Some of the worst movies are also beloved by a select few

November 20, 2009 12:36 am

Millions of people every year flock to the movie theaters. They go to be thrilled, scared, tickled and, most importantly, moved. But when a movie comes out that is so bad, so appalling, so utterly gross in style and structure, it must be placed on a shelf away from all the other movies. These metaphorical shelves are what we call the "bad movies lists."

These movies, though labeled as bad, can also be a good thing. Most of the following films are loved by small groups of people, who enjoy watching horrible films. To many, these films are called "cult classics." So sit back and appreciate our list of the best of the worst.

--Alex Van Horn

'XANADU'

If "Grease" was the movie that jump-started Olivia Newton-John's career, then "Xanadu" was the movie that killed it.

In 1980 "Xanadu" was released, a musical about a Greek muse springing alive from a mural to inspire a struggling artist to open a roller disco. In a shocking plot twist, they fall in love.

The ridiculous nature of this film, coupled with the fact that disco was on its way out by 1980 made this a box-office flop. The movie is filled with bizarre and surreal glowing edges, and other special effects that make it feel like you've popped a couple of hallucinogens.

The movie also includes a random scene where the characters turn into animated fish and frogs for a song, as well as often out-of-sync audio in a tap dancing number where Gene Kelly and Olivia Newton-John never once actually tap at the same time as the dubbed clicking. This movie is a must-see if only to realize how trippy the '70s were.

--Elliott Hay

'INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL'

After the first three Indiana Jones movies, the fourth Indiana Jones movie, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," had big shoes to fill.

Indiana Jones and his newly found son decide to rescue a scientist. They put on a display of heroics only to find that KGB has captured the professor.

The Soviets then force Indiana and the professor to find a fabled city of gold.

Though the idea of Shia LaBeouf helping geriatric Harrison Ford to carry this action flick might cause some to cringe, the real problem comes when extra terrestrials enter the picture. Indy ends up discovering a room full of alien skeletons, and from there things get weirder.

Most of the movie seemed to fit into the "Indiana Jones" genre. However the way the story line ended so suddenly and confusingly pretty much ruined it.

--Billy Howell

'THE MASTER OF DISGUISE'

"Am I not turtley enough for your turtle club?" So spoke Dana Carvey in his 2002 super-flop, "The Master of Disguise."

The film follows Pistachio Disguisey, (Dana Carvey) a humble waiter with inherent mimicking or "disguising" powers. When Pistachio's family is kidnapped by a criminal mastermind, he must learn how to control his powers to get them back.

It is a basic karate plot that could have been a good movie, but it isn't. It turns into a crude version of a Nickelodeon movie.

Dana Carvey is obviously funny. When watching him on "SNL" and "Wayne's World," he comes up with clever characters that we can relate to and love. In this, he just comes out loud and annoying.

--Alex Van Horn

'THE ADVENTURES OF SHARKBOY AND LAVAGIRL 3-D'

OK, lets get a bunch of kids, put them on a green screen, make it 3-D and get a new story that's not "Spy Kids."

The story of the much lauded "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D" follows a young dreamer named Max. He meets two young superheroes named Sharkboy and Lavagirl, who live on Planet Drool. One day, they ask him to come help them save their planet. This is where almost all the movies made entirely on green screen seem to go wrong.

Arguably, the movie's one claim to fame so far has been launching the career of Sharkboy--aka Taylor Lautner, now all grown up and a star of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon."

But if you're looking for a kids action movie, stick with "Spy Kids."

--Alex Van Horn

'FREEJACK'

This 1992 movie marked the end of an era of great '80s sci-fi films, ranging from "Bladerunner" to "Terminator."

Emilio Estevez plays Alex Furlong, a race car driver who is kidnapped from the present and thrown into a dark future: 2009.

Even though it has a wonderful cast, including Renee Russo and Anthony Hopkins, the dark side of this movie is Mick Jagger, who tries to pull off an Arnold Schwarzenegger-like performance, but it just ends up dry and boring.

The movie can be fun to watch with an open mind, but the action drags, and eventually the story turns into a cliched mess.

--Alex Van Horn

'FLASH GORDON'

"Flash Gordon" was released in 1980 with an impressive theme song from Queen. The film revolves around an NFL star, Flash Gordon, who goes to space to save the universe from the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless.

The film has such memorable moments as when "hot hail" hits the Earth, and has memorable quotes such as "Flash, I love you, but we only have 14 hours to save the Earth!"

The film is very campy, and the acting was ludicrous--yet it remains fun to watch.

--John Alberto

'SUPERMAN IV'

By the time of the release of "Superman III" in 1983, the quality of the "Superman" film series had severely decreased.

Unfortunately, its successor, "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (1987) brought the franchise to a new low.

The film's plot presented a noble enough cause: Superman wants to rid the world of all nuclear weapons.

However, the way in which his goal is carried out is quite laughable. Superman gathers all of the world's nuclear weapons and puts them into one giant net, which he throws into the sun.

This plot point, along with many others, showed that the quality of the "Superman" films was beginning to diminish, and people did not want another "Superman" film for another 20 years.

--John Alberto

'PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE'

As bad movies go, 1959's "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is generally regarded by most critics as the worst movie ever made.

But the unique thing about "Plan 9" is that because it is so awful, it's actually entertaining.

With corny dialogue that sounds like it was written by an illiterate first-grader, and acting so campy it makes William Shatner look tame, you can't help but love this God-awful movie.

Falling props, dropped lines and a cameo from Dracula himself--Bela Lugosi--make "Plan 9" a classic bad movie you have to see.

Those who enjoy it will also want to watch 1994's "Ed Wood," a significantly better movie in which Johnny Depp stars as the notorious "Plan 9" director and Martin Landau delivers an Oscar-winning supporting performance as Lugosi.

--Alex Johnson

'BATMAN AND ROBIN'

This is the film that ended the cash-cow Batman franchise in the late '90s. Unlike some movies that are so bad that they are enjoyable, "Batman and Robin" is just plain terrible.

Strange neon lights, Arnold Schwarzenegger's horrible puns as Mr. Freeze, and nipples on the bat suits of George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell. That's really all you need to know.

"Batman and Robin" is so bad, even its director, Joel Schumacher, hated it. On the DVD commentary, Schumacher apologizes for making the film.

--Alex Johnson

'THE OMEGA MAN'

Based on Richard Matheson's classic novella "I Am Legend," "The Omega Man" could have been another great sci-fi film from the legendary Charlton Heston. But sadly, it was not.

Opening with a very eerie shot of an empty cityscape, it looks like the movie has its possibilities. We find out that it will not.

As Charlton Heston battles his way through a post-apocalyptic world, we meet the brotherhood, a group of evil, bad people (that's all that we know). We also meet a Foxy Brown look-alike and a hippy community. The movie is un-realistic and campy to the extreme. Don't watch this movie unless you know how bad it is.

--Alex Van Horn