10 Movies That Destroyed Themselves

The lesser-seen action horror The Retaliators has just enjoyed its first (and last) limited theatrical release this September, after debuting at horror festivals in the UK and US in late 2021.

If Don't Worry Darling has taught us anything, it's that padding a film's cast with musicians rather than actors is rarely a strategy for success, and yet The Retaliators did it in spades. Starring Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach), Spencer Charnas (Ice Nine Kills), Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe) and all of Five Finger Death Punch, the film's production was very much cameo-led, based around which rock stars the production could get hold of and how they could give each of them their badass moment.

Unfortunately, that is where the film's ingenuity, if it can be called that, ends. The Retaliators lack of a good script to work from is evident in every scene, with the story changing direction often and coming across as piecemeal and unfocused. The revolving door of three different directors -- one of whom is the star, Michael Lombardi -- can't have helped, especially given that none of them have a solid background in the industry.

To compound this disaster, the film's marketing and release was built around an admittedly killer soundtrack, soaking up fanbase of the rock and metal stars then stinging them so badly they might never trust again.