A selection of films from different years that were recognized as the worst in the history of cinema (10 photos)

All of these movies are so terrible they're good! Their failure earned them a well-deserved place on the list of "worst films ever made." It is important to note that all of these film projects are feature-length and not amateur. That is, they had quite good budgets (for their time) and were shown in cinemas. The list features ten films, each representing a different “decade.” In other words, we start in the 30s and stop in 2020. What would you understand, considering how many stupid films there are in the world, these works were epically distinguished! And a second of attention. There will be a lot of letters. Therefore, you can’t finish the post in a couple of minutes. Under each film there will be a brief description of it, as well as explanations of their monumental fiascoes.

"Maniac" (USA, 1934)





Worst film of the 1930s.

What the film is аbout: mad scientist Dr. Meerschultz and his assistant, former actor Don Maxwell, are trying to find a way to resurrect people from the dead. One day, Maxwell accidentally kills a doctor, after which he hides his corpse behind a wall, and he disguises himself as him, pretending that he is Mierschultz. Carried away by playing the role of a doctor, Maxwell gradually goes crazy. He continues his mentor's experiments, but at the same time begins to commit real crimes.

Why it's so bad: Maniac is a film made before the Hays Code was introduced in the United States, which limited what could be shown in films hitting theaters. Therefore, the film contained scenes of violence (including sexual violence), cruelty to animals and gratuitous nudity. Some episodes are simply concentrated madness, for example, a fight between women armed with syringes.

Despite the antiquity of “Maniac,” many modern publications (Rotten Tomatoes, Vanity Fair, etc.) have included this film in their lists of the worst in history.

No Orchids for Miss Blandish (UK, 1948)



Worst film of the 1940s.

What is the film аbout: a simple robbery accidentally turns into a murder, and then into the kidnapping of the main character for ransom. But the robbers are killed by another gang, and the kidnapped girl falls into their hands. She and one of the members of the new gang fall in love, but the police catch up with the bandits and kill the heroine's lover, which is why she throws herself from the balcony.

Why is it so bad: immediately after its release, the film was criticized in the press for excessive sexual content and too high a level of violence. By the way, the film is based on the 1939 novel of the same name, which was criticized for the same thing.

British film magazine Monthly Film Bulletin called the film "the most disgusting display of cruelty, perversion, sex and sadism ever shown on a cinema screen."

The Conqueror (USA, 1956)



Worst film of the 1950s.

What is the film аbout: about the commander and ruler of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan.

Why is it so bad: journalists called the choice of the famous Hollywood actor John Wayne (American) for the role of Khan “one of the worst casting decisions of all time,” with which Wayne himself later agreed.

The film is especially famous for its behind-the-scenes failure: filming took place near a nuclear testing site, which is why 41% of the film crew were later diagnosed with cancer; the film failed at the box office, so much so that the studio RKO Pictures went bankrupt and ceased to exist; The film was the last in the career of the famous entrepreneur Howard Hughes (the film “The Aviator” was filmed about him), who produced “The Conqueror” - he did not like the result so much.

The Daily Telegraph wrote about the film: "By absolutely every imaginable metric - financial, critical, historical, ethnic and even the number of casualties (on set) - the film will be known as one of the greatest disasters in the history of cinema."

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (USA, 1964)



Worst film of the 1960s.

What is the film аbout: sad Martian children caught a signal from Earth, where they showed a cheerful Santa Claus. The adult Martians decide to kidnap the children's favorite Santa and take him to Mars. But will grandpa's presence do them any good?

Why it's so bad: The film regularly ends up on lists of the worst in history, mainly due to the ridiculously cramped sets, like something out of a school production, and the same quality of makeup. But the budget of the film was 200 thousand dollars, which was not so little for those times. Well, the general strangeness of what is happening isdoes raise questions.

Of course, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians received mostly negative reviews in the media, with most of the positive ones based on the fact that the film was "so bad it's good."

Caligula (Italy, USA, 1979)



Worst film of the 1970s.

What the film is аbout: This is an erotic historical drama about the behind-the-scenes reign of the ancient Roman emperor Caligula. Starring Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren and Peter O'Toole.

