There are two types of flop: indifferent movies that were indifferently received, and pictures that simply failed to find their audience. The former are unmemorable; if you saw Legends Of Oz: Dorothys Return, Pompeii or The Legend Of Hercules in 2014, youve probably already forgotten them. The latter are the diamonds in the dreck that Stephen King refers to in Danse Macabre; movies that were ignored by festivals, overshadowed by blockbusters or abandoned by distributors before being sold to television, where they came to the attention of a wider, less discriminating crowd. Everyone has a favourite film they discovered without the aid of critics, and it doesnt matter whether its good or bad as long as its fun to watch. One of the more infamous examples is Silent Night Deadly Night (1984), which was picketed by groups who took issue with the psycho-in-a-Santa-suit storyline, killing the film at the box office and creating demand for the title on VHS, where its popularity spawned four sequels and a 2012 remake. If a cheap slasher movie can enjoy an afterlife on home video and cable, then any baffling narrative or big budget write-off can seek rehabilitation, but it first must pass the most mystifying test of all - public approval. Whats interesting about the following ten films is that, generally speaking, they werent popularised by critics, but by positive word of mouth from TV viewers. In the end, neither studios nor critics can make or break a movie - the final judgment always rests with the audience.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
