Movies have the ability to transport us to a different time and place with wonderful cinematography, evocative set and costume design, interesting plots, and of course fine acting. They can educate or inspire, amuse or terrify — or simply provide an escape from our daily lives for a few hours. Good films, that is.
Then there are bad films. Really bad films. Poorly made films with ridiculous, Rube Goldberg-like plots that strain credulity and frustrate us as we try to follow along, made all the worse by horrifically bad acting and/or cheesy special effects or set design.
To identify the worst movies of all time, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the 22,407 movies in our database for which ratings were available from both IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator. We created an index using average IMDb ratings and Rotten Tomatoes audience scores and Tomatometer scores. Ties were broken based on the number of IMDb votes. (Casting information also comes from IMDb.)
The movies on this list fall into the really, really awful category. It turns out that the majority of them fall into the science fiction or horror categories. Good horror movies give us a brief, exhilarating scare. Science fiction films, when done right, with skill and imagination, can provide a provocative window into the future. (See the best sci-fi movie the year you were born.)
Unfortunately, the science fiction and horror films noted here feature silly plots, stiff acting, and cheap production values. Rampaging serial killers, large beasts, zombies, and nuclear weapons all figure prominently. Spoiler alert: Many characters will have died by the end of most of the films. Nevertheless, some have attained cult status and are celebrated because of their awfulness.
Click here to see the worst movies of all time
Not all the movies on this list started out as stinkers, it must be said. The Korean War epic “Inchon” had a stellar cast, but was roundly criticized by critics and ignored by audiences. Adam Sandler had a rare comedy bomb with “Going Overboard.” The worst movie on this list, a Turkish documentary, can only be charitably described as a vanity project for the country’s current leader. (These are the worst movies based on true events.)
But if you’re tired of only watching good films, take a break and revel in how bad movies can be.
43. Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)
> IMDb average rating: 1.8/10 (35,663 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 20% (8,246 votes)
> Starring: Tom Neyman, John Reynolds, Diane Adelson, Harold P. Warren
A family on a road trip through the desert ends up in the clutches of a bizarre cult. The plot revolves around the father’s attempts to pry his wife and daughter from the cult’s master. Will he succeed? Because it’s a horror film and not a family movie, you can pretty much guess the ending.
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42. Deep Core (2000)
> IMDb average rating: 3/10 (1,278 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 5% (763 votes)
> Starring: Craig Sheffer, Terry Farrell, Bruce McGill, Harry Van Gorkum
In this science fiction thriller, a drilling operation hits a bit too close to the earth’s core, setting off volcanic eruptions and earthquakes across the globe. The Chinese government and nuclear weapons also figure in the convoluted story.
41. Hangmen (1987)
> IMDb average rating: 3/10 (1,085 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 5% (1,617 votes)
> Starring: Rick Washburn, Dog Thomas, Keith Bogart, J. Christian Ingvordsen
“Hangmen” marks the screen debut of Sandra Bullock, who fortunately went on to better roles than this spy thriller about a rogue CIA assassination unit and a team of former Special Operations soldiers determined to bring them down. The film also features former boxer Jake LaMotta (immortalized in the Martin Scorsese film “Raging Bull).
40. Xtro II: The Second Encounter (1991)
> IMDb average rating: 3.4/10 (1,644 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 0% (448 votes)
> Starring: Jan-Michael Vincent, Paul Koslo, Tara Buckman, Jano Frandsen
In this mashup of science fiction and horror, government scientists find a portal to another dimension. Through this portal escapes a hungry alien creature. If the plot sounds familiar to the vastly superior “Alien” it’s probably because it is.
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39. Alone in the Dark (2005)
> IMDb average rating: 2.4/10 (45,057 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 11% (57,801 votes)
> Starring: Christian Slater, Tara Reid, Stephen Dorff, Frank C. Turner
A supernatural detective played by Christian Slater learns that an ancient band of demons plan to return to life in the 21th century. The detective, his ex-girlfriend, and another friend stand at the gates of hell (you read that right) to stop them.
