The most memorable movies are often some of the best.The Wizard of Oz,Citizen Kane,The Godfather,Jaws,Star Wars,Raiders of the Lost Ark, and so many more areclassic films that have stood the test of timeand are still famously known to this day. Some movies that are being released today will one day be mentioned in the same breath as these memorable films, but only time will tell which ones will be remembered.
Any film creator’s dream is to find themselves among the company of iconic movies like these and to go down in history as one of the best movies in film, but that only happens very rarely, especially with the sheer amount of movie productions being made on any given day. And while everyone wants their movie to be remembered for being one of the best, some films go down in history for the exact opposite reason.
Whether it’s from a poor acting performance, bad writing, terrible production, or even horrible special effects, many films end up being remembered not for how good they are, but rather for how bad they are. Films like these go down in infamy and stand the test of time as an example of what not to do when it comes to making a movie. But hey, it’s better to be remembered for something rather than to not be remembered at all, right? Here are fifteen movies that are only famous simply because of how bad they are.
Updated July 2023: If you love movies that are famous for being bad, you’re in luck. This article has been updated with additional content and entries bySean Shuman.
15Foodfight!
The existence ofFoodfight!is baffling, to say the least. Originally meant to release in 2003, numerous production delays, changes in direction, and even an incident of stolen footage would delay the film’s release until 2012, wherein it was unabashedly rushed out the door as fast as possible. Sharing some similarities toSausage Party,Foodfight!follows a group of supermarket mascots in the world of “Marketopolis,” with the arrival of Brand X threatening their peaceful existence.
Foodfight!is a bizarre anomaly. Its existence as a film was only secured due to legal and financial obligations, and the minimum of 45 million dollars that went into its budget is nowhere to be seen. It’s a complete and total fever dream of a film that, somehow, roped in the likes of Charlie Sheen, Eva Longoria, Christopher Lloyd, Hilary Duff, and Ed Asner in a surprisingly star-studded cast.
14Samurai Cop
Samurai Cop’sinfamy is more so to its benefit than its detriment, gaining a resurgence of popularity in recent years. This early'90s action flicksees the Japanese mob embedding itself into Los Angeles' criminal underworld, with only one man able to stop them: Joe Marshall, the titular sword-wielding officer.
Directed by Amir Shervan, who was also responsible forHollywood CopandKilling American Style,Samurai Copis infamous for its ludicrous premise, unintentionally hilarious moments, and a general sense of ineptitude throughout all aspects of its production. If you ever do decide to watchSamurai Cop, there’s a fun game you can play: count all the scenes where our protagonist is obviously wearing a wig, due to the film’s scatterbrained filming schedule.
13Cats (2019)
Catsis remembered for one thing:awful visual effects. But while the constant derision ofCats' effects by both viewers and its own cast would make the harsh conditions of the VFX industry more apparent, the surrounding film itself isn’t all that great either. As an adaptation of the titular stage play by Andrew Lloyd Webber, we follow a group of humanoid cats that put on an annual competition for a chance at a new life. James Corden, Idris Elba, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, and more lend their voices and likenesses to the cast, which are rendered with awkward 3D animation.
Directed by Tom Hooper (Les Misérables,The King’s Speech),Catsis a movie whose praise is as rare as a needle in a haystack. While its adherence to the source material is something worth acknowledging, just about every creative decision made in translating it to the big screen ultimately doesn’t work in its favor.
12Birdemic: Shock and Terror
Birdemic: Shock and Terrorfeels like a modest precursor toSharknado, only much less watchable. Directed by James Nguyen,Birdemicis a self-financed thriller inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’sThe Birdsand Davis Guggenheim’sAn Inconvenient Truth. As a romance blossoms in a Californian town, a swarm of birds starts wreaking havoc all over the country. Our lovers find themselves fleeing from their home, desperate for a way to cease the violent avian invasion.
As compelling a combination as climate awareness and killer birds could be,Birdemic, unfortunately, suffers from all the typical staples of a bad movie: wooden performances, sloppy editing, atrocious effects, and pacing comparable to that of a glacier. Multiple shots even feature people going about their everyday business in the background while the apocalypse is unfolding. While it would receive two sequels, the originalBirdemicremains a prime of example of what not to do while making a movie.
