The joy of the "so bad it's good" movie can be hard to explain. Generally, filmmakers set out to make something of high quality and significance that will garner some acclaim or positive response—but sometimes, they miss the mark so badly that their project is deemed terrible. Whether it's due to poor dialogue in the screenplay, questionable performances, or a confounding storyline that was challenging to adapt from the get-go, they get dubbed as "bad"—but sometimes, those bad movies are fun to watch.
While they may not go down in history as the best movies of all time, those titles are often reclaimed as underrated, cult classics or seen as simply campy, compelling entertainment worth watching and rewatching. (The must-listen podcast "How Did This Get Made?" specializes in revisiting these kinds of movies.) From absurd action films to cheesy chick flicks to wild thrillers, these are the best good-bad movies of all time that accidentally turned into must-watch films.
'Anaconda' (1997)
This image captures the spirit of this film (including a very fake snake, "terrified" Ice Cube, and miserable Jennifer Lopez) but doesn't include all of the film's terribleness. Come for the bad snake effects and stay for whatever accent Jon Voight is doing (and a mystifying death scene to top it off).
'Armageddon' (1998)
Armageddon doesn’t make a whole lot of sense but this dad-core flick with a classic rock-heavy soundtrack is also a blast. Featuring a cast of ‘90s icons (Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, and others), it follows a ragtag team of NASA elites and blue-collar “drillers” as they set off into space to stop an asteroid from heading toward Earth—by none other than drilling into it and detonating a nuclear bomb. Hell yeah.
'Batman and Robin' (1997)
See also: The movie that George Clooney still apologizes for. His take on Batman is... not good (the bat suit has nipples on it, for starters), but frankly, his performance is mild compared to the over-the-top glories of Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman).
'Battlefield Earth' (2000)
When it came out, this film was considered bad, instead of good-bad, winning just about every conceivable Razzie. (Plus, the production company behind it went bankrupt.). But it's been parodied and referenced so much that, in hindsight, it's tipped into self-parody.
'Book Club' (2018)
There isn’t much sustenance here: A group of older women read the erotic novel classic Fifty Shades of Grey in their book club. While they’re at first shocked at the explicit content, it also ignites a newfound flame, inspiring them to spice up their romantic lives. Case in point: It’s an adorably hilarious romp that knows just how silly it is, and is held down by a stellar cast featuring Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen.
'Cats' (2019)
If you're familiar with bad movies generally, you might know about the troubled history of Cats, with many stars (including Taylor Swift) attached to the project and a rushed production resulting in terrible visual effects. But nothing will ever be funnier than the fact that a rough cut of the film exists where the CGI cats all had... anuses.
'Con Air' (1997)
Take a bunch of convicts and put them on a plane, where they immediately hijack it—oh, and the ringleader is John Malkovich, swinging for the fences—with John Cusack and Nicolas Cage (the latter in a ridiculous wig) trying to stop them. Camp doesn't even begin to describe it!
'Congo' (1995)
After Jurassic Park''s success, filmmakers grabbed other Michael Crichton books to adapt. Among the results was Congo, including a similar plot but replacing dinosaurs with monkeys. The above image is a pretty decent representation of what we ended up with, including the level of special effects.
'The Core' (2003)
Disaster movies are always a bit goofy, with their wild concepts and often melodramatic performances. The Core is one of those—as it has an especially confusing, nonsensical premise about a group of scientists who must travel to the center of the Earth and drill a hole into the core to set off a series of nuclear explosions that’ll restart the planet’s rotation. (Huh?) Still, the high-stakes action can be riveting and there’s a stacked cast (Hilary Swank, Stanley Tucci, Alfre Woodard, and others).
'Deep Blue Sea' (1999)
Deep Blue Sea hoped to outdo Jaws in every way, with bigger sharks, better effects, and cooler deaths. It failed in every way, but that failure was so delightful that it remains beloved by fans of bad movies.
'The Devil's Advocate' (1997)
Al Pacino's the devil (and he's scream-acting almost the whole time)! That might sound like a spoiler, but as the title implies, it's the entire premise of this movie. However, what's hilarious is that the movie waits over an hour to tell you as if it's some big reveal.
'Drop Dead Fred' (1991)
File this one under a movie that traumatized '90s kids everywhere. When a woman (Phoebe Cates) returns to her childhood home after a failed marriage, she reunites with her imaginary friend from childhood, the titular Fred, and chaos ensues. We can't stress how wonderfully weird this movie is.
'Face/Off' (1997)
With two over-the-top actors impersonating each other (sort of) and each one trying to outdo the other's performance, a movie about a cop and criminal who literally switch faces is the best possible use of everyone's time. John Travolta and Nic Cage deserve retrospective Razzies/Oscars.
'Fear' (1996)
Fear is best known for a few things: a completely bonkers performance by Mark Wahlberg as a psychopathic ex and an erotic scene on a Ferris wheel. The thriller is tonally off, as Wahlberg plays a 20something who meets and seduces a high school girl played by Reese Witherspoon, until his behavior turns questionable… and he takes to terrorizing her whole family. The payoff in the utterly ridiculous climax (in terms of the plot, not the Ferris wheel moment) is worth it.
'Gigli' (2003)
At the time, fans were excited for real-life couple Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck to star in a movie together. But they certainly didn't want this flop, in which one of the main problems appeared to be that the pair didn't have any on-screen chemistry.
'The Happening' (2008)
Where to begin with this M. Night Shyamalan horror movie disaster? Before the dreadfully miscast leads, before the hilariously inept script, there's the premise (spoiler alert): Plants are now emitting toxins to kill people. This means there are a lot of scenes of people running and then a cut to some grass gently waving in the wind.
