10 terrible movies that are so bad they’re good
The world of cinema is brimming with undeniable quality, from mind-bending blockbusters to more measured yet impactful titles. Still, for every moment of brilliance, there are numerous terrible ones. From outright shameful movies that never get close to attaining the accolade of ‘art’ to feature films attempting to do something commendable yet failing, Hollywood is full of some unspeakable troughs.
As the philosopher Harold Rosenberg once said: “One of the grotesqueries of present-day American life is the amount of reasoning that goes into displaying the wisdom secreted in bad movies while proving that modern art is meaningless. They have put into practice the notion that a bad artwork cleverly interpreted according to some obscure method is more rewarding than a masterpiece wrapped in silence.”
The truth is, in some terrible films, there is brilliance within. From big-budget action movies that bring a sense of spectacle to otherwise forgettable structure to independent dramas that deliver nothing but mood, many titles have risen to prominence over the years because of one qualifying factor: they’re so bad, they’re good.
Following this trail of thought, we’ve listed ten films that deliver on the unnerving premise. Expect to see a host of modern staples that have permeated our culture through one-liners, memes and plotlines that are often damn-right insane.
10 terrible movies that are so bad they’re good:
10. Con Air (Simon West, 1997)
Where else to start but with one of Nicolas Cage’s most iconic and ridiculous outings? An action thriller starring Cage alongside Steve Buscemi, John Malkovich, John Cusack, Ving Rhames and many other famous faces, on paper, you’d hope that Con Air would be at least half decent. However, all hopes quickly fade as this blockbuster’s writing, acting, and production resoundingly place it in the “so bad it’s good” category.
The movie centres around a prison break aboard a Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System aircraft known as ‘The Jailbird’. An intriguing plot maybe, but Scott Rosenberg’s script sees this hope done away with, as it becomes a hilarious, high-octane action flick with many memorably bad moments. While the characters are morally bankrupt, their substance is terrible too, with Steve Buscemi’s serial killer Garland Greene a highlight, as is Cage’s Cameron Poe, with his daft grin and fake long hair. Brimming with highly questionable lines even for 1997, there is much about Con Air to entertain and dumbfound.
9. Batman and Robin (Joel Schumacher, 1997)
Although Joel Schumacher’s campy and often corny filmmaking style isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, no one can doubt the suggestion that he made a mark on popular culture. His films, such as St. Elmo’s Fire, The Lost Boys, and The Client, are cult classics. However, none are as memorable or entertaining as 1997’s Batman and Robin. One of the ultimate demonstrations of how out of hand the 1990s got, there are many highlights from the film, including Arnold Schwarzenegger’s wacky Mr. Freeze and his puns such as “cool party!”
Elsewhere, the writing and plot are pretty flawed, making it the most maligned out of the Batman features. Often labelled one of the worst films of all time, Batman and Robin is commonly slammed for being “mindless”, toyetic and lacking anything resembling real substance, and it’s hard not to agree with these assertions. However, the 1960s-style aesthetic, strange casting and relentless puns do make it a fun experience because of the self-aware stupidity.
8. The Business (Nick Love, 2007)
One of Danny Dyer’s best moments; it would be a shame not to include The Business on the list. Straddling the line between pure quality and unfettered stupidity, this 2007 crime flick comes from the mind of Football Factory creator Nick Love, an avowed follower of Britain’s casual culture. The Business follows Danny Dyer’s Frankie, a cockney everyman in a Greek tragedy charting his rise and fall in an ex-pat drug-running operation on Spain’s Costa del Sol.
Full of drugs, sex, characters with names such as ‘Playboy Charlie’, and excellent cocky one-liners such as, “Has someone ordered a c**t… cause ones just showed up”, The Business is worth the time of anyone wanting to be royally entertained. Evidently bad for its production value, plot and – for the most part – acting, Love’s film is still a blast despite these pitfalls. Think Human Traffic meets Sexy Beast. It’s best watched with a mighty spliff in hand and a couple of cans.
7. Green Street (Lexi Alexander, 2005)
Films like Green Street have been held partly responsible for the rise in football fan stupidity in Britain, with it appearing to glorify fan violence and hooliganism, with the line, “You stand your ground and fight”, becoming an all-too-common phrase. It’s a hilarious and fantastical take on British hooliganism that follows Elijah Wood’s disgraced Harvard student Matt, who joins the ranks of the fictional London firm the GSE. Other actors not necessarily deemed hard in real life that crop up in the ranks of the GSE are the likes of Marc Warren and Rafe Spall.
Despite the inaccuracies of the film and the many utterly unbelievable moments it delivers, it’s still one hell of a ride. The seriousness is sometimes comic, particularly towards the end when the different subplots come together, and the deaths pile up. Elsewhere, the final scene where Matt serves Jeremy his comeuppance is unimpeachably stupid. With that being said, though, Green Street does have more tender moments that are hard not to be moved by. Whatever you might think of it, Lexi Alexander’s work makes a mark.
6. Hobo with a Shotgun (Jason Eisner, 2011)
Whilst 2011’s Hobo with a Shotgun is worthy of some genuine kudos as it is one of the more robust offerings on the list, it still smacks of the ridiculous. A Candian-American exploitation-styled action, it stars Rutger Hauer as the titular vagrant, who becomes a violent vigilante as the city of Hope Town disintegrates into a lawless hellhole. Interestingly, the movie is based on a faux movie trailer of the same name seen in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s 2007 flick Grindhouse.
