I was thinking the other day after my LEGALLY BLONDE 2 experience that we need another genre of 'bad movie.' This in turn led me to think about the genres themselves.
While I suppose *any* mainstream genre can have a bad movie counterpart, there seems to be several that fit more with the definition of 'bad' (as in fun bad). My thoughts:
Horror, with monster, zombie, alien and slasher sub-genres. (you could include thrillers here)
Monster Films that are not really 'horror' (for example, the more playful, light hearted kaiju features)
Swords and Sandals
Kung Fu/Martial Arts
Science Fiction/Space Travel
Superhero/Magic Power
Are there others?
I propose a new genre of 'bad movie:' the (failed) comedy. Of course, LB2 and its ilk defy the definition of good bad, and a failed comedy attempt is more painful than entertaining. But, it just seems like there is plenty of fodder in this category and the complaining might be fun.
What about the "direct to video" genre?
There's gotta be something there for the putrid likes of Gigli...Disgusting Putrid genre?
I'm putting LEGALLY BLONDE 2 on my list of films to see.
Don't forget Spaghetti Westerns and Biker Films.
Yes, Legally Blonde 2 and Gigli are in the genre of "bad" movies. That means they are just bad, not entertainingly bad.
Yep, I forgot all about Westerns. Could you call Biker films and Westerns part of the same genre? Are there sufficient parallels?
Sure there are other genres...
"Lame" Comedies: Pretty much any movie shown on Comedy Central... Airplane 2, UHF and pretty much any of the Police Academy movies fit in here.
Bizzarre Documentaries: Honestly, this very site has the one that always comes to mind: Cane Toads.... but ones about Star Wars and Star Trek could fit in there, depending upon how, um, disorientating it is to watch.
Psuedo cinema: Straight to television oddities that try to make you think they're movies. I remember once seeing something called "The Red Room" that could've fit this group (not a wanna be Lifetime movie but an odd seventies TV movie about a blonde boy who discovers a haunted room where a child burned to death). To be hoonest, I'm tempted to put the next category in here as well:
"Beat" movies: Odd, often B&W films made in the mostly 60's with goatees, bongs, and lame poetry. The Rebel Set comes to mind... they're often lighthearted affairs with someone getting mixed up in crime and getting their eventual comeuppence. Because of the "experimental nature of these films, I'm tempted to throw in any films that has scenes where someone pretends to be on the drugs... but that would put The Hand of Death and The Tingler in this group as well. still, The Incredibly Strange Creatures that Stopped Living and Became Mixed Up Zombies should be here, if only for the mind-numbing title.
Three words: Teen Sex Comedies.
Inbetween watching terrible horror movies I watch terrible movies where the protagonists are usually a bunch of young guys obsessed with "getting some". This is usually accompanied by a series of terrible, unfunny gags and wall to wall gratuitous nudity, said nudity usually being very subpar.
These are usually terrible films, but there are some classics. I can watch HAMBURGER: THE MOTION PICTURE again and again.
Other genres:
Steven Seagal/Jean Claude Van Damme Action Type Films
"Erotic" Thrillers
Children's Movies - More crap has been done in the name of children than any other genre.
Lifetime-Style Woman's Films
Christian Movies
Not that any of the above can't be done well. It's just that there is a veritable surplus of crap for all of them.
Does WIP (Women in Prison) and Cannibal movies count?
Another bad movie genre -
The after-school special
rich andrini Wrote:
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> Does WIP (Women in Prison) and Cannibal movies
> count?
Ah yes, I forgot those, too. Reform School Girls (a classic), and Bad Girls Dormitory are two that I have in my collection.
I have "Ovious Rubber Suit Monsters" like Kaiju films and Octaman as a separate category.
-Ed
Two sub genres of bad movies jump to mind:
Maniac Music (Breakin', Can't Stop the Music, Sextette).
Video Game Massacre (Double Dragon, Super Mario Bros).
Mofo Rising Wrote:
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> Three words: Teen Sex Comedies.
>
> Inbetween watching terrible horror movies I watch
> terrible movies where the protagonists are usually
> a bunch of young guys obsessed with "getting
> some". This is usually accompanied by a series of
> terrible, unfunny gags and wall to wall gratuitous
> nudity, said nudity usually being very subpar.
>
> These are usually terrible films, but there are
> some classics. I can watch HAMBURGER: THE MOTION
> PICTURE again and again.
>
> Other genres:
> Steven Seagal/Jean Claude Van Damme Action Type
> Films
> "Erotic" Thrillers
> Children's Movies - More crap has been done in the
> name of children than any other genre.
> Lifetime-Style Woman's Films
> Christian Movies
>
> Not that any of the above can't be done well.
> It's just that there is a veritable surplus of
> crap for all of them.
Oh god, teen sex comedies are usually painful... but still more entertaining than most Christian movies... I can't believe I forgot those- bad acting in the name of the lord. What's my motivation Jeebus?!?!
<>
Argh. I was hoping no one would bring those types of movies up. Anyone seen 'Omega Code'? I saw a preview for it and it made me sick.
LH-C Wrote:
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> <>
>
> Argh. I was hoping no one would bring those types
> of movies up. Anyone seen 'Omega Code'? I saw a
> preview for it and it made me sick.
China Cry wasn't too bad.
'Cop' Movies
'SFX' Movies
'Buddy' Movies
'Road Trip' Movies
' Revenge' movies
There are as many categorties of 'BAD' movies as there are movies. Unfortunately, 'BAD' movies can end up as a category that includes 'NOT GOOD' movies, like Gigli.....
Teen Slasher Flicks
Yes, yes!
"Guys in bad rubber suits" HAS to be its own genre --
Just watched 2: The Roger Corman remake of "Humaniods From The Deep(1997)" and "Syngenor(1990)" --
Both of these films have really stiff-looking rubber-suited "monsters" with snaggly teeth & exposed brains(!) and slime -- lots of slime.
Really loved both of them, and, to be fair, both had pretty good acting to go along with the cheesy plots and special effects.
Lesson: When attacked by a guy in a rubber suit, it is far more effective to roll around and scream than it is to oh, say, jump up and run away --
Highly entertaining, the pair of them!
peter johnson/denny crane
In addition to bizzare documentaries are also exploitation crap like the Faces of Death. I guess they go under the documentary umbrella though.
Also, artsy fartsy. Movies that try to be artsy and surreal and just fall flat on their face. I can't name any of the top of my head, as usually you just see it in small doses, not an entire film (the hallucinations in Razorback would be an example of what I'm talking about.