38. Die Hard Dracula (1998)
> IMDb average rating: 2/10 (3,480 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 17% (1,266 votes)
> Starring: Bruce Glover, Denny Sachen, Kerry Dustin, Ernest M. Garcia
An American mourning the death of girlfriend wanders through Europe only to come upon a village where Dracula preys on the villagers. Teaming up with legendary vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, the American tries to kill the vampire before he kills an innkeeper’s daughter.
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37. King of the Lost World (2005)
> IMDb average rating: 2.4/10 (1,854 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 12% (494 votes)
> Starring: Bruce Boxleitner, Jeff Denton, Rhett Giles, Sarah Lieving
Loosely based on the 1912 novel “The Lost World” by Arthur Conan Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame, this is the story of a group of travelers who crash in a remote area. They soon find themselves attacked by large creatures, including a giant ape.
36. Supercroc (2007)
> IMDb average rating: 2.2/10 (1,141 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 14% (508 votes)
> Starring: Cynthia Rose Hall, Matt Blashaw, Kim Little, David Novak
Action and horror combine in this movie about a 50-foot crocodile set loose on U.S. cities. A bomb eventually kills the massive creature — but the ending hints that the crocodile laid an egg (which is what this movie did in theaters).
35. Dracula 3000 (2004)
> IMDb average rating: 2.1/10 (6,210 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 15% (9,508 votes)
> Starring: Casper Van Dien, Erika Eleniak, Coolio, Alexandra Kamp
In a space-age updating of the Dracula story, a band of space travelers in the far future meet up with a mysterious Court Orlock, who is really a vampire. The vampire wants to return to earth. Will the crew let him?
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34. Peak Experience (2003)
> IMDb average rating: 3.3/10 (115 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 0% (383 votes)
> Starring: Angel Boris Reed, Michael McLafferty, Mark Collie, Neil Dickson
Billed as both a romantic comedy and a mystery, “Peak Experience” details the adventures of a group of extreme skiers and snowboarders at a remote lodge in the High Sierras. One of the skiers is said to have visions after an avalanche traps her at the lodge. Obviously, this movie couldn’t figure out what exactly it was trying to be.
33. The Cavern (2005)
> IMDb average rating: 2.8/10 (1,676 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 6% (1,134 votes)
> Starring: Sybil Darrow, Mustafa Shakir, Ogy Durham, Andrew Caple-Shaw
A horror film set in Kazakhstan, “The Cavern” follows a group of cavers trying to escape a mysterious beast. Spoiler alert: The beast wins in the end.
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32. .com for Murder (2002)
> IMDb average rating: 2.7/10 (4,111 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 7% (11,081 votes)
> Starring: Nastassja Kinski, Jeffery Dean, Nicollette Sheridan, Roger Daltrey
In this psychological thriller, an injured woman confined to her home stumbles upon a murderer online. This update of the Hitchcock classic “Rear Window” wasted the talents of some pretty well-known actors and musicians including Nastassja Kinski, Roger Daltrey, and Huey Lewis.
31. Inchon (1981)
> IMDb average rating: 2.7/10 (762 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 7% (257 votes)
> Starring: Laurence Olivier, Jacqueline Bisset, Ben Gazzara, Toshirô Mifune
Proving that even epic war pictures can bomb at the box office, this film details the pivotal Korean war battle of Inchon. Despite the prestige of Laurence Olivier as Gen. Douglas MacArthur and a stellar cast, the film lost $41 million.
30. Pledge This! (2006)
> IMDb average rating: 1.8/10 (18,211 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 18% (7,524 votes)
> Starring: Paris Hilton, Simon Rex, Paula Garcés, Sarah Carter
Also billed as “National Lampoon’s Pledge This,” the comedy follows the exploits of a group of so-called misfit sorority sisters who search for a new home after the toilet in their house explodes. They attempt to join a sorority led by Paris Hilton, who tries to keep them out but in the end relents and lets them in.
