Being a fan of really bad movies and having taped all the episodes of mystery science theatre I could, I think one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen in “Iron Eagle 3.” It is remarkably bad, and it shows up on TV every now and then.

Brief correction – the movie title in the B section should read ‘Attack of the Killer Tomatoes’. My bad – I had just come from the Rotten Tomatoes site and, well, you know…..

Regards

GDM

Long time reader, first time poster! There is so much to say and debate about these movies, I hardly know where to begin.:-) I note that even Eric has commented more than usual on this thread. I will now put up a long post or two and then fade back into the shadows….feel free to ignore as you see fit!

IMHO – the recipe for a truly worthy bad movie can be summed up in the following formula:

Big names+big budget+earnest effort = utter debacle that makes you wince every 3-5 minutes minimum

This ties in with Mr. Sniders’ ‘must be known to be worthy’ guideline. Utilizing the above formula, you could break down these movies into a number of categories:

A) Shoot ‘Em Down – these movies fit all of the above guidelines. This would include Showgirls, Cutthroat Island, Star Trek IV, Hudson Hawk, WaterWorld, and many others. How could so much money and talent go so wrong? Fire away….

B) Fish In A Barrel – it seems unfair to me to pick on movies like Toxic Avenger (see also “Attack of the Rotten Tomatoes” and “Leprechaun IV: Leprechauns in Space”). These movies were made on a shoestring budget with no-name actors. The folks involved *knew* they were making a cheese movie and they *embraced* the cheesiness for all it was worth. Kudos my friends, kudos. I am certain that Eric could tear these apart but that is like picking on an Ed Wood movie. Too easy really.

C) Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em – look at the posts above on movies like ‘The Saint’ and ‘The Last Unicorn’ (I would also throw ‘Highlander’, ‘Big Trouble in Little China’, and ‘Remo Williams’ into this category). While vegging on the couch and surfing the cable channels late at night, I would happily stop on those last three movies and be at least mildly entertained. Personally though, I despise ‘The Saint’ for Val Kilmers smirky performance, but my sister and her husband own and watch this movie at least 3-5 times a year. Huh?
The point here is – If these movies really and truly suck, how come a significant percentage of people own the movie and/or rise up in its defense? There must be at least *something* here that some people enjoy, even if you/meI/Eric cannot see it. Borderline targets at best….

D) Low Profile/Undiscovered ‘Gems’ – here I must disagree with our fine webhost/author. These movies have fair-to-decent budgets and there are actors/actresses you recognize (or are up-and-coming) that are working *really* hard for a paycheck in a totally lost cause. Just because NetFlix/local video store does not carry them does not mean they are not incredibly worthy of a review column. See ‘ MegaForce’ and I promise it will be worth the effort to find (if you know what I mean). I am still suffering partial blindness from the skintight gold lame jumpsuits worn in this movie……gawd….

Eric D. Snider – true awfulness, like true greatness, must sometimes be searched for Sir!. We seriously respect you for suffering through these movies and giving us the scoop (its like humorously writing about the enema you just had.:). If you can scrape up the worst of the worst (and survive), I smell an excellent book coming. Erics Bad Movie Guide? With negative star ratings? Hmmmm…..feeling it….think about it……

Cheers all

Flash Gordon’s ghost will not rest until Eric reviews his movie.

Probably because we’ve been reading your reactions to many, many movies for years.

You give us insight into your mind every week!

considering how many harry potter references you like to make I’d be surprised if it wasn’t.
Also bonus points for being the in name only prequel to the more infamous Troll 2 (which should also be in the list.)