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Although taste and judgment are subjective, the Movie s listed have achieved a notable level of infamy, through critical and popular consensus. The films listed have been either cited by a combination of reputable sources as either the worst movie of the year, or been on such a source's list of worst movies. Examples of such sources include the Golden Raspberry Awards ("Razzies"), Roger Ebert 's list of most hated films, and the Internet Movie Database 's "Bottom 100" list. WHAT MAKES A FILM "WORST EVER"? Any film that has been "considered the worst ever" should be approached cautiously: In all fairness, some of the movies listed here may be mediocre rather than utterly wretched (see '' Hyperbole ''). There are also productions in existence which did not receive major distribution (if any), which were therefore not ''expected'' to be successful, and in turn have been excluded from this list. An interesting psychological question is why film goers often delight in mocking bad movies (see '' Schadenfreude ''). After all, we do not laugh at poor paintings (though people do sometimes mock the taste of "the art world" as represented by museums and galleries, see also the Museum Of Bad Art )—rather we see them as a necessary by-product of good paintings. One difference may be the public's resentment at what they perceive as manipulation by the major studios concerning big-budget films, at the public's expense, as the ad campaigns often induce a major turnout on opening days regardless of the film's actual or perceived quality. This leads them to take perverse pleasure when a studio loses millions on a poorly-made film. The 1998 advent of Rotten Tomatoes , a website which aggregates reviewers' scores, has greatly assisted the process of selecting infamous films, although it reviews most films fairly, on a scale of 0% (absolute worst) to 100% (absolute best), although its more well-known reviews are of films that received poor ratings from the site's reviewers. This is not to say that this is the sole factor in earning "worst ever" status. Other Internet sources, while helpful, cannot substitute for genuine information that proves a movie "worst" or not. The movies listed here are not simply Box Office Bomb s, although many of them are; rather, they are films which spectacularly failed to meet critical and commercial standards set by advance publicity or the weight of expectations. Although a movie usually achieves infamy by being badly written, directed, or acted, it can become notable for other factors, such as an excessive amount of Hype , or a backlash against overexposed Celebrities . Examples of this are '' Battlefield Earth '', which starred A-list er John Travolta , and the Ben Affleck / Jennifer Lopez vehicle '' Gigli ''. In 2000, The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards compiled a list of the 100 worst films of the 20th Century: ''The Stinkers: 100 Years, 100 Stinkers'' B-MOVIES While B-movie s are not generally accepted as fine cinema in the first place, some of the films from this genre have seemingly transcended their already expected mediocrity into the realm of "just a really bad movie." Some of these are the result of filmmakers who cannot perceive their own incompetence, or whose creative vision outstrips their technical or financial resources. Popular examples are the movies of Ed Wood , Coleman Francis and Bert I. Gordon , and most of the obscure films featured on the television spoof show '' Mystery Science Theater 3000 '', which, in its 10-year run on television, brought extremely obscure, poorly-made films into the public consciousness. However, some B-movies have become Cult Classic s, partly as a result of their peculiarities. Fans of low-budget Cult Film s often use the phrase "so bad it's good" to describe movies that are so poorly made that they actually become an entertaining comedy of errors. Unlike more mundane bad films, these films actually 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. ;''- Autobiographical quasi- Documentary , starring and directed by Ed Wood about Transvestism . After a nightmarish dream sequence, Glen undergoes psychotherapy to help cure his affliction. Bela Lugosi appears in this film, as he did in several other Wood films during the twilight of his career. Many of Wood's fans and Leonard Maltin --who actually thought it was the worst movie ever made--insist that this was far worse than '' Plan 9 From Outer Space ''. This film was included in the 2004 DVD documentary, '' The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made ''. '' has an opening nine-minute sequence in which nothing happens but endless driving through the countryside, due to someone forgetting to add in the credits. ] ;'' fertilizer salesman Hal Warren . The film gained cult popularity by being featured on the '' Mystery Science Theater 3000 '' Television Show . It was the #1 movie on the IMDb Bottom 100 for a long time since the list was first created. Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino owns a rare 35 Mm copy of the film, and has stated that it is his favorite "comedy." It also has a 10% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. However, it should be noted that the one positive review linked on Rotten Tomatoes is actually of the Mystery Science Theater episode, and not the film itself (the reviewer, Mike Bracken, calls the movie "unwatchable"). [http://www.toxicuniverse.com/review.php?rid=10002381 ;''-directed film – a more mundane horror film than his '' Blood Feast '' and '' The Gore-Gore Girls ''. The film was begun as ''Terror at Halfday'' by Bill Rebane , who would later go on to make '' The Giant Spider Invasion '' (another infamous bomb); the film was left incomplete, then it was 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." Allmovie.com calls the film a "surreal anti-masterpiece" {Link without Title} . At one time it held the #1 spot on the IMDb Bottom 100. Also featured on ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''. ;''s, as well as earning two Razzies (one for Worst Director Ever and one for Worst Movie Ever.) This Ed Wood classic is the last film appearance of Bela Lugosi. Wood idolized Lugosi, and before Lugosi's death, he shot several minutes of Lugosi extemporising. This was then placed in the movie (and repeated several times!). Lugosi's character was then played by Tom Mason, the chiropractor of Wood's wife at the time, who played his scenes holding the cape in front of his face (Wood apparently undeterred by the numerous other physical differences—such as height and build—that distinguished Mason from Lugosi; i.e., that Mason was nearly bald while Lugosi retained a full head of hair until his death). Due to difficulty in finding a willing distributor, the film was not released until 1959 . The film has played almost annually at the New Orleans Worst Film Festival . Also included in the 2004 DVD documentary, ''The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made''. ;'' shortly after its release. The film is listed in Michael Sauter's book ''The Worst Movies of All Time'' among "The Baddest of the B's". It also made it into '' The Book Of List 's'' 10 worst movie list, '' The Fifty Worst Films Of All Time '', and the 2004 DVD documentary, ''The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made''. It featured on '' Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''. ;''" airs this bomb every Christmas as a salute to bad sci-fi. STARS Generally speaking, major film stars become so by acting in popular and/or well made movies, which often leads fans to expect them to always take part in enjoyable films. Sometimes movies are made where the featuring of a particular star or pairing/grouping of stars alone is expected to be a box office draw. Meanwhile, for differing reasons, the film itself ends up as critical and/or box-office dud. Some examples: ;'' video game ''Ecks vs. Sever'' - despite many rumors, the movie was ''not'' based on the game, although the game was released first (due to a delay in the release of the movie). ;'', including Worst Picture. In 2005, an eighth Razzie (for Worst "Drama" of Our First 25 Years) was awarded to the film [http://www.razzies.com/asp/directory/25thWinners.htm . ;'''' and ''The Tonight Show''. {Link without Title} ;''), 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 Sun Myung Moon was a "Special Advisor" to the film. It has never been released on video or DVD. ;'', which was shooting at the same time, to be in this film, and claims to have regretted doing so. DISOWNED BY THE MAKERS After going to the time, trouble, and expense to create a movie, some filmmakers and actors have taken the bold step of willingly warning viewers that it would be best to avoid the film. Sometimes the reason is creative differences regarding what the film should be, but most often they have just been able to form an objective opinion of the film and realize that it's bad. While some give warning ahead of time, others only admit to the film's lack of quality after the critical and popular backlash has ensued. ;'' (formerly the Directors Guild Of America 's official Pseudonym for directors who feel their work has been mutilated by studios) as director of his latest film but cannot as his name really ''is'' Alan Smithee. In one of Hollywood's great ironies, the director of this movie, Arthur Hiller , protested the handling of the film by the studio by refusing to accept credit for the movie, resulting in the Alan Smithee credit being used - although many suspect that this was done intentionally by the makers of the film to create just such irony. It has a 0% freshness rating at Rotten Tomatoes. {Link without Title} ;'' also reputedly admits to not being proud of this film (to the point where he flat-out apologizes for the film, according to his commentary on the 2005 ''Special Edition'' DVD set), despite earlier statements to the contrary. ''Batman & Robin'' earned the nickname "Batman on Ice" for a scene in which the titular heroes both inexplicably have retractable skate blades hidden inside their boots. The film was mocked for the poor script, over-extending the campy attitude of the previous installment '' Batman Forever '', the poor casting of other "big-name" stars Uma Thurman and Arnold Schwarzenegger , and the addition of a poorly portrayed Batgirl , played by Alicia Silverstone . Likely due to the film's poor reception, no more ''Batman'' movies were made for nearly eight years. The next Batman film— 2005 's '' Batman Begins ''—was a Reboot of the ''Batman'' film franchise, rather than a continuance of the established series, and future Batman sequels will be based upon it rather than the tepid films the franchise put out in the 1990s, including this one. '' was one of the most critically panned Movies Of 2004 .]] ;''), and Worst Screenplay. In a rare move, Berry sportingly accepted her Razzie in person, and in her acceptance speech she said, "First of all, I want to thank Warner Brothers. Thank you for putting me in this piece of shit, God-awful