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29. Night Train to Venice (1993)
> IMDb average rating: 2.2/10 (1,015 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 13% (738 votes)
> Starring: Hugh Grant, Tahnee Welch, Malcolm McDowell, Kristina Söderbaum
An author (played by Hugh Grant) travels to Venice to drop off his latest manuscript on European Neo-Nazism. Along the way he meets a stranger who causes him to lose his memory, and nearly gets killed.
28. Apartment 1303 3D (2012)
> IMDb average rating: 2.5/10 (5,797 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 9% (1,118 votes)
> Starring: Mischa Barton, Julianne Michelle, Rebecca De Mornay, Corey Sevier
A woman (Mischa Barton) moves into an apartment where the previous occupant killed herself. Strange things begin to happen and she eventually ends up dead herself, as do several other people in this supernatural horror film.
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27. By the People (2005)
> IMDb average rating: 3.2/10 (36 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 0% (430 votes)
> Starring: Joju George, Surabhi Lakshmi, Mangala, Narain, Vinayakan
An Indian Malayalam-language film, “By the People” deals with a group of students fighting corruption at the highest levels of education and government. It is the second in a series, along with “4 the People” (2004) and “Of the People” (2008).
26. Hobgoblins (1988)
> IMDb average rating: 2.3/10 (12,761 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 11% (1,620 votes)
> Starring: Tom Bartlett, Paige Sullivan, Steven Boggs, Kelley Palmer
A group of hobgoblins — small, evil creatures — escape from a vault at a movie studio. The demons have the power to make your dreams come true, but you’ll pay a price. The movie was roundly dinged for poor quality and similarities to the superior “Gremlins.”
25. The Bat People (1974)
> IMDb average rating: 2.6/10 (2,461 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 7% (473 votes)
> Starring: Stewart Moss, Marianne McAndrew, Michael Pataki, Paul Carr
A doctor takes his newlywed wife on a honeymoon in a cave. (How romantic!) A bat bites him and he transforms into a man/bat creature and goes on a killing spree.
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24. House of the Dead (2003)
> IMDb average rating: 2.1/10 (36,827 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 10% (46,870 votes)
> Starring: Jonathan Cherry, Tyron Leitso, Clint Howard, Ona Grauer
Two guys and three girls go on a boat trip and end up on an island inhabited by zombies. They meet up with more of their college friends, and — what else? — death and mayhem ensue.
23. Space Mutiny (1988)
> IMDb average rating: 2.1/10 (6,983 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 13% (213 votes)
> Starring: Reb Brown, John Phillip Law, James Ryan, Cameron Mitchell
A crew aboard a spaceship searches for a land to colonize. But the chief of security wants to hijack the ship and steer it toward the Corona Borealis system. His plan is foiled by a group who want to wrest control of the ship from him.
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22. Hellraiser: Revelations (2011)
> IMDb average rating: 2.7/10 (7,611 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 5% (798 votes)
> Starring: Jolene Andersen, Steven Brand, Dan Buran, Camelia Dee
A horror film with sadomasochist overtones, “Hellraiser: Revelations” involves two college friends who unleash the murderous Cenobites led by Pinhead. As you might have guessed, many characters haven’t survived by the end of the movie.
21. Submerged (2000)
> IMDb average rating: 3.1/10 (784 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 0% (1,149 votes)
> Starring: Coolio, Maxwell Caulfield, Brent Huff, Nicole Eggert
The plot of this action film involves the crash landing of a plane in the ocean and a satellite system that can destroy missiles before they hit their target. Before the baddies can use the system to blow things up, the good guys stop them.
20. The Arena (2001)
> IMDb average rating: 3.1/10 (753 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 0% (56 votes)
> Starring: Karen McDougal, Lisa Dergan, Olga Sutulova, Yuliya Chicherina
A group of female gladiators played by Playboy playmates vie in a Roman arena. The movie went straight to video — never the sign of a good movie.