11Battlefield Earth
Starring John Travolta and Forest Whitaker,Battlefield Earthis certainly an intriguing entry in either actor’s lengthy filmography. A passion project for Travolta,Battlefield Earthsees a distant-future Earth taken over and harvested by the Psychlos, agroup of greedy aliens in search of eternal profits. What’s left of humanity is led by Tyler (Barry Pepper), as an underground rebellion forms to save humanity from Earth’s eventual destruction.
Ignoring its controversial ties to Scientology,Battlefield Earthhas plenty of style, but very little substance. More specifically, it has an abundance of “Dutch angles” — tilted camera shots that are meant to convey a sense of tension or uneasiness. Unfortunately, the effect is lost when almost every single shot in the film is a Dutch angle. No, that’s not an exaggeration. Combine that with bizarre editing choices and hilarious over-acting, and the end result is one of the most infamous science-fiction films ever made.
When your film is intended to glorify one of the most notorious and infamous crime bosses in American history, you’re already getting off on the wrong foot. And when the Teflon Don, John Gotti Sr., is portrayed by John Travolta in one of the most over-the-top performances that you may see on the big screen, 2018’sGottiflopped unbelievably hard. Plus, Travolta’s performance wasn’t helped by the ridiculous wigs and makeup that he’s seen wearing throughout the entirety of the film.
So, with a hard-to-watch leading performance around a crime boss that probably shouldn’t have even gotten his own movie, the film is made even worse by the fact that the score was composed by none other than Armando Christian Perez, more commonly known as Pitbull, Mr. 305. Overall,Gottiwas a mess of a production that probably would have been better off never seeing the light of day. Why would viewers want to watch this when there are much better mob films out there anyway?
Considered by many viewers as one of the best bad movies ever made,Troll 2has literally nothing to do with the firstTrollfilm.Troll 2doesn’t even have trolls in it, as the creators of the film decided to go with goblins instead. The film is so bad, in fact, that it completely overshadows the original film simply by being one of the worst film productions of all time. To make matters worse, the film was created by an Italian screenwriter while the film was intended for an American cast while the screenwriter was still trying to learn English, resulting in terrible dialogue.
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Combine the language barrier with the fact that the director’s wife hada vendetta against vegetarians, and you get a film that surrounds not man-eating goblins, but goblins who turn people into shrubbery and then eat them. Plus, on top of all of that, the effects and costumes didn’t do the film any favors either, making it look even cheaper than it actually was.Troll 2really was the perfect storm for creating one of the worst movies ever.
8Plan 9 from Outer Space
Coming in as the oldest film on this listPlan 9 from Outer Spaceis a disaster of a film from the mind of Ed Woods. Sure, the history of movies have come a long way since this film was released, and it’s certainly not looked back on as horribly as it was in the past, but that doesn’t excuse the film from the litany of flaws and issues surrounding the film.
First and foremost, the effects of the film are laughably bad, even for a film that was released in the 1950s. And secondly, the poorly written dialogue and narration along with sound equipment that you can clearly see makes the film feel truly amateur. However, with the film being as old as it is,Plan 9 from Outer Spacecan actually be looked back on quite fondly and is a good watch if you’re looking for a bad movie to make you laugh.
7The Wicker Man (2006)
A remake of the 1973 film of the same name,The Wicker Manis intended to be a horror film but is taken off the rails by Nicolas Cage’s wild performance. While Cage’s role as an undercover cop who has made his way into a pagan community in search of a missing girl is certainly over the top, it actually helps the film to be much more memorable than it really should be. In fact, many viewers consider the film to actually be funny, which is clearly not the intention of the film.
When a film that’s intended to be a horror film about neo-paganism turns out to be hilarious for all the wrong reasons, someone clearly messed up along the way. Regardless of the quality of the film, however,The Wicker Mancan still definitely be enjoyed simplyfor Nicolas Cage’s screaming about bees.
6Showgirls
The only NC-17 film in history to be given a wide theatrical release,Showgirls’sgratuitous sex scenes, poor acting, and questionable dance numbers all contribute to why many viewers call it one of the worst films ever released. Director Paul Verhoeven didn’t do the film any favors either, as the directing was seriously criticized as well.
As time has gone on and the film has reached cult classic status with some fans, some critics have called for a re-evaluation of the film, claiming that it actually has some smart satire in it. Regardless of what some critics think of the film now,Showgirlswas a box office bomb that was overall just really, really dumb.
