The 2010s were a monumental decade when it came to filmmaking, seeing the release of a multitude of legendary and widely beloved titles, from exciting blockbuster franchises to poignant and powerful independent films. However, the decade also had its fair share of critical disasters that went above and beyond to create deeply unenjoyable experiences with heinous reputations thanks to their lack of quality. Thanks to the rise of the digital era and the lowered barrier to entry, Hollywood was creating more films than ever before, making the release of these terrible films all the more inevitable.
More than just a film that underperformed at the box office or one that was a slight disappointment to one’s expectations, when it comes to the absolute worst films that the 2010s has to offer,the quality is among the worst cinematic experiences imaginable. Films that are not just lacking in positive qualities, but are actively and consistently making the worst possible decisions in able to make a film that appeals to as few people as possible. Several of these films go beyond the worst of the 2010s, but are some of the worst films of all time.
10’Scary Movie V' (2013)
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee
While the genre was largely popular throughout the 2000s and early 2010s, the spoof movie is something that has largely been abandoned in the modern era of film, which can be greatly attributed to the cinematic failures of films likeScary Movie V. Following in the footsteps of the previous entries in the horror comedy franchise,Scary Movie Vsees its characters facing off against paranormal entities and comedic hijinks as the film balances its parodies ofParanormal Activity,Mama,Black Swan, and many more relevant films of the era, horror or otherwise.
While the previous entries intheScary Moviefranchisehad an inherent charm and grace that made even the most poorly aged of 2000s jokes work well,Scary Movie Vfeatures no such charm and as a result, becomes a painfully unfunny experience. The film is more focused on jamming as many references and in-jokes as possible, not worrying about if any of these films or references will stand the test of time and only concerned with having as much on-screen as possible. Combined with a constant stream of unfunny raunchy humor that was already poorly aged in 2013,Scary Movie Vis a film so bad that it’s almost thankful that spoof movies aren’t being made anymore.
Scary Movie 5
9’The Emoji Movie' (2017)
Directed by Tony Leondis
A tone-deaf animated film that immediately became the quintessential example of bad ideas and painfully obvious attempts to appeal to the younger generation,The Emoji Moviewas a terrible idea from the moment it was announced. The film follows the story of Gene (T.J. Miller), a meh emoji living in the bustling city of Textopolis, a world hidden inside a cell phone where all the emojis live when they aren’t being used. However, when Gene begins having difficulties with his role as a meh emoji, he leaves the city in search of answers in able to finally become the emoji he was born to be.
Few animated films are as painfully generic and formulaic asThe Emoji Movie, which feels like it was written less by an actual human with a creative vision, but instead a corporate room of businessmen making a film designed to appeal to as many people as possible.The film is simply lacking anything close to soul or heart, being filled with egregious product placement, surface-level comedy, and characterization that has been done better by hundreds of other animated movies.
The Emoji Movie
8’Cats' (2019)
Directed by Tom Hooper
Catswas already a largely polarizing and alienating musical when it was a smash-hit sensation on Broadway, yetTom Hooper’s CGI-filled cinematic adaptation served to only amplify the negative aspects of the musical with none of the inherent positives. The film follows a tribe of cats known as the Jellicles, as they garner excitement for their yearly tradition of using various song and dance numbers to decide which among them will ascend to the Heaviside Layer. However, the vicious Macavity has been kidnapping other cats in an attempt to secure the spot for himself.
Catsas a Broadway musical was never about the actual overarching story being told and instead acted as an excuse to see exquisite costuming and dazzling choreography on the Broadway stage. So, when this feature film adaptationreplaces the great costumes with computer-animated cat/human monstrosities and downplays the dancing choreography, what is left is jarring and nonsensical. Due to the large budget and hopes placed on the film to succeed, being filled with A-list actors and massive pop stars, the film has garnered a reputation as one ofthe worst movie musicals of all time.
Watch on Netflix
7’Birdemic: Shock and Terror' (2010)
Directed by James Nguyen
While the exponential increase of filmmaking technologies and lowered barrier of entry has resulted in a massive increase in exciting and original storytelling,Birdemic: Shock and Terroris a prominent example of the exact opposite quality. The low-budget riff onAlfred Hitchcock’sThe Birdsis one of the most infamous so-bad-it’s-good movies of recent memory, even rivaling films likeThe Roomas a master of unintentional comedy. The film tells the story of a group of survivors attempting to fight off an unexpected assault on humanity from an army of birds, seemingly getting revenge for humanity’s role in global warming.
It’s easy to have a hilariously good time withBirdemic: Shock and Terrorthanks to its overwhelming amount of flaws and bafflingly dumb decisions that all come together to create a beautifully terrible film. From the titular Birdemic not starting until halfway through the film to nonexistent audio mixing and comically bad performances to what may just bethe worst visual effects of all time,Birdemicis the gift that keeps on giving in terms of terrible filmmaking.
Birdemic: Shock and Terror
Watch on Amazon Prime
6’Jack and Jill' (2011)
Directed by Dennis Dugan
Adam Sandlerhad a largely rocky career throughout the 2010s, with numerous ups and downs as his comedic efforts continued to land well with audiences but acted as misses for critics. However, one of the few films that was unanimously considered to be one of his worst cinematic outings in the eyes of both critics and audiences wasJack and Jill, one of the most unfunny studio comedies of all time. The film sees Sandler in a dual role as advertising executive Jack and his twin sister, Jill, who ends up causing mischief and chaos when visiting him and his family for the holidays.