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19. Return to Boggy Creek (1977)
> IMDb average rating: 2.7/10 (644 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 5% (410 votes)
> Starring: Dawn Wells, Dana Plato, David Sobiesk, Marcus Claudel
A group of children hide in the woods from a Bigfoot-like creature called “Big Bay-Ty.” A hurricane hits, but the children are saved from the raging waters by the beast who is actually rather nice. Break out the tissues.
18. I Accuse My Parents (1944)
> IMDb average rating: 2.5/10 (2,955 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 5% (554 votes)
> Starring: Robert Lowell, Mary Beth Hughes, John Miljan, Vivienne Osborne
In this 1940s-era film, a teenager accused of manslaughter blames his neglectful parents for his crime. The film’s message is for parents to take care of their children, or the kids will end up as criminals.
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17. Las Vegas Serial Killer (1986)
> IMDb average rating: 2.9/10 (167 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 0% (1,126 votes)
> Starring: Pierre Agostino, Ron Jason, Chris Cave, Kathryn Downey
A serial killer is released from a Nevada prison and immediately goes on a killing spree in Las Vegas. His crimes become known as the “Glitter Gulch Holocaust.” What happened in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas this time.
16. The Singing Forest (2003)
> IMDb average rating: 1.9/10 (664 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 12% (321 votes)
> Starring: Jon Sherrin, Erin Leigh Price, Eric Morris, David Guzzone
In this romantic fantasy, a widower believes he is the reincarnation of a German resistance fighter. He then believes his daughter’s fiancé is actually his gay lover from a past life. Then he realizes his daughter is actually a ghost. In the end, the two men marry. Got it?
15. Immortally Yours (2009)
> IMDb average rating: 2.2/10 (712 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 8% (7,907 votes)
> Starring: Daniel Goddard, Kat Hawks, Eric Etebari, Joshua G. Joseph
A vampire wants to break free of his immortal life with the help of a doctor. However, the doctor works for a nefarious group that wants to harvest the vampire’s genes for immortality. The group jets off into space in the end while the now-cured vampire and the doctor’s daughter begin a life together.
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14. Mean Mother (1973)
> IMDb average rating: 2.8/10 (418 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 0% (962 votes)
> Starring: Dobie Gray, Dennis Safren
Two soldiers — one played by R&B singer Dobie Gray (“The In Crowd”), billed as Clifton Brown — desert during the Vietnam War and end up involved in criminal activities in Europe. “Mean Mother” is an early example of the Blaxploitation films of the 1970s.
13. The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)
> IMDb average rating: 2.2/10 (11,441 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 7% (1,857 votes)
> Starring: Douglas Mellor, Barbara Francis, Bing Stafford, Larry Aten
A defecting Soviet scientist is transformed into a killing beast after witnessing a nuclear test in the desert. An innocent family becomes involved in the proceedings in this movie that plays to the fears of the 1960s Cold War.
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12. Frankenstein Island (1981)
> IMDb average rating: 2.2/10 (1,085 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 7% (1,502 votes)
> Starring: Robert Clarke, Steve Brodie, Cameron Mitchell, Robert Christopher
On a remote island, a distant relative of Dr. Frankenstein attempts to turn some marooned balloonists into zombies. A group of bikini-clad Amazon jungle girls who are descended from aliens also figure in this idiotic story.
11. Going Overboard (1989)
> IMDb average rating: 1.8/10 (13,175 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 11% (12,465 votes)
> Starring: Adam Sandler, Billy Bob Thornton, Billy Zane, Burt Young
Adam Sandler has built a solid career as a comedian, but this one was a misfire. He plays a struggling comic who gets his big break on a cruise ship. And in a ridiculous turn, he also saves the ship from terrorists by promising to put them in a movie.
10. Zombie Nation (2004)
> IMDb average rating: 2/10 (8,086 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 8% (771 votes)
> Starring: Gunter Ziegler, Brandon Dean, Axel Montgomery, Phil Lander
A murderous police officer gets what’s coming to him when his victims come back to life as zombies. The zombies dine on a few other humans before giving the officer his comeuppance.
