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- When it comes to picking the worst movies on Amazon Prime, there are some mighty fine (or mightily terrible) options out there. The following represent not just the bad movies there, however, but the worst movies on Prime that are also some of the most enjoyable found on the streaming service. Think of them as the best bad movies on Prime; those that were never going to top critics' lists or win Oscars, but have special places in the hearts of those who can enjoy some wonderfully trashy cinema.
There's no shortage of strange, confusing, and wonderfully messy movies out there. Streaming services allow viewers unprecedented access to films new and old, and good and bad, plus not having to pay for every movie individually is an incentive to watch ones of varying quality. And in the end, there's a strong argument to be made that you can't properly appreciate the good without sitting through some bad.
The following movies might seem bad when judged the way someone might ordinarily judge a movie, but all have interesting things to offer. The entertainment value provided might be strong, even if the quality of the filmmaking isn't. And when it comes to streaming services, few offer a catalog of movies as wild, wide-ranging, and bizarre as Amazon Prime Video (US) does, which is where the following movies can be found.
Updated August 15, 2023, by Jeremy Urquhart:
When it comes to picking the worst movies on Amazon Prime, there are some mighty fine (or mightily terrible) options out there. The following represent not just the bad movies there, however, but the worst movies on Prime that are also some of the most enjoyable found on the streaming service. Think of them as the best bad movies on Prime; those that were never going to top critics' lists or win Oscars, but have special places in the hearts of those who can enjoy some wonderfully trashy cinema.
10 'Gamera vs. Viras' (1968)
While the Gamera series has always been in the shadow of the Godzilla series, Japan's favorite giant flying radioactive turtle has featured in a few great movies in the past 60 years. 1968's Gamera vs. Viras isn't quite one of them, but it certainly offers entertainment value of a different sort... eventually.
The Gamera films of the 1960s and 1970s were generally like the Godzilla movies, but a little cheaper. As such, Gamera vs. Viras isn't always firing on all cylinders (or any cylinders, really), with it taking a while to deliver on the promised showdown referred to in the title. But once Gamera does indeed fight the weird-looking squid/bird hybrid, Viras, it's glorious, with the over-the-top final battle being worth the wait.
9 'Troll 2' (1990)
Few so-bad-they're-good movies are as iconic as Troll 2. This movie centers on a family who comes to live in a strange town filled with evil goblins, with no one except the family's son (and the ghost of his grandfather) believing that they're in any danger while living there.
From its strange premise to its bizarre dialogue to the stupid-looking goblins to the jaw-droppingly weird ending, Troll 2 is a constant ride of befuddlement and maybe even some wonder. While few would call Troll 2 a good movie, even fewer would say it's a boring movie, ensuring its legacy in pop culture as one of the most entertaining (and beloved) schlocky horror movies of all time.
8 '211' (2018)
A strange Nicolas Cage vehicle available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, 211 sees Cage playing a police officer getting caught up in a bank heist that's spiraled out of control. Much of the movie is an extended standoff between robbers and cops, with a handful of bystanders and hostages also getting tangled up in the process.
All the ingredients are there to make something decent, but things fall apart early and never really manage to get rebuilt. Heist movies are often entertaining (even the ones that aren't so great), but 211 fails to be suspenseful or engaging. Admiring its shortcomings can make for some fun at least, because it ends up being something of a textbook example of how not to do a bank heist movie.
7 'The Fanatic' (2019)
John Travolta has undeniably had a tumultuous career, ensuring that any movie featuring him is something of a potluck. You really don't know what you're going to get, as he consistently fluctuates between being in A-list movies (sometimes even getting Oscar-nominated) and movies that are infamously regarded as some of the worst of all time (most noticeably Battlefield Earth).
The Fanatic sees Travolta playing an obsessed fan of an action movie star, and the consequences that come from him continually stalking the actor. It's a very silly thriller with a committed (and bizarre) central performance from Travolta, and while it might not work particularly well as a tense drama, it is enjoyable as a dark comedy.
