So, it’s finally fall!! Which means outside it is getting colder and wetter, and we are staying cozy inside more and more. What better activity is there when you’re stuck inside than laughing at a crappy movie with your friends? Therefore, in the service of people’s quest to find movies so bad they’re good, I wanted to compile a list of my top 10 favorites. I’m including newer ones and my classics. They’re all terrible, and they’re all amazing. It’s also all completely subjective, and purely based on what I have seen and enjoyed.
10. Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2010)
In Birdemic, birds rise up and start killing people. The main character is some guy who falls for some girl, and they have to make it through this perilous birdemic together. I thought this one was meant to be bad, but apparently it was originally intended to be an actual attempt at filmmaking. It’s not successful in that area, but it did create a cult classic. It’s well known for its terrible effects, bad writing, and even worse acting.
9. Good Sports Gang (2003)
So this one is technically a tv series. But it only has one episode so it’s pretty much a movie. A magnificent movie. It’s an animated show for kids with sentient sports equipment and this one athlete that I, as a child and a nerd, don’t recognize. The episode teaches important life lessons to kids through song and religious undertones. The animation is rough, the bullies are the best part, and the flying balls are terrifying. Need I say more?
8. Tall Girl (2019)
The only new movie on this list, but still deserving of a spot. Of course the premise is ridiculous, but the execution stops it from being just bad and moves it solidly into a movie I laughed hysterically at while watching. The dialogue, bad plot, Swedish accent, terrible plot, jumpsuits, and awful plot all combine into the perfect dumb teen movie.
7. Tammy and the T Rex (1994)
The age old story, girl and boy are dating, girl’s ex threatens boy, girl’s ex throws boy into lion enclosure, after boy falls into a coma a mad scientist puts boy’s brain into a robotic dinosaur. Some quality entertainment right here.
6. The Room (2003)
We get it, The Room is a bad movie, The Room is funny because it is bad. Tommy Wiseau is funny because he is bad. The Room is mostly on this list because of how iconic it is. Similar to Mean Girls, it has a lot of quotable lines, but I think it’s overhyped a lot. While it does deserve the attention, there are a lot of better (worse) movies that get less limelight. I want to focus on those.
5. Emo the Musical (2016)
Emo the Musical follows an a high schooler through his struggle of being “emo”. It focuses on the classic high school battle between emo vs. Christian, and the forbidden love story between him and a Christian girl. All of their very intense teenage emotions are expressed through song. The songs are catchy, the plot is truly mind numbing, the characters are incapable of logical thought, and there are some serious themes handled clumsily. I could not recommend it enough.
4. Twisted Pair (2018)
Neil Breen being Neil Breen.
3. Troll 2 (1990)
A classically bad movie that has been hailed as one of the worst. It checks all the boxes: green slime, goblins, not a single troll anywhere, ghosts, shenanigans, hijinks, corn, and good ole southern hospitality. It follows a stereotypical family on a vacation that takes some very weird turns, and it delivers on every aspect of both comedy and horror.
2. Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (1977)
This movie…is an unexplainable fever dream. I don’t know why it was made. But I’m forever grateful that it was. It is about exactly what the title says it’s about: a demonic bed that eats people. The idea is creative and strange, and the execution is hilarious. The characters all make you root for the bed, the effects and prop usage cannot be beat, and the narration gives a breath of life to the film. It’s truly a triumph in filmmaking.
1. Sumurai Cop (1991)
My friend showed me this movie a few years ago and I’ve been obsessed ever since. It deserves the top spot for so many reasons. It’s about these two cops investigating the Yikuza, and it has everything you could ever want in a movie. There’s bad action sequences, terrible acting, magically appearing and disappearing wigs, absolutely stunning cop puns, dialogue that will astound you with its realism and wit, and an absolute hunk of a protagonist.