So Bad It's Good Movies: 20 Gloriously Terrible Films

A so bad it's good movie fails at what it is trying to do, but fails with such energy and sincerity that watching it becomes a joy. The wobbly sets, strange dialogue and impossible plots are the attraction. These films are best shared, with friends who laugh in the same places.

What makes a bad movie good

• Sincerity. The filmmakers clearly believed in what they were making.
• Ambition beyond the budget. Flying saucers on strings, monsters in gorilla suits.
• Quotable lines that make no sense out of context, or in it.
• Baffling choices in casting, editing or story that keep you guessing.

Deliberate camp is different: a film winking at you is rarely as funny as one that is completely earnest.

Twenty gloriously terrible films

1. Reefer Madness (1936): an anti-drug warning that became a comedy for later audiences.
2. Glen or Glenda (1953): Ed Wood's personal, chaotic early feature.
3. Robot Monster (1953): a gorilla suit with a diving helmet.
4. Plan 9 from Outer Space: Ed Wood's most famous film, long called the worst ever made.
5. The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961): almost no synchronized dialogue.
6. The Creeping Terror (1964): a monster that moves like a carpet.
7. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964): exactly as advertised; in the public domain.
8. Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966): made by a fertilizer salesman on a bet.
9. Night of the Lepus (1972): giant rabbits in slow motion.
10. The Wicker Man (2006): a remake of the 1973 classic, remembered for its bees and its bear suit.
11. Troll 2 (1990): famous for its baffling dialogue, and the subject of a documentary made by one of its former child actors.
12. Samurai Cop (1991): a wig problem and unforgettable dialogue.
13. Miami Connection (1987): a martial-arts rock band fights ninjas.
14. Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987): a frisbee, a snake and a skateboard.
15. Showgirls (1995): a big-studio flop reborn as midnight entertainment.
16. Battlefield Earth (2000): tilted camera angles everywhere.
17. The Room (2003): the modern king of the genre, still shown at midnight.
18. Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2010): eagles that look like clip art.
19. Sharknado (2013): made to be watched this way, and unashamed of it.
20. Cats (2019): a big-budget musical that found a second life at rowdy screenings.

How to host a bad movie night

Step	Tip
Pick the film	Earnest beats ironic. Start with The Room or Troll 2.
Invite the right people	Friends who enjoy talking during films.
Make it interactive	Bingo cards for clichés, props for famous scenes.
Double feature	Pair an old B-movie with a modern disaster.
Read about it afterwards	How a bad film got made is often the best part.

Bad, B or cult?

Not every B-movie is bad, and not every bad movie is a cult film. A B-movie is about budget and billing (see what is a B-movie); a cult film is about a devoted audience (see what is a cult film). "So bad it's good" films are where the two often meet. Several older ones are free to watch legally; see public domain movies.