Why We Like Bad Movies | Cathal Dennehy
The case for terrible movies in which Cathal Dennehy advocates watching Saving Private Ryan and Battle: Los Angeles back to back.
This month sees the release of Taken 2, the sequel to the ridiculious B-movie Taken, which has become a staple of so-bad-it’s-good movies in recent years. Unsurprisingly, the sequel is also terrible, but not in an enjoyably funny way, just plain terrible. So what is the difference between these two films and why do people seems to enjoy the silliness of the original so much? Well, let’s answer that with another question.
What is a cult film? In broad terms, it’s a film that may not have had a wide audience on release but has gathered a small and dedicated fanbase over time. Often enough, some of the worst films ever made have a huge cult status, such as Battlefield Earth, Troll 2 and Plan 9 From Outer Space. These are the type of films that everyone knows are terrible but yet we still throng the aisles/buy out the DVDs to watch them. There are numerous reasons for this.
Many of us revel in watching a film fail so badly at even the most basic elements of film making. How many times have people gleefully quoted terribly written lines from films to one another? We are all familiar with the sensation that is “You are tearing me apart Lisa!” Perhaps we can take some comfort in watching a film fail to meet even the lowest standards.
Many people (myself included) love the communal effect that watching films can have. Much like the wonderful experience of watching a new film on opening night in the cinema, many of us love a group screening of awful movies. Personally, one of my most enjoyable viewing experiences was a UCC Film Soc screening of Tommy Wiseau’s magnum opus The Room, complete with plastic spoons and audience participation. In this same way, many cult films attain such titles because they are guilty pleasures. Although they might be ashamed to admit it, many people love the campness of Batman and Robin or the sheer stupidity of Highlander 2: The Quickening.
Another theory I have as to why we like to watch terrible films is that it gives us a more balanced vieweing experience. In many ways, watching the occasional turkey helps us to appreciate better films even more. Maybe watching bad films get so many things wrong highlights just how well good films handles these elements. For example, if you were to watch Battle: Los Angeles followed by Saving Private Ryan, you would instantly begin to see similarities. The latter is a shockingly realistic depiction of war and its horrible effects on those who fight the battles.The former, on the other hand, is essentially a sub-Call of Duty amalgamation of clichés. In many ways Battle: Los Angeles, through its ghastliness, highlights what makes Saving Private Ryan such a good film – the great performances, the assured direction, the honest and brutal illustration of war etc.
So from the above evidence, there are plenty of reasons as to why we choose to watch films that we know aren’t any good: whether it's to gloat at a film’s imperfections, to make comparisons with other films or maybe to just have the laugh.