6 'Saving Christmas' (2014)
For anyone after an unconventional and ridiculous Christmas movie, Saving Christmas might well be a suitably offbeat option. It features Kirk Cameron playing a version of himself, dealing with a member of his extended family who doesn't get into the Christmas spirit at a gathering. And Kirk is having none of it.
The movie ends up being Kirk Cameron lecturing his brother-in-law - and, in turn, the audience - about the wonders of Christmas, with additional scenes detailing the history of the holiday. Some of these sequences are bizarre, as is the film's clunky mix of awkward sincerity and comedy so tepid and unfunny it becomes ironically hilarious. Some may not find the message of Saving Christmas automatically questionable or amusing, but the execution sure does make it so.
5 'Mitchell' (1975)
All you need is Mitchell's weirdly simple title and bizarre poster to know you're in for something out of the ordinary. It centers on a renegade police officer - the titular Mitchell - who's shown to be willing to stop at nothing to arrest the members of a large drug syndicate who he's been tasked with tracking down and dismantling.
The lengths he goes to are what makes Mitchell quite entertaining. It's also a relatively sloppily made action/crime movie in general, sort of ending up like a bizarro version of 1971's The French Connection. It's messy and occasionally tedious, but thanks to being ridiculous, it can also be a good time when it goes all out and refuses to hold back like its title character.
4 'Hercules in New York' (1970)
Well before he became known for starring in some of the most iconic action movies of all time, Arnold Schwarzenegger had a rather bizarre time trying to break into the film industry. With his physique, distinct accent, and somewhat limited acting range, it took a while before filmmakers worked out how to use him to his full potential (Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator signified the points where Hollywood finally found a use for him).
Enter Hercules in New York, which was the first movie Schwarzenegger ever appeared in, with it being released when the future superstar was only 23 years old. It's as bizarre as the title makes it sound, being an ultra-low-budget comedy/fantasy movie about Hercules going to then-modern New York City, battling mobsters, and getting involved with professional wrestling. It's clunky and messy but holds entertainment value because of how sloppy and strange it is.
3 'Baba Yaga' (1973)
There are plenty of great movies that have been made in Italy, but few would count 1973's Baba Yaga among them. It's a low-budget and sleazy horror/thriller movie, all revolving around one woman targeting - and manipulating - a younger, more conventionally attractive woman, all the while there's an element of mystery regarding just how many supernatural forces are at work.
There are some brief moments of visual creativity, though the film does seem more or less to exist just as an excuse to have tons of sex and nudity. The sheer bizarre nature of the premise - and some of the places it ends up going - makes it at the very least interesting, all the while existing as a movie that's difficult to describe as good in the traditional sense.
2 'Yongary, Monster from the Deep' (1967)
13 years after the first Godzilla movie, a South Korean production titled Yongary, Monster from the Deep was released, and proved to be very similar. The titular monster even looks a little like Godzilla, and the storyline involving him rampaging around a city and needing to be stopped has a decent number of familiar beats.
It does a typical giant monster plot in a way that feels a little haphazard and low-budget, but that just adds to its charm. It's one of the sillier old-school giant monster movies out there, but is surprisingly fun, considering the general lack of love thrown its way. The effects are transparent, the miniatures obvious, and the title character even dances with an annoying child at one point. It's silly but undeniably enjoyable entertainment for giant monster movie fans.
1 'Class of Nuke 'Em High' (1986)
Troma Entertainment is probably best known for the hyper-violent superhero series, The Toxic Avenger, or for its wildly gruesome take on Romeo and Juliet, where the adaptation was renamed Tromeo & Juliet. The studio is also well-known among B-movie fans for the Class of Nuke 'Em High series, with the 1986 original being the best (or worst) of the lot.
It's a movie that follows the chaos that unfolds at a high school near a nuclear power plant, after contaminated drugs find their way into the students' hands, and everyone begins acting very strangely. There's little to no plot, and instead, it's more just an excuse to show low-budget anarchy packed with over-the-top violence and crude humor. For those who want trash, few studios do it better than Troma.
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