Why it's so bad: The film received sharply negative reviews from critics, who condemned it for its scenes of sex and violence (there is literally a 6-minute porn insert in the film), as well as a lack of narrative coherence. Famed film critic Roger Ebert gave Caligula a zero rating, calling the film "disgusting, completely worthless and disgraceful garbage" and accusing it of artistically vulgar depictions of sex and violence, as well as technically incompetent direction and structure.

Garbage Can Babes (USA, 1987)



Worst movie of the 1980s.

What is the film аbout: a family comedy-musical about doll children who live in a closed trash can in an antique store and become friends with the teenage protagonist.

Why it's so bad: these dolls are incredibly creepy and unpleasant to look at! Moreover, their behavior leaves much to be desired. The dolls were played by dwarf actors in low-budget costumes, with poorly functioning mouths and expressionless faces. The film has been criticized for its crude humor, nonsensical plot, poor explanations of what's what, weak acting, and the disturbing appearance of the "babies." Journalists wrote that the film was too repulsive for both children and adults to watch. It also contains several scenes that contain sexual imagery, violence and alcohol use. Angry parents staged a nationwide protest in the US against the film, resulting in its withdrawal from distribution.

Batman and Robin (USA, 1997)



Worst movie of the 1990s.

What is the film аbout: the fourth part of the adventures of Batman and Robin, who joined him, from the quadrology directed by Burton-Schumacher. The superheroes are opposed by Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Bane. The roles were played by then-Hollywood stars George Clooney, Uma Thurman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alicia Silverstone and Chris O'Donnell.

Why it's so bad: The film is criticized for being too frivolous, ridiculous costumes, a weak plot and surprisingly caricatured performances by the star cast, whose characters constantly betray shameful vanliners. Leading actor George Clooney publicly apologized for the film, admitting that he did not show it to his wife because he wanted her to “have some respect for me.”

Critic consensus on Rotten Tomtoes reads:

Joel Schumacher's tongue-in-cheek attitude in Batman & Robin reaches its limit, resulting in a frantic and pointless film that's too tongue-in-cheek for anyone to care.

Room (USA, 2003)



Worst movie of the 2000s.

What is the film аbout: a melodrama (involuntarily becoming a black comedy) about how the friends of a banker from San Francisco betray him one after another. The film stars writer, director and producer Tommy Wiseau.

Why it's so bad: The Room is known for its bizarre and inconsistent dialogue, drawn-out sex scenes, storylines that are either weirdly played out or abandoned halfway through, laughably bad acting, and even the ridiculous use of chromakey with views of San Francisco. (as in the frame above).

Quote from one critic:

“Room” is almost an anti-film. A pointless and unintentionally surreal soap opera filled with inconsistencies, confusing characters and gratuitous, anatomically incorrect sex.

The film is so ingrained in pop culture as an example of bad cinema that the 2017 biographical comedy The Disaster Artist, which depicts how The Room was made, was released. And the public rated it as a film much higher than the original itself.

Movie 43 (USA, 2013)



Worst movie of the 2010s.

What is the film аbout: this is an almanac of 12 comic sketches shot by different directors, with the participation of a large number of Hollywood stars.

Why is it so bad: first of all, the level of humor! It is deliberately, even emphatically low-grade. The film presentedIt is a contrast between serious actors with big names and the horrifyingly disgusting scenes they act out. Critics wrote that the film was "aggressively tasteless" and represented everything that was bad about other bad films before it (including those on this list).

The film was rejected at the script level by many studios for a decade, so it's still hard to believe that producer Peter Farrelly (who also co-wrote Green Book) was able to get so many A-list actors and actresses into the project.

365 days (Poland, 2020)



Worst film of the 2020s (so far; Morbius is also a decent candidate).

What is the film аbout: a young head of the Sicilian mafia kidnaps a girl and gives her 365 days to fall in love with him.

Why is it so bad: it is an erotic melodrama in the spirit of “50 Shades of Grey,” which, by the way, in the year of its release became the most watched film on Netflix in many countries around the world, including the USA, Great Britain and Germany. But popularity did not stop all the world’s critics from tearing “365 Days” to shreds for its romanticization of kidnappings and sexual violence, glorification of the mafia and horribly bad dialogue worthy of “The Room.” The film was even criticized for “non-sexy erotic scenes.” Several petitions have been created on Change.org calling for the film to be removed from Netflix, with more than 100,000 signatures in total.

By the way, at the end of the film the heroine really fell in love with the kidnapper, and “365 Days” has already had two sequels! That's the turn.