The IMDb Bottom 250: as far as the cinema medium is concerned, is there a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than this list of filmic travesties? You could be forgiven for thinking that there is not a movie on said list worthy of your time, given that the users of the Internet Movie Database have voted them as the 100 worst motion pictures ever made. But do not be deceived: there is worth to be found in at least 10 of the movies lurking in this celluloid pit of hell; movies that - in their awfulness - are actually kind of enjoyable; shocking monstrosities that need to be seen to be believed. So whilst not a single one of the following "recommended" motion pictures listed here are of anything resembling good quality (indeed, they are so bad that the word "bad" doesn't seem fitting), they are at least worthwhile because they showcase what cinema represents at its most horrifyingly bad; the stuff that lurks at the very bottom of film's deepest barrel. So take it all with a pinch of salt, but open your mind to the possibility that sometimes you need to see the most bizarre, absurd or downright questionable movies ever made to give you context. You may not come away from any of these with a sense of delight, but you will come away with something. And isn't that, all said and done, what cinema is all about?
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
