If you go down to your local multiplex today, youll be reminded of the advice Thumper received from his father: If you cant say something nice, dont say nothin at all. While they should be getting us worked up with white-knuckle tension, blockbusters show more regard for their promotional partners than the audience, with characters running past billboards during dramatic scenes. At least in 1999s Mystery Men Captain Amazing was upfront about being sponsored by Pepsi, even wearing their logo on his costume. Some movies are so contemptuous of their audience, in fact, that you cant help wondering if someone pulled the trigger on them to prove H L Menckens adage that nobody went broke underestimating the good taste of the American public. From films starring internet sensations who register zero onscreen presence, to slapped-together remakes that trade on famous titles, some films are little more than bad jokes made at the audiences expense. Interestingly enough, April 1 2016 sees the UK release of the Martyrs remake, whose attempts to sanitize Pascal Laugiers original result in an illogical mess that borders on the comical. As movies that leave you feeling like youve been had go, though, it has nothing on the following.
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.'