movie..." Her statement was received with great applause and laughter. [http://66.102.142.54/raznet/HB_03.wmv ;''-funded box-office disaster featuring John Wayne as Genghis Khan and the redheaded Susan Hayward as a Tatar princess. The movie was filmed in Utah downwind from an atomic testing range in Nevada and is often blamed for the cancer deaths of many of the cast and crew, including both Hayward and Wayne (although according to an A&E Network Biography episode, Wayne typically smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day). It appears in Michael Sauter's book ''The Worst Movies of All Time'' and made the ten-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. ;'' bombs in cinema, starring Lea Thompson and Tim Robbins . The film was so bad that executive producer George Lucas disowned it shortly after its release. It was also among Siskel And Ebert 's picks for the "Worst Films of 1986." It also has a rating of 24% at Rotten Tomatoes. {Link without Title} ;'' appeared on various talk shows denouncing the movie and warning people against wasting their time or money on it. About ''Leonard'', Scott Weinberg at DVD Talk said, "Movies this bad should be handled with Teflon gloves and a pair of tongs." 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-carat gold and Italian marble.[http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0093405/trivia] This film was also one of Cosby's last forays into feature films before his semi-retirement from the silver screen. SEQUELS, PREQUELS AND REMAKES Often, an attempt is made to capitalize on the popularity of a successful film by making a sequel (or prequel), or if the film is old enough, remaking the movie altogether. Due to varying factors, these films often do not live up to their predecessor, including: not featuring the same stars, not made by the same filmmakers, a lack of interest in furthering the story, and so forth. While they are usually considered simply inferior to the original, others end up being poorly done movies in and of themselves and in this way sometimes taint the very film they were meant to emulate or continue. ;'' prequels/sequels to appear on the list, the prequel to 1994's 's '' Dumb & Dumber '' starred neither of the original leads and was panned by critics, as was the first film. It stands at a less-than-hefty 10% rating at Rotten Tomatoes and inspired Tony Toscano of Talking Pictures to say he "[couldn't hate this film enough." ;'''', and instead uses a nonsensical plot involving a shark seemingly plotting to murder the surviving members of the Brody family. At the end, the Shark is heard to "roar" (which is not only scientifically impossible, but it also looks ridiculous). It was nominated for the coveted Worst Picture award in the 1987 Golden Raspberry Awards , and won an award for "Worst Special Effects." It has a 0% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. {Link without Title} ;'' movie The Mask (but without Jim Carrey this time) was #14 on the IMDb Bottom 100 list as of April 2006, and had a 4% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. {Link without Title} Some reactions to the film: ;: "Son of the Mask is an irredeemable mess, a computer-animated Punch and Judy show without wit, heart or a single memorable performance." (Dana Stevens, '' The New York Times '') ;: "It's astonishing how dull a movie that packs so much visual overstimulation into its frames can be." (Kevin Crust, '' Los Angeles Times ''). ;:"Doing a sequel to "The Mask" without Jim Carrey sounds like a really bad idea. As Son of the Mask proves, it is." (Chris Kaltenbach, '' Baltimore Sun '') ;'''', starring Sandra Bullock (reprising her role from the previous movie), Jason Patric , and Willem Dafoe . The film was both a Critical and Box Office flop. It received a "BOMB" rating from Leonard Maltin , who wondered Rhetorically in his ''Movie Guide'' whether any of the cast members actually read the script before signing their contracts. ''Speed 2'' was nominated for eight Razzie s and won for Worst Remake or Sequel . ;'''' ( 2004 ): Although the original movie was not well received, this sequel inspired many critics to add it to their list of the worst movies ever. It was '#1' on the ''IMDb bottom 100'' until April 2006, and had a 0% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. {Link without Title} Some reactions to the film: ;: "Unspeakably ghastly sequel to the merely ghastly original" (Joanne Kaufman, '' Wall Street Journal '') ;: "The most perversely unnecessary sequel in recent memory" (Nathan Rabin, '' The Onion '' A.V. Club) ;: "Spectacularly awful" (Lou Lumenick, '' New York Post '') ;: "May quite easily put an end to any discussion of what is the worst theatrical release of 2004" (Kevin Crust, '' Los Angeles Times ''). MUSICIANS AND MUSICALS For one reason or another, singers and musicians sometimes attempt a second career in film. Sometimes this works well enough that the star can have a dual career in both fields, or prove so popular that they move on exclusively to a film career, and it's nearly forgotten that the 'actor' was ever a singer/musician. Other times, this turns out to been a mistake and they often stop after the first try. Also included here are Musicals which were not well-received. ;'' in Swept Away ), plus the song "I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" as Worst Original Song. {Link without Title} '' spent only two weeks in the theaters.]] ;'''s bottom 100 movies for several months in 2003, with a rating of 1.5 out of a possible 10. The film was awarded a special Razzie (for Worst "Musical" of Our First 25 Years) in 2005. However, it was nominated for four Teen Choice Awards . {Link without Title} "...