The 2010s were an underrated decade when it comes tomoviesthat are so bad that they’re amazing, with multiple strong contenders for the specific subgenre of awful movies that are impossible to look away from. When it comes to thebest “so bad they’re good” movies, the 90s and early 2000s tend to dominate, with classics likeTroll 2andThe Roombeing classic examples. But more recent years have proven that such delicious garbage never stopped being produced.
Laughably bad movies from the 2010s tend to come in two primary flavors;big-budget studio investments that were huge missesand poorly-conceived indie movies made for pennies. Both offer their own unique brand of potent failure, from major decisions that were bafflingly agreed upon by huge studio executives to single-minded visions of bizarre cinematic auteurs that give Tommy Wiseau a run for his money. For those that can appreciate a uniquely terrible film, the 2010s are a veritable gold mine.
Battleship
Cast
Rihanna, Liam Neeson, and Taylor Kitsch star in the 2012 action movie adaptation of the board game Battleship. They play a group of Navy SEALs who confront an invading fleet of alien ships. As humanity’s only hope, they must use all their training and resources to fight the alien invasion and save the planet.
Making a gritty science fiction re-imagining of a classic children’s board game is just the sort of uninspired Hollywood nonsense that would seem to be a throwaway gag on a TV show, but that exact premise actually occurred with 2012’sBattleship.Loosely adapting the classic two-player guessing game of the same name, the film follows the efforts of the U.S. Navy to fend off an alien invasion, resulting in a deadly naval battle against a superior foe. Somehow, a simple, but effective premise manages to be less fun than the average game ofBattleship.
Battleship: A Bad Movie Based On A Great Game
We’ve all played Battleship, the two-player board game that was filled with suspense, but why did this great game turn into such a bad movie?
That being said, there’s plenty of ironic enjoyment to be wrung out of the abysmal failed blockbuster.The performances are a particularly bright spot, from Alexander Skarsgård’s inexplicably playing things as serious as the grave to Taylor Kitsch’s over-the-top energy to Rihanna’s utter inability to act at all. It’s quite amusing how the film is able to haphazardly hammer the plot in order to force its characters to live out a sequence that resembles the original game, drowning low-brow entertainment value in plenty of CGI.
Cats
An adaptation of the stage musical by the same name, Cats boasts a star-studded cast playing the Jellicles, a tribe of street cats who make a choice once a year about which one of them will ascend to what they call the Heavenside Layer and be reborn to a new life. The original musical is itself based on a book by famous poet T.S. Eliot, and remains one of the longest-running Broadway shows.
The recent release ofWicked: Part Oneproved that movies based off of musicals can still be something truly special, even conjuring up worlds that might be difficult to muster on stage with a big budget.However, it would be best to adapt musicals that at least have some form of actual story stringing the numbers together, a lesson that 2019’sCatslearned the hard way. The nonsensical film takes a star-studded ensemble cast and transforms them into nightmarish CGI abominations, making for an infamously bad viewing experience.
There’s truly nothing likeCats, from the awkward sentiment of Dame Judi Dench with whiskers staring into the camera for unbearable periods of time to dancing cockroaches that look like something out of a PlayStation 2 game. This fever dream of visual terror isn’t helped by the musical’s nonsensical story, in which a society of flamboyant cats compete for the honor of being allowed to commit ritual suicide by way of a high-flying air balloon.The only thing that could make the film a more fascinatingly terrible watch is getting a copy ofthe fabledCatsbutthole cut.
Birdemic: Shock and Terror
Birdemic: Shock and Terror follows a small town as it faces an unexpected and deadly assault by a flock of eagles and vultures. With residents struggling for survival, the film centers on two individuals who attempt to defend themselves against the avian threat.
Horror movies are an arena in which hilariously terrible movies are par for the course, with many upstart horror directors knowingly churning out pitifully silly films with tongue-in-cheek glee.Sometimes such filmmakers are in on their own joke, but in the case ofBirdemic: Shock and Terror, it seems as though the infamously bad tale of an avian attack might have been made with actual earnestness. Made on a budget that couldn’t even buy a used mid-size sedan from the 90s, the film clearly rips off Alfred Hitchcock’sThe Birdswith its own twist.