Even removed from the more problematic aspects of having Sandler dress up and pretending to be a woman,Jack and Jill’s biggest flaw is thatit’s completely devoid of anything that could be considered close to actually funny. It’s deeply mean-spirited as far as comedies go, as well as being filled to the brim with egregious product placement and a deeply embarrassing phoned-in performance by living legendAl Pacino. It easily stands out as the low point of Sandler’s career, as well as one of the worst comedies of all time,despite its box-office success.
Jack and Jill
5’Airplane Mode' (2019)
Directed by Dylan Trussell and David Dinetz
It’s been a recurring trend throughout film history for notable celebrity figures who aren’t known for acting to throw their hat in the ring of feature-length cinema, with large variations in terms of quality. One of the most egregious modern examples of a failed attempt at cinematic success comes from internet influencer and entrepreneurLogan Paul, who played the leading role in the terrible comedy filmAirplane Mode. Attempting to be a modern-day equivalent of the classic parody filmAirplane, the film sees Paul getting into all sorts of mischief as he gets on a plane to a convention in Australia.
Airplane Modefalls into a lot of the same pitfalls and issues of other influencer-led movies, focusing more on shoving recognizable figures in people’s faces without any care for a memorable story, characters, jokes, or any of the actual things that make up a movie. The film finds more influence from the parody movies of the 2000s and early 2010s, beingfilled to the brim with raunchy and problematic humor that was long since tired out in 2019. The film is emblematic of a type of annoying, in-your-face hype culture from internet personalities that has largely been abandoned in recent years, making the film that much more dated.
4’Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas' (2014)
Directed by Darren Doane
Faith-based cinema is a difficult topic when it comes to criticism and comparisons to other films, as the aspects that make these films so jarring and unlikable for general audiences make them a smash hit for their dedicated audience. However,Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmasis the rare example where the vitriol and low quality were too much, even for the most hardcore fans of faith-based films. The film only barely even meets the criteria of being considered a cinematic experience, yet many critics and audiences stillconsiderSaving Christmasone of the worst movies of all time.
Saving Christmashas a loose plot of the fictionalizedKirk Cameronattempting to help show his brother the true meaning and benefits of Christmas in the modern era, yet this is just an excuse to have Cameron rant about his views on Christmas and its connections to Christianity. Despite the action-packed poster and the fun that “saving Christmas” should entail, watchingthe cinematic equivalent of a jaded and out-of-touch lectureproved to be not just too boring for audiences, but actively annoying them in the process.
Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas
3’Slender Man' (2018)
Directed by Sylvain White
While the 2010s had numerous groundbreaking and exceptional horror films being released during the decade, there were also a select few trends and clichés that dominated the genre and created various terrible horror films during the decade. Out of all of these terrible horror films, the absolute worst of the worst has to beSlender Man, the failed attempt to bring to life the popular internet creepypasta well after interest in the character had dwindled. The film follows a group of high school girls who find themselves as the latest targets of the Slender Man after performing a ritual in an attempt to debunk the mythos.
Slender Manwaters down andcompletely trivializes the intricacies and subtle nature of the original internet mythos, replacing it with an array of cheap jumpscares and lazy formulaic writing. The film massively angered many fans of the characters, completely botching what should have been a simple yet effective horror story and becoming a caricature of the worst horror trends of the era. There’s a chance that the film could have been more well-received if it had been released in the early 2010s when the character was relevant, but the film managed to be both completely inept and too late to the party.
Slender Man
2’Foodfight!' (2012)
Directed by Lawrence Kasanoff
One of the most interesting facets when it comes to the evolution of 3D computer animation is the near-exponential scale of technological progress and possibilities being made, with films taking no time at all to look dated in their visuals. However, even whenFoodfightwas first released, the film’s visual style was a shockingly dated array ofuncanny character designs and movements that felt more at home in the 90s than in the 2010s. The film’s nightmarish visuals are only the tip of the iceberg of problems with the film, asFoodfightcemented its status asone of the worst animated movies of all time.
It’s hard to understate just how jarring the visuals ofFoodfightare, managing to look even worse than some of the first 3D animated feature films likeToy StoryandIce Age. It doesn’t help that the characters themselves range from obnoxious caricatures that border on problematic to physical embodiments of product placement such as with Mr. Clean and Mrs. Buttersworth. There’s very little that the film offers that other “inanimate object brought to life” stories can provide, as the film is as formulaic as it is unsightly to look at.
Foodfight!
Watch on Xumo
1’The Last Airbender' (2010)
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
While some lower-budgeted films likeBirdemicandFoodfightmay be of lower quality from an objective point of view, what setsThe Last Airbenderapart as one of the worst movies of all time are the expectations placed upon it and the legacy that it tarnishes. The film acts as a live-action retelling of the first season ofAvatar: The Last Airbender, one of the most acclaimed and beloved animated series of the 21st century. The film follows the latest in a long line of Avatars, Aang, who, after awakening from a frozen slumber, finds himself as the one person who can put a stop to the reign of the Fire Nation.
Adapting an entire season of television into a 100-minute film was always going to result in a disastrous and unfulfilling experience, yetThe Last Airbendergoes above and beyond in terms of heinous execution and downgrading the mastery of the original series. From underwhelming child performances to boring visual effects that only show a fraction of creativity as the original series,nearly every decision made inThe Last Airbenderis the absolute wrong decision made. The film has attained a notorious legacy in a relatively short time as one of the worst films of all time, and something that nearly everyone involved with the film would rather forget and pretend it never existed.
The Last Airbender
NEXT:The Worst Movies of the 2020s So Far, According to Letterboxd
