van Peebles) survives his seemingly-fatal attack by the shark minutes earlier, appearing on the water surface, bloodied but alive. Viewers can also notice the very obvious "ocean" shots in the final scenes are inter-cut between the real ocean and ones shot on a back lot water tank. In several scenes you can clearly see the water splashing against a painted canvas backdrop. Michael Caine missed attending the Oscars that year to receive his first Best Supporting Actor award in order to keep the film on schedule. A studio test screening in Houston brought in an unprecedented low score of 3% "excellent," which the studio promptly spun to The Hollywood Reporter as an amazing audience response of 97% (they didn't mention that 97% of the audience hated it). It has a 0% rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Audience polls
Certain sites attempt to gauge the opinion of their audience regarding the worst film ever via voluntary poll. However, since respondents tend to be self-selected, these polls are not scientifically rigorous and should not be considered definitive. Additionally, these polls tend to fluctuate wildly in reaction to recent films and are much less stable than lists of best movies.
According to the Internet Movie Database's polls, as of March 06, 2009, the top ten worst rated movies are:
Everyone's a Critic (EaC) utilizes a collaborative filtering algorithm to obtain film recommendations from people who share similar tastes in film. According to the EaC poll, as of December 19, 2008, the top ten worst rated movies are:
- Battlefield Earth (2000)
- House of the Dead (2003)
- Spice World (1997)
- Alone in the Dark (2005)
- Catwoman (2004)
- From Justin to Kelly (2003)
- Baby Geniuses (1999)
- Son of the Mask (2005)
- Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)
- Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)
Note: These lists update regularly.
Rotten Tomatoes' list of the worst-reviewed movies of all-time
Rotten Tomatoes has the advantage over audience polls of gauging the reaction of critics, who, in addition to being (presumably) more qualified than most audience members, also typically have to watch and review a wide cross-section of movies, thus giving a broader sample.
As of September 23, 2008, Rotten Tomatoes' list of the ten worst-reviewed movies of all time is:
- Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002)
- Alone in the Dark (2005)
- Crossover (2006)
- Pinocchio (2002)
- King's Ransom (2005)
- SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)
- National Lampoon's Gold Diggers (2003)
- Twisted (2004)
- The Master of Disguise (2002)
- Half Past Dead (2002)
Metacritics list of the worst-reviewed movies of all-time
Metacritic is somewhat similar to Rotten Tomatoes, but the scoring results sometimes vary drastically, depending on which reviews are tallied. For instance, Rotten Tomatoes gives an overall unfavorable rating to Kenneth Branagh's film version of As You Like It by quoting mostly British critics, who reportedly have strongly disliked Branagh's Shakespeare films. Metacritic on the other hand, tallies its score largely from American reviews of the film, which have been largely very favorable.
See also
External links
|
| |
|
|
