10 incredible movies with an awful Rotten Tomatoes rating
Back in the 20th century, it was a lot trickier to determine quite how good or bad a movie truly was. Sure, there were critics, like the legendary American writer Roger Ebert and in-house newspaper film journalists, but word of mouth was the greatest seller of movie tickets. Monumental projects such as George Lucas’ Star Wars trilogy, William Friedkin’s terrifying Exorcist and Steven Spielberg’s iconic Jaws thrived from the buzz.
However, word of mouth doesn’t really work in a world where digital media rules the roost. Therefore much of film discourse has moved online, where the movie aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes collates scores from hundreds of critics and writers to create an average total score. Here, nuanced criticism is boiled down to the quality of a digital fruit, with a bright red tomato indicating a ‘fresh’ movie score which gets over 60% positive reviews and a green splat indicating a film which receives anything lower.
This rating system can often skew the perception of a movie, with progressive middling flicks looking like the best film of all time when they earned 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, only to see that most critics gave the film three out of five when you look a little closer. Truthfully, getting 100% on Rotten Tomatoes means little, especially considering that many ambitious movies are unapologetically polarising.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, countless incredible movies don’t deserve the rotten score that the website has given them. So, let’s shed some light on the poor green splats.
10 incredible movies with an awful Rotten Tomatoes rating:
8MM (Joel Schumacher, 1999) – 23%
A mixture of the Batman and Robin director Joel Schumacher and famous B-movie-lover Nicolas Cage isn’t exactly a partnership forged in cinematic heaven, but their 1999 movie 8MM surprised fans across the world. Telling the story of Tom Welles, a private investigator who is hired to discover if a ‘snuff film’ is authentic or not, Cage gives an impressive performance as the protagonist, helping to elevate this effective drama.
Starring alongside Cage is the likes of Joaquin Phoenix, Peter Stormare and James Gandolfini, who each do enough to elevate the movie into the ‘fresh’ Rotten Tomatoes territory.
Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009) – 54%
Sure, Antichrist from the Danish provocateur Lars von Trier isn’t the easiest to watch, but by no means is it a bad movie. Notorious across the world of arthouse filmmaking, the film is a sinister poem to the brutal horrors of nature, spiked with gory, shocking imagery. Starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, the film follows a grieving couple who retreat to a cabin in the woods to repair their troubled marriage, only for the power of nature to take hold.
With brutal imagery and harsh violence, we’re not exactly surprised that the film is so hated, but if you can look past the gore, von Trier’s film is layered with greatness.
Event Horizon (Paul W.S. Anderson, 1997) – 31%
Never to be confused with Paul Thomas Anderson, Paul W.S. Anderson differs significantly in quality, being responsible for the likes of Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil, not Boogie Nights and Phantom Thread. His 1997 film Event Horizon is undoubtedly his greatest to date, telling the story of a rescue crew who are sent out to discover what happened to a starship that disappeared many years ago.
Questioning the horrors of the wider universe, Paul W. S. Anderson uses violent imagery and ethereal science fiction moments to create a genuine sense of unease in this fan-favourite.
Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas (Terry Gilliam, 1998) – 49%
An iconic movie of 1990s pop culture, Terry Gilliam’s Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas would quickly become a counter-cultural classic thanks to lead performances from Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro and Tobey Maguire. Based on the book by Hunter S. Thompson, Depp stars as Raoul Duke, a strange journalist and his psychopathic lawyer who travel to Las Vegas for a psychedelic journey of debauchery and madness.
The perfect movie for the Monty Python director to take on, Gilliam’s eccentricity helped the film thrive, being worth far more than just 49% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Gummo (Harmony Korine, 1997) – 38%
It would be foolish not to acknowledge that Harmony Korine simply isn’t for everyone. Still, his peculiar 1997 classic is worthy of much more love than its paltry 38% on the aggregator website. Telling an experimental tale of a rural American tale that a hurricane has ravaged, Korine explores the landscape like a documentarian, capturing life in a corner of the country that goes untouched and disregarded.
Exploring the absurdity of modern living among much more, Korine’s ‘90s movie should be considered a staple of American independent cinema and not as a green splat on a website.
Hook (Steven Spielberg, 1991) – 29%
The iconic American filmmaker Steven Spielberg enjoyed success in the back half of the 20th century, being something of a sagacious figure in the industry throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Further triumph would come in the 1990s in the shape of Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, but things didn’t get off to the best start, with 1991s Hook proving to entice critics.
Despite starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts, critics didn’t take to this 1991 flick, even if audiences were enraptured by its charm, with the film taking $300 million from a $70 million budget.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Wes Anderson, 2004) – 56%
Speaking of beloved American filmmakers, there are few indie auteurs who have had as much of an influence on the wider industry as the inimitable Wes Anderson. Helming countless modern classics whilst collaborating with the likes of Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, and Owen Wilson, one of Anderson’s most loved flicks came in 2004 with The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, a charming family movie about an oceanographer who seeks revenge on a mythical shark.
Sparking several trends, both in fashion (those dinky red trawler beanie hats) and in cinema, the movie is seen as a solid entry in Anderson’s filmography, even if it isn’t one of his best.
The Passion of the Christ (Mel Gibson, 2004) – 49%
Anything religious is bound to stir global controversy, no matter what stance you take, but Mel Gibson’s 2004 movie The Passion of the Christ wasn’t worthy of the hate. An impressive religious epic, Gibson’s film depicts the final twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, on the day of his crucifixion in Jerusalem, with The Thin Red Line actor Jim Caviezel playing the iconic figurehead of the Catholic church.
Joining Caviezel is the curious casting of Monica Bellucci as Magdalen, but the film still proves to be a significant surprise. It is certainly worthy of far more love than its online critical score.
Spaceballs (Mel Brooks, 1987) – 56%
If modern comedy is dominated by the likes of Judd Apatow, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, 20th-century comedy was in the control of the iconic Mel Brooks. Creating such celebrated flicks as Blazing Saddles, The Producers and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Brooks was a known satirist, with 1987s Spaceballs, a piss-take of George Lucas’ Star Wars movies, being one of his most beloved comedies.
Starring Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman and John Candy, the film is a classic piece of 1980s comedy that deconstructs the lunacy of Star Wars piece-by-piece.
Wet Hot American Summer (David Wain, 2001) – 38%
From a classic comedy to a more contemporary great, David Wain’s 2001 flick Wet Hot American Summer has had far more influence than it may have seemed at the start of the new millennium. Spawning two follow-up series in the 2010s, which proved the comedy of the 2001 film was way ahead of its time, the Wet Hot American Summer series became a hit with modern audiences.
Becoming a platform for the likes of Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Elizabeth Banks, Ken Marino and Bradley Cooper to show off their acting chops, the influence of David Wain’s 2001 film was remarkably significant.