The slapdash quality of the movie’s guerrilla filmmaking, which included shooting in public locations without proper permits, shines through in the final edit.The amateur performances, amazingly cheap CGI birds, and stock sound effects all make for a good laugh, but the film’s attempt to sneak in some genuine political messaging regarding climate change in the wake of Al Gore’sAn Inconvenient Truthis downright shocking.Birdemic: Shock and Terroris a top-tier film to throw on with some friends and provide some scathing color commentary to.
The Bye Bye Man
The Bye Bye Man is a horror film directed by Stacy Title, released in 2017. The movie follows three college friends who unwittingly unleash a supernatural entity known as the Bye Bye Man after discovering a cursed object. As the entity torments them, they must unravel its sinister origins to stop the malevolent force from wreaking further havoc.
Another2010s horror moviethat bit off more than it could chew,The Bye Bye Manmight have many times the budget ofBirdemic: Shock and Terror, but it certainly doesn’t do any better in terms of quality.The film centers on a trio of college friends who stumble across a curse known as The Bye Bye Man.This malicious entity manifests himself to those who become aware of him, forcing them to kill other people and then themselves as long as they allow themselves to think of him.
The atrocious performances and abundant lack of chemistry between the three leads is almost an achievement in bad direction, resulting in many unintentionally funny beats that are meant to be played seriously.
The very premise ofThe Bye Bye Mandoesn’t work, with its tagline “Don’t think it, don’t say it” asking for an impossible task.The atrocious performances and abundant lack of chemistry between the three leads is almost an achievement in bad direction, resulting in many unintentionally funny beats that are meant to be played seriously. Right down to his name, The Bye Bye Man himself is almost more cute than threatening, boiling down to a slightly decrepit looking guy in a black hood, not exactly a groundbreaking design for a horror villain.
The Fanatic
The Fanatic is a psychological thriller directed by Fred Durst. The film stars John Travolta as Moose, an obsessive fan, who spirals into dangerous behavior when his attempts to meet his action hero, Hunter Dunbar (played by Devon Sawa), are repeatedly thwarted. The plot delves into the unsettling consequences of extreme fandom.
John Travolta isn’t a name that gets much respect in the modern day, namely thanks to films likeThe Fanaticthat populate the back half of his career.While Travolta already has one film from the 2010s that could qualify as his most hilariously terrible film of the decade,Gotti, The Fanaticunfortunately blows it out of the water by every conceivable metric. Here, Travolta plays a heavily autistic man named Moose who is obsessed with a celebrity actor, going to great lengths to stalk him.
This psychological thriller couldn’t be more misinformed.Travolta’s insultingly bad performance as Moose is punctuated by an awful haircut and a love of Hawaiian shirts that artificially round out the character. Interestingly, the film is directed by musician Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit fame, adding another bizarre layer to the already strange thriller. Durst’s direction leaves much to be desired, resulting in an unintentionally brilliant comedy masquerading as a serious drama that represents autism with all the subtlety and nuance of a sledgehammer.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, released in December 2019, follows the surviving Resistance as they confront the First Order. The film continues the journey of Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron as they harness the power of past generations to engage in a climactic battle against the forces of tyranny.
TheStar Warssequel trilogyreleased by Disney was in dire straits afterStar Wars: The Last Jedi, a divisive film that allowed director Rian Johnson free rein to enact some controversial ideas.In a desperate attempt to save face, Disney commissioned J.J. Abrams to hastily course-correct withStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,only for him to come back with one of the most amazingly terrible films in the entire series.
The film opens with Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewbacca, BB-8, and C-3PO setting out on a journey to find the newly-resurrected Emperor Palpatine.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalkeris uniquely bad from its very opening moments, which contain the infamous phrase “Somehow, Palpatine returned”, utterly derailing the entire story the sequel trilogy had been setting up to that point. The laughably nonsensical plot twists and eye-rolling fan service so comprehensively ruins not only the rest of the sequels, but the original trilogy themselves, that it’s almost a commendable work of art. Every aspect ofStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerreads like a sniveling, but terribly misinformed attempt to win back good will after the previous film.
The Human Race
The Human Race follows a diverse group of individuals, including a cancer survivor and an amputee, who are abducted from a Los Angeles street and compelled to participate in a life-threatening competition.