A crude action-comedy, whilst there is a point to this style, with it taking many cues from the works of Tarantino and Rodriguez, it’s hard to escape its filthy nature, with the brutal violence and ridiculous premise qualifying it as being so bad it’s good. Adding to its pull is the cast, which features the likes of Molly Dunsworth, Gregory Smith and even VJ George Stroumboulopoulos, who help keep the quality at a certain level to stop it from being dismissed as nothing more than a shoddy B-movie.
5. Leprechaun (Mark Jones, 1993)
One of the ultimate cult films, there’s no real surprise that the 1993 comedy-horror Leprechaun made it onto the list. Warwick Davis stars as the eponymous evil being who wreaks vengeance on a family he believes has stolen his gold. It also stars a young Jennifer Aniston as Tory Redding, one of the family members he’s seeking revenge on. It’s surreal watching Davis and Aniston in such a plot, yet utterly compelling. It must also be said that Aniston carries the whole thing even at such a young age, with her talent evidently levels above the rest of the cast.
Dated and poorly made, the film is comedy gold, thanks mainly to Davis’ performance and the many failed attempts at being creepy that it contains. Even Aniston is fully aware of Leprechaun‘s bad but good nature. She once revealed that she stuck it on for the first time in years with then-boyfriend Justin Theroux for “shits and giggles”. However, she couldn’t bear it and kept leaving the room “cringing”. I can only imagine what that trip down memory lane was like.
4. Problem Child 2 (Brian Levant, 1991)
Here’s a blast from the past: Problem Child 2. With only 7% on Rotten Tomatoes, one might expect this sequel to rank among the very worst of its era, but do not let yourself be deceived. It might be cheesy, over-the-top and pretty dated, but there is still delight to be found across its precisely 90 minutes. Picking up from the last film, we find the late John Ritter’s adoptive father, Ben Healey, taking Junior, his problem child played by Michael Oliver, to Mortville, Oregon, to start a new life. However, as the allusion to death in the town’s name suggests, things do not go as planned. Life quickly descends into carnage for Ben and Junior. This time, though, it’s much more explosive than the first outing.
Notably, Gilbert Gottfried returns as the unhinged Igor Peabody, as does Amy Yasbeck, although she now plays school nurse Annie Young, whose daughter, Trixie, is also a problem child. From exploding toilets to sabotaging surgery to give someone the largest nose in the world, this movie is bonkers. As the filmmakers were angered by the criticisms of the first Problem Child, they specifically upped the ante, intending to make a John Waters or Pier Paolo Pasolini title for children. So, there’s no wonder it is so wild. It was even kept a secret until 2014 that the first cut of Problem Child 2 received an R rating from the MPAA. This could only have been made in the early 1990s.
3. Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 – (Lee Harry, 1987)
“The whole franchise is amazing, mate,” said Far Out’s Tom Taylor as we debated the selections of this list, and he’s not wrong. Between 1984 and 1991, the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise spawned five movies that rank among the worst slashers of all time while also bringing forth some of the most comedic moments the horror genre has ever seen. Although it was a toss-up between the first two for the crown, it was eventually 1987’s Part 2 that pipped it. Most of the winning factor comes from the most hilarious killing spree ever seen in cinema. There’s no horror here, just total goofs.
Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 finds Ricky Caldwell, the brother of Billy Chapman from the first film, dealing with his own intense trauma after the murder of his parents on Christmas Eve. Like his brother in Part 1, this triggers Ricky’s own killing spree. The highlight of this flick has to be the sequence where Ricky announces, “Garbage Day!” with an insane facial expression. He then shoots an unsuspecting man taking out his garbage before laughing in one of the most deficient evil laughs ever captured. It’s pure comic genius.
2. The Benchwarmers – (Dennis Dugan, 2006)
For many millennials, The Benchwarmers was a highlight of our younger years, when a Blockbuster video-rental store was found on almost every high street. These places brought much wonder to cinema enthusiasts, which included spreading the gospel of the ridiculous 2006 baseball comedy The Benchwarmers. Starring big names of the day, Rob Schneider, David Spade and Jon Heder, as well as other big names such as Jon Lovitz, Tim Meadows, Nick Swardson and even Terry Crews, there is a lot to love about the film, despite its ludicrous premise and plot.
It tells the story of three nerds, played by Schneider, Spade and Heder, who team up with Lovitz’s masterfully nerdy billionaire to form a baseball team and take on a little league baseball team of future jocks and their Alpha male dads. A story of redemption, love and the camaraderie sport can bring; there is a pure strand running through the movie. However, this is offset by ample fart jokes, sexual gags and other outright dumb moments that make The Benchwarmers stand out as a luminously terrible film. It’s well worth your time, though.
1. The Room – (Tommy Wiseau, 2003)
If I’m being frank, no other flick was going to claim the top spot; it’s the definitive example of being so bad it’s good. Tommy Wiseau’s independent romantic drama film, The Room, which was written, produced, executive produced, directed and starred in by him, is a modern classic due to how competent at being terrible it is. Famously, it rose to prominence with the help of the proliferation of the internet, with the contextually random line “Oh hi Mark”, a millennial highlight.
Often considered one of the worst films ever made, The Room is brimming with unrelated subplots, inconsistent narrative structure, and many other blemishes. Some of these include Wiseau and the cast’s laughably lousy acting and other technical flaws, such as the editing, that all work together to make it a comedy delight, far removed from the semi-autobiographical tale Wiseau initially intended. That’s alright, though. In 2017, The Room spawned a biographical movie based on co-star Greg Sistero’s 2013 memoir The Disaster Artist, which immortalised Wiseau and his title.