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." (Stephen Holden of The New York Times {Link without Title} ) ;''. In recent years however the film has gone on to be somewhat of a cult classic. Furthurmore, its release date on September 11, 2001 did little to help it at the box office, most Americans at that time being more concerned with domestic issues. ; '' in the UK; Ritchie's home country and Madonna's adopted home. {Link without Title} ;: ""If there is one thing worse than a Guy Ritchie movie, it's a Guy Ritchie movie with Madonna in it." ( Rex Reed , '' The New York Observer '') ;: "No yacht was harmed during shooting. It's the movie that's the shipwreck." ( Peter Travers , '' Rolling Stone ''). ;'' over the years, particuarly due to its acclaimed soundtrack.[http://www.geocities.com/xanadupreservation/] Gene Kelly said that he took his role in the film because it was close to his home in Beverly Hills and he could be with his family. Years later, he admitted it was a terrible film, but that he loved working with Olivia Newton-John.[http://www.geocities.com/xanadupreservation/fourb.html] COMEDY Some comedic films fail because they are simply not funny. Sometimes they fail due to poor writing or acting, or because they just "try too hard." Other times they fail because of an attempt by a comedic actor to try something different or a non-comedic actor to attempt comedy. ;'' film had its origins in the mid-1980s. The script went through numerous revisions and when filming was completed, the film sat unreleased for two years (until August 2002). The movie cost $110 million to make and market, but earned just $2.9 million. A majority of critics lambasted the awful acting, terrible dialogue, and lack of humor. It was nominated for the Razzie Awards for Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Murphy), and Worst Director ( Ron Underwood ). Murphy himself seemed to sense how bad ''Pluto Nash'' actually was, as he did not promote the film upon its release. ''Pluto Nash'' has a 6% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/adventures_of_pluto_nash/ ;'', including Worst Picture, for this film {Link without Title} ; he accepted the awards in person, and used his acceptance speech to scorn the audience. ;'' along with '' Golden Girls '' star Estelle Getty , about a cop whose mother meddles in his life. 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. {Link without Title} ;:"''Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot'' is one of those movies so dimwitted, so utterly lacking in even the smallest morsel of redeeming value, that you stare at the screen in stunned disbelief." ( Roger Ebert ) GRATUITOUSNESS Filmmakers sometimes try to use the overuse of Censor-worthy content as a means to draw in curious film-goers (an example of the marketing technique commonly known as Shock Value ). When executed poorly, this method can backfire. To wit: ;'' convinced the MPAA to refuse to rate the film. It was later edited somewhat heavily to receive an R-rating but the distributor Troma Entertainment (famed for countless intentionally bad comedies) decided to slip the original unrated cut into theaters as if it was the R-rated version. When the MPAA discovered this they sued for misuse of their "Rated R" trademark. In the movie, the main character, Master Sardu (played by Seamus O'Brien) runs a theatre of the Macabre , specializing in S&M and killing people on stage, while pretending it's only a trick that is part of the show. Containing a mix of naked women, midgets, excessive torture, and women eating ears, it appeared in the 2004 DVD documentary, ''The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made''. ;'', who had only two years before been one of the stars of the afternoon teenage Soap Opera '' Saved By The Bell ''. In interviews to promote the film prior to its release, Berkley claimed that "every part of me you wanted to see on ''Saved By The Bell'' will be fully visible in ''Showgirls''." The film won seven of the thirteen Razzie Award s it was nominated for. It is widely considered to have ruined the career of Elizabeth Berkley, although in recent years she has regained a bit of recognition after several successful stage productions in London, England (e.g., ''Lenny'', a play about the life of comedian Lenny Bruce , opposite Eddie Izzard ), and in Character Actor roles in minor hit movies like '' Any Given Sunday ''. The writer, Joe Eszterhas , has had difficulty living down the embarrassment as well. The film's male lead, Kyle MacLachlan , walked out of the movie's premiere, during which he was allegedly heard exclaiming, "I thought this was an art movie." NEWEST ADDITIONS While it may be immediately obvious that a film is ''bad'' or simply 'not that great', it generally takes time for a film to 'establish' itself as a ''worst ever''. However, this is not always the case, and some films may be dubbed among the worst ever almost immediately. ;'' Bottom 100 . Critic Rob Vx states that this movie is so bad that "the other practitioners of cinematic drivel can rest a little easier now; they can walk in the daylight with their heads held high, a smile on their lips and a song in their hearts. It's okay, they'll tell themselves. I didn't make ''Alone in the Dark''." [http://www.flipsidemovies.com/aloneinthedark.html] SEE ALSO
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