Switching gears from mega-blockbuster franchise to relatively unheard of indie darling,The Human Raceis a largely undiscovered gem for fans of so-bad-they’re-good horror thrillers. This ambitious science fiction film imagines that a city full of random strangers are abducted by a strange ethereal light, teleporting them into a barren industrial environment with a clearly marked path. Simple rules are beamed into their heads, forcing them to run or die through supernatural means.
Sure enough, those that find themselves touching the grass or getting lapped by other racers twice have their heads violently explode, causing the games to officially begin.The incredible amateur performances and jarring moments of tonal whiplash makeThe Human Racea viewing experience like no other.More than anything else, the jaw-dropping twist ending and hilarious growth of the amputee protagonist, Eddie, is objectively stupid, but impossible not to enjoy.
Foodfight!
Foodfight! is a computer-animated film where animated characters personify grocery store products in a supermarket that turns into a bustling city after hours. The plot centers on the conflict with the sinister Brand X, which poses a threat to the tranquility of this product-populated world.
It’s rare forbad animated filmsto breach over into so-bad-they’re-good territory, with the medium demanding a certain patience and clear vision that usually results in films that are great, average, or just flat-out awful.Yet a masterpiece of subversion as poorly-thought out as 2012’sFoodfight!does exist, however much certain viewers may have wished it didn’t. The movie stars Charlie Sheen as Dex Dogtective, a cartoon dog detective who runs afoul of a plot to take over his beloved supermarket city populated by food mascots perpetrated by the sinister Brand X.
The animation ofFoodfight!is its most jarringly bad quality, with monstrous CGI critters meant to be cute lurking around while spouting ear-piercing dialogue with reckless glee. The numerous real-life food mascots walking around gives the whole exercise the feel of a cheap cash-grab commercial, and the presence of a bad guy weaponizing something called “Brand X” only gets funnier in the wake of modern day uses of the letter in advertising.Foodfight!isn’t only one of the most uniquely bad cartoons ever made, but one of the worst films ever, period.
Drive Angry
Nicolas Cage stars in Drive Angry, an action movie that follows Cage as John Milton, a tortured soul who escapes from hell with the gun of Satan to save his granddaughter from a cult leader who murdered his daughter. Now on a road-trip from hell (literally,) Milton, joined by a waitress he saves from an abusive relationship, will leave destruction in their wake to face off against cultists and the agents of hell.
If there’s one face that could be the poster child of so-bad-they’re-good movies, it would have to be none other than Nicolas Cage.Whether he intends to or not, Nicolas Cage has always had a knack for signing on to amazingly depraved and stupid pictures, fromFace/OfftoThe Wicker Man, that all end up being so inconceivably bad that they loop back around and become masterpieces. An undersung Cage action flick that pulls a similar trick is none other than 2011’sDrive Angry.
The grim grindhouse splatterfest is so enamored with its own filth that it’s actually a beautiful work of art.
This horror-action movie posits Cage as John Milton, a one-man army who breaks out of hell to rescue his daughter from a cult of Satanists.Milton is the most absurdly powerful and unstoppable protagonist ever conceived for an action movie, and Cage’s attempts to make him look cool by having him dual-wield pistols at bad guys while literally mid-coitus with a woman half his age has to be seen to be believed. The grim grindhouse splatterfest is so enamored with its own filth that it’s actually a beautiful work of art.
Viewers ofDaddy Can’t Danceare in quite the exclusive club, considering that the only way to watch the film legally in the modern day is to actually order a DVD of it from the director’s website.Those that undergo such an antiquated and arcane ritual will be rewarded with a copy of one of the 2010s truly atrocious masterpieces of bad cinema, fashioned by a monumentally out-of-touch filmmaker. The movie centers on an aging father whose daughter is struck by a terminal disease, prompting him to enter a breakdancing competition to win money to pay for treatment.
Daddy Can’t Danceis host to many strange choices, from the main character arbitrarily keeping the contest a secret from his wife with the explanation “You know how women are” to the 20-minute uninterrupted breakdance sequence at the end to the bizarre framing device of the entire story being the painting of an omniscient child. The jokes are painfully awkward, the performances are painfully bad, and the film takes multiple chances to promote the creator’s invention, a portable outdoor cupholder. In other words, it’s puremoviemagic that can’t be captured by a “good” film.