'Howard the Duck' (1986)
Howard the Duck is proof that you shouldn't trust the auteur theory (i.e., that talented creative people only ever have good ideas). George Lucas had just made the original Star Wars, and then he produced this comic book adaptation about a giant, anthropomorphic duck from outer space—and more raunchy than you could ever expect.
'Jingle All the Way' (1996)
This unintentionally hilarious holiday film really understood that Arnold Schwarzenegger could be funny—but that was the extent of its brilliance. Imagine having the audacity to put the actor in small-town America and making him a desperate salesman and normal family guy.
'Jupiter Ascending' (2015)
If you've never watched the Wachowski Sisters movie where Eddie Redmayne whisper-screams his way through all his scenes, throw this one on. Fair warning: You'll want to ignore the convoluted sci-fi plot, dialogue, and characterizations. Just let the experience wash over you.
'Kung Pow: Enter the Fist' (2002)
The history behind this movie is wild: It took footage from an old film, replaced the main character with Steve Oedekerk, and changed the "plot" entirely. The result is a "satire" of martial arts films that is unintentionally hilarious nonsense and has aged very poorly.
'Little Italy' (2018)
We know what you're thinking: Oh, I didn't know they made a film about one of N.Y.C.'s most iconic neighborhoods! Well, this is about Little Italy in Toronto, Canada, and that's just the start of the rom-com's many hilarious challenges.
'Look Who’s Talking Now' (1993)
The third movie in any trilogy often struggles with the weight of expectations. But when the third movie is the conclusion of a talking baby saga in which we instead hear the inner monologue of the family dogs (voiced by Danny DeVito and Diane Keaton, naturally), it's something exceptional.
'Mac and Me' (1988)
Have you ever wondered what would have happened if E.T. had been bad? Well, you've just described Mac and Me! It's almost a replica of the former film's plot but with rough creature effects and even worse product placement for brands like Coke and McDonalds.
'Maximum Overdrive' (1986)
The only movie Stephen King ever directed (he's said he was overwhelmed during production) is about murderous technology. Specifically, it's centered around a killer truck with a green goblin face attached to the front, forcing the humans to give it gasoline. No, really.
'Miami Connection' (1988)
Martial artist Y.K. Kim, who wrote, directed, and starred in this martial arts film, had never made a film before this. The result, Miami Connection, tanked immediately, but upon its rerelease, was held up as a magnificent specimen of good-bad filmography, and it's now a cult classic.
'Moonfall' (2002)
Did you know the moon is a hollow megastructure overrun by evil alien tech? Well, that's where this sci-fi movie takes us, and it only gets more ridiculous from there. There's a moment where the characters try to outrun the moon!
'Old Dogs' (2009)
Based on the uneven material, this Robin Williams and John Travolta film seems like it would have begun life as a raunchy R-rated romp, but was heavily re-cut and re-packaged as a light and fun PG comedy. It is a tonal-shifting, goofy nightmare that remains fascinating in execution.
'Plan 9 From Outer Space' (1957)
Proving that the "so bad it's good" movie is not a new invention! This Old Hollywood Ed Woods-directed movie is campy, weird, self-serious, out of sync, clunky, poorly edited, full of errors, and frankly a messy, low-budget delight from start to finish.
'Road House' (1989)
This is the ultimate ‘80s movie and the ultimate Patrick Swayze movie. The late icon plays a bouncer at a small-town bar who takes his role very seriously when tasked with protecting the watering hole from a corrupt businessman. Bring on the epic training and fight sequences. Having gone down as a cult classic, Road House is so beloved it’s basically regarded as simply “good.”
'The Room' (2003)
Any "good bad film list" will have The Room on it. Tommy Wiseau (who conceived, wrote, and starred in it) may retrospectively call the film a dark comedy, but it was absolutely designed to be a dramatic film—and it will be the worst drama you've ever seen.
'Showgirls' (1995)
This film (notable for, among other things, being an NC-17 movie with a wide release) was not designed to be a satire. However, now it's considered high art by film fans for its bad acting, weird nude scenes, nonsensical plot, and general incoherence.
'Sleepover' (2004)
This movie was overlooked for several reasons, but largely because it was released around the same time as Mean Girls. But the other reason is, despite its very famous cast, it lacks the charm needed for a wholesome girls-night-in movie about a wild night of a slumber party scavenger hunt.
'Star Wars: Episode 1 - Phantom Menace' (1999)
Perhaps this is harsh to the first of the Star Wars sequels, but we stand by it: It was simply a disappointment for fans of the original trilogy. It's had a redemption arc in recent years, and the sequels that followed were a step up, but this one is still fun to revisit for all of its odd quirks and then-young, breakout cast.
'Street Fighter' (1994)
A movie based on a video game is already treading on thin ice, so to speak, but casting Jean-Claude Van Damme and the late Raul Julia and then giving them a whole lot of nonsense to say and do is... compelling.
'Troll 2' (1990)
Let's start with the fact that Troll 2 isn't a sequel, despite having a two in the title. Then add that the crew spoke Italian and the cast spoke English. Then the plot in which goblins turn people into plants to eat them. The result is a mind-boggling disaster considered one of the worst films ever made, but worth watching to say that you have.
'A View to a Kill' (1985)
The James Bond franchise has given us many weird, wacky, aged-very-badly movies. But A View to a Kill is something special, with Christopher Walken hamming it up as a villain, Roger Moore in his final role as the character, and Grace Jones performing as if she's in a different movie, ultimately being the best part of it.
'The Wicker Man' (2006)
"Not the beeeeeees!" If you're familiar with that particular meme and want to experience it for an entire movie, we highly suggest you put on this remake of the iconic folk-horror film of the same name. With Nicolas Cage in a very unhinged performance, it's so much more than the bees, we promise.
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