9 Films You Didn't Know Were Nominated As Worst Picture

It’s January, which can only mean one thing: film award season is truly underway, and film fanatics everywhere are already arguing about whose opinion matters the most.

From the Gotham Awards in November right through to the Academy Awards in February, we are continuously celebrating the best in Hollywood – but what about the worst?

It’s time to take a look at some of the films nominated for Worst Picture at the Golden Raspberry Awards – or the Razzies – which take place the night before the Academy Awards.

The Razzies have seen many nominees in the past 37 years. From outrageous family films such as The Cat in the Hat (2003) and White Chicks (2004), to the more recent Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), many have deserved their nomination for Worst Picture.

However, sometimes we must question the validity of the nominees, especially as some have built up affection among fans. Batman & Robin, nominated in 1997, starring unlikely pair Arnold Schwarzenegger and George Clooney, has become a fan favourite. Even Howard the Duck (1986) has become a cult classic over the years, although it tied as Worst Picture in 1986 with Prince’s Under the Cherry Moon.

Can we really trust the Worst Picture nominees at the Razzies?

It’s still surprising that Friday the 13th was nominated for Worst Picture at the first ever Razzie Awards considering it’s one of the most emulated slashers of all time.

Even though it was made to cash in on the success of John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) – one of the films cited to establish and popularise the slasher genre – Friday the 13th has become a huge success in its own right, creating many of its own tropes – such as the chasing through the woods scenes – that are often imitated in the slasher films that followed it.

Friday the 13th is successful and was clearly inspiring enough to have 12 films in its series with prequels, sequels, reboots and a crossover, along with a TV series, an 8-bit video game and a multiplayer survivalist game.

There’s so much that the film has to offer from its atmosphere and grisly deaths, to that iconic hockey mask worn by villain Jason Voorhees that it hardly makes any sense for Friday the 13th to receive a nomination for Worst Picture.

Whilst the film was trashed by critics upon its release, it’s always been a favourite for horror enthusiasts, showing once more that film critics perhaps have no real understanding of the horror genre.