We have all seen our fair share of horrible movies.
But while we’re on this subject – what were some of the worst ideas ever put into film?
There’s quite a list, and it just so happens to be very specific, wherever you look.
First, and mind you, many a film have been left out of this column, is “Plan 9 From Outerspace”, released in 1959. Directed by Edward D. Wood Jr., starring Gregory Walcott and Mona McKinnon.
The plot itself consists of aliens who come to Earth in hopes of stopping mankind building a doomsday device that could destroy the universe.
In their attempt of stopping this device from creation, they bring back the dead, sending Earth into a panic. Which I’m only guessing stops the creation of a doomsday device.
Catching the eye of the Golden Turkey Awards, which are given to films dubbed bad in quality, and anyone involved, Plan 9’s director was handed a medal for being the worst director ever.
Some films are so horrendous they become cult classic, however, and Plan 9, to some people, was hilarious because of it’s problematic construction.
Phil Hall from Rotten Tomatoes (a fairly accuarate movie-rating website) said it was “Far too entertaining to be considered as the very worst film ever made.”
At Long Last Love, made in 1975, directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring Burt Reynolds and Cybill Shepherd, has also had it’s fair share of haters. One unique thing about this film, however bad it has been labeled, is that it was the first musical since the 1930s to record it’s numbers live.
The actors performed everything in time, there was no one lip-syncing, and they had to perform perfectly for the film to work.
Due to the negativity of reviews and box office listings, a formal apology was sent out across the nation for having made and released this film. No DVD or VHS version of the film was released, and it has only been available online for viewing this year.
The Garbage Pail Kids, modeled after the famous Cabbage Patch kids, was made in 1987, and is perhaps one of the stranger flops found on most Worst Film lists online.
Directed by Rob Amateau and based off trading cards of the same name, this film is about a boy who befriends alien children who came to Earth by way of a traveling spaceship garbage can.
Each child has it’s own quirk – each quirk is a litttle gross as well, such as being able to vomit on que or fart constantly – and the main character is a boy name Dodger with a bully problem that the children help him with.
Underaged drinking, bar fights, unexplained subplots, and failed magical songs to entice the children back into their trashcan spaceship are one of many issues this film contained after it’s release.
What makes a film bad? Is it just the director who made it? Could the actors be blamed, for now portraying just what the producers and directors wanted? Or is it a collaborated effort?
Films take a long of time, creativity, and money to make work. Hundreds of people are involved in pulling just one movie together, and sometimes a fantastically done film will bomb the box office upon release purely based on the time of the year it debuted.
Film is a complicated business, and failure is always uncertain until a movie is finished and put on display.