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9. The Wild World of Batwoman (1966)
> IMDb average rating: 2/10 (4,599 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 8% (883 votes)
> Starring: Katherine Victor, George Mitchell André, Steve Brodie, Richard Banks
In this comedic action film, Batwoman enlists the help of Batgirls to fight corruption and a villain aptly named “Rat Fink.” In the end, a Batgirl and one of the villain’s henchmen fall in love. Does that make it a woman’s film?
8. Monster a Go-Go (1965)
> IMDb average rating: 2.2/10 (11,370 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 5% (715 votes)
> Starring: Philip Morton, June Travis, George Perry, Lois Brooks
A missing astronaut is turned into a radioactive monster. Or is he an alien impersonating the astronaut? And how did he end up in a Chicago sewer? The movie doesn’t answer any of those questions, which is probably at least partly why it bombed.
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7. Flesh Feast (1970)
> IMDb average rating: 2.6/10 (699 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 0% (312 votes)
> Starring: Veronica Lake, Phil Philbin, Doug Foster, Harry Kerwin
In one-time glamorous movie star Veronica Lake’s final screen appearance, she plays a scientist developing maggots that devour human flesh. Her ultimate goal is to create a clone of Adolf Hitler so she can kill him. A sad ending for one of the screen’s most beautiful sirens.
6. Foodfight! (2012)
> IMDb average rating: 1.6/10 (10,438 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 10% (2,200 votes)
> Starring: Hilary Duff, Haylie Duff, Charlie Sheen, Eva Longoria
A rare computer-generated animated film on the worst list, “Foodfight!” follows the exploits of a cereal brand mascot and his followers known as “Ikes” as they combat an evil “Brand X” that wants to take over their supermarket. In the end, the good guys win and Brand X is defeated in a movie that’s a boon to product placement.
5. Moscow Heat (2004)
> IMDb average rating: 2.4/10 (2,284 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 0% (1,219 votes)
> Starring: Michael York, Alexander Nevsky, Richard Tyson, Robert Madrid
The plot of this movie sounds interesting: a retired diplomat avenging the death of his son and a Los Angeles detective follow a killer to Moscow, where they become enmeshed in the Russian underworld. Unfortunately, the movie didn’t live up to its promising premise.
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4. King Dinosaur (1955)
> IMDb average rating: 2.1/10 (1,435 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 3% (378 votes)
> Starring: William Bryant, Wanda Curtis, Douglas Henderson, Patti Gallagher
Four scientists travel to a planet inhabited by giant insects and prehistoric mammals. While there, they encounter King Dinosaur, an iguana who stands on his hind legs. In the end, the planet is blown up in a nuclear explosion — a common plot device in many 1950s era films.
3. The Hellcats (1968)
> IMDb average rating: 1.9/10 (1,797 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 4% (439 votes)
> Starring: Ross Hagen, Dee Duffy, Sharyn Kinzie, Del ‘Sonny’ West
Biker films were a staple in the 1960s, but this one failed to rev up the box office. A returning Army veteran infiltrates a narcotic-smuggling female biker gang to find his brother’s killer. He’s aided in this endeavor by his dead brother’s girlfriend.
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2. Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (1972)
> IMDb average rating: 1.3/10 (1,400 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 11% (511 votes)
> Starring: Jay Ripley
In this musical fantasy, Santa enlists a group of children to free his sleigh from the Florida sand — adding up to a rare holiday film that failed to get audiences into the Christmas spirit.
1. Reis (2017)
> IMDb average rating: 1.4/10 (73,144 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 0% (6 votes)
> Starring: Reha Beyoğlu, Orhan Aydin, Özlem Balcı, Volkan Basaran,
This biographical film portrays the early life of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (“Reis” is Turkish for “Chief”). It covers his time as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998 and his brief imprisonment in 1999. The film has no apparent purpose except to burnish strongman Erdoğan’s reputation.
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