“It’s camp”: When does ‘bad’ cinema become good?
What makes a movie bad? Depending on who you ask, the answer might vary from unconvincing performances to low-quality special effects, but to some cinema lovers, these aren’t always concrete indicators of a ‘bad’ film. The thing is, while there are certain pieces of cinema out there that most movie lovers can unanimously agree as being great, art is a subjective experience, and what one person thinks is profound can be boring and pretentious to another.
Thus, there will always be arguments about what truly qualifies a film as good, and there will always be people who dislike highly acclaimed movies. After all, who gets the final say? More interesting is the phenomenon of ‘bad’ movies coming to be considered ‘high art’ or ‘good’. These are the kinds of movies that, to many, would be deemed as bad for various reasons, but instead, they transcend the boundaries of their context to become something bigger and more profound than could’ve been initially anticipated.
Look at the filmography (particularly the early works) of John Waters. His films were made on low budgets without professional actors, and you can certainly tell. Divine, a cinematic icon, performed everything with an innate over-the-topness that helped Waters’ movies become known as camp classics. From the outrageous plotlines featuring taboo themes and the low-budget look of the films—grainy, sometimes filmed shakily on handheld cameras, and bleeding with a DIY sensibility—Waters’ films have never been considered as technically proficient as those belonging to someone like Stanley Kubrick.
Yet, all of his films feature such passion and creativity. The plotlines might be insane at times, but they offer up a picture of America that is absolutely twisted and perverse, attempting to shock traditional and conservative citizens out of their rose-tinted world. Waters’ films found a cult following among cinema lovers who were interested in transgressive ideas, as well as attracting many queer movie-goers due to his inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters and themes.
His work has had a profound impact on experimental, queer, and boundary-pushing filmmakers, as well as being highly entertaining, thought-provoking, and aesthetically unique. Thus, his films are widely considered by critics to be great works of cinema, with Waters even earning a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – despite the fact his movies have many hallmarks of traditionally ‘bad’ films.
That’s the beauty of campy cinema – those movies which are unashamed to lean into artifice and melodrama, prioritising passion and eccentricity over being technically sound. There is so much elitism in the film industry, but camp movies deliberately hold a middle finger up to these rules and regulations and bathe in creativity and entertainment. Subsequently, due to their bizarre dialogue, over-dramatic acting, or ridiculous costumes, many films have initially been derided or picked apart, only to become beloved cult favourites. It suddenly becomes cool to like them, even if these films feature bonkers storylines or terrible special effects.
There is also a trend of old, low-budget B-movies, particularly horror ones, becoming essential additions to movie-lovers’ collections. These films might not have scraped much interest in the past, but now, discovered by a niche audience, they become worth watching and analysing, even if, by today’s standards, the acting would get the stars nominated for Razzies. Take, for instance, The Blob. It received bad reviews when it was released in 1958, but in the years since, it has been considered an iconic sci-fi movie, beloved for all its flaws. Its legacy is enormous, and you can even buy a copy of it via the Criterion Collection.
Thus, it seems that for a stereotypically ‘bad’ film to become seen as good, it has to contain enough passion and excitement to captivate generations of audiences. There needs to be enough creativity on display—even if it hasn’t been executed to its full capacity—and there needs to be a statement within the narrative that endures, one that says something in spite of its other technical failings.
Cinema would be boring if everything were shiny and polished, straight out of Hollywood’s money-making factory. Let movies be gorgeously flawed, a little bit camp, and daringly experimental. That’s what keeps the medium alive, inspires fresh filmmaking ideas, and reflects the human experience most accurately.
