17 horror movies from great directors, from Christopher Nolan to Steven Spielberg

Iin every industry and walk of life, even the best of us sometimes fall short of the mark.

For professional filmmakers, however, mistakes can be costly. Unlike most people, their failings can be witnessed by millions of people – one bad film can tarnish one’s reputation for years or even decades.

This isn’t just a list of bad movies, though. It’s a tribute to the rare occasions when great directors just get it wrong.

For every Kelly Reichardt or Paul Thomas Anderson out there—artists who have managed to go their entire careers without ever letting quality slip—there are countless others who haven’t quite made it.

Even giants in the medium have proven prone to the occasional stray note. And it’s not just directors; some of the best actors around are also guilty of the occasional terrible performance.

However, this list only applies to those behind the camera. From Steven Spielberg to Christopher Nolan, here’s a look at 17 terrible movies from great directors…

Pedro Almodovar – I am so excited! (2013)

Few directors in world cinema rise as strongly above their country’s reputation as Pedro Almodovar, the brilliant, vibrant director behind films such as Return and All about my mother. Around the early 2010s, however, Almodovar hit a rough patch with body horror The skin I live in followed by the horror comedy I am so excited. Fortunately, he rediscovered his greatness and has been on a hot streak ever since.

Robert Altman – Popeye (1980)

Revisionism be damned, Robert Altman’s live musical insight Popeye, starring Robin Williams as the spinach-eating sailor himself, is still a stinker. When it first came out in 1980, it was so fiercely panned that Altman – one of the best American directors ever – retreated dramatically from the Hollywood spotlight, eventually making his mainstream comeback more than a decade later. later with The player.

Kathryn Bigelow – The weight of water (2002)

Coming off successes like Breakpoint and Strange days, The weight of water was a miserable failure for Kathryn Bigelow. Starring Elizabeth Hurley and Sean Penn, the film was a convoluted drama set in two time periods. Its 35 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes puts it squarely in the “bad” category—but anyone who’s seen it might argue that 35 seems generous.

Frank Capra – A pocket full of wonders (1961)

There is hardly anyone in the history of cinema who is as skillfully sentimental as Capra. While many of his most beloved films— Mr. Smith goes to Washington; It’s a wonderful life; It happened one night – came in the 1930s and 1940s, he remained a prolific director until 1961. By then, however, the magic had begun to wane: A pocket full of wonders is a tired and joyless piece of work, a depressingly weak swan song from a Hollywood titan.

The Coen Brothers – Ladykillers (2004)

There are few films that stick out so uncomfortably among a great filmography as Ladykillers, an ill-judged remake of the classic Ealing comedy by the Coen brothers. Tom Hanks is, of course, nice when playing opposite type as a giggling Southern baddie, but the entire remake is worse than half-baked, with some questionable racial politics thrown in for good measure.

Francis Ford Coppola – Jack (1996)

Coppola’s best films can rival almost anything else in cinema: Godfather; apocalypse now; The conversation. Look at his worst, though, and it’s honestly hard to believe they were made by the same person. And in all of Coppola’s repertoire, there really isn’t anything worse than Jackthe amazing comedy starring Robin Williams as a boy in an old man’s body.

David Fincher – Alien 3 (1992)

It’s somewhat unusual that Fincher’s worst film is not only his debut, but also a high-profile blockbuster that grossed nearly $160 million. Following not only Ridley Scott’s iconic film Extraterrestrialbut also James Cameron’s shockingly good sequel, Fincher’s Alien 3 was a total disappointment – ​​a callous departure from the previous film that failed to hide the scars of some extraordinary behind-the-scenes turmoil.

Alfred Hitchcock – Champagne (1928)

All of Hitchcock’s most famous films came after he had already worked in the industry for many years; Champagne is one of many early Hitchcock films that only die-hard fans are likely to have seen. Hitchcock himself later spoke disparagingly of Champagne, which concerns a young woman (Betty Balfour) looking for work after her father goes bankrupt. “The film had no story to tell,” he said.

Peter Jackson – The Lovely Bones (2009)

Over the course of his career, Kiwi director Peter Jackson has proven himself adept at a range of genres, from fantasy epics such as Lord of the Rings to music documentaries like The Beatles: Come Back. comparatively The beautiful bones it was Jackson’s rare case of getting it completely wrong. A supernatural drama about the spirit of a girl who was murdered, The beautiful bones is ugly and narratively dubious, with plot beats that can’t help but leave viewers irritated and frustrated.

Richard Linklater – Bad news bears (2005)

Linklater is a director who can be greatly admired for his versatility—he’s tackled everything from coming-of-age dramas (boyhood) to experimental animations (Scanner Darkly) and dark comedies (Bernie). As with any director who takes such big swings, however, there have been a few whiffs—none worse than his 2005 remake of the 1976 baseball comedy. Bad news brings. Even Billy Bob Thornton playing a watered down version of him Bad Santa Claus boozehound, fails to make this worth anyone’s time.

David Lynch – Dune (1984)

The revolutionary mind behind Blue velvet, Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks has such a unique sensibility that it has become its own adjective – but there was little Lynchian about it Dune. Decades before Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic was profitably brought to the screen by Denis Villeneuve, Lynch’s stormy, confusing look Dune was a landmark for misjudged adaptation.

Christopher Nolan – principle (2020)

Look: there’s a lot to like principle. Action set pieces. Christopher Hitchens’ incarnation of Robert Pattinson. The sheer ambition of it all. But Nolan’s time-twisting thriller is also a mess that proved too convoluted and wacky to win the affection of the movie-going public.

Sam Raimi – Oz: The Great and Powerful (2014)

Raimi has never really had the critical acclaim some of his contemporaries have, but there’s a reason An evil death the director has such a devoted following. He has a handful of outstanding, technically accomplished films to his name – as well as a few real badasses. The worst among them was 2014 Oz The Great and Powerfultasteless, pointless backstory to The Wizard of Ozfeaturing perhaps the most over-the-top performance of James Franco’s career (and that’s no small feat).

Martin Scorsese – Boxcar Bertha (1972)

There is no man in American cinema with a legacy like Martin Scorsese: at this point, Good boys the director is more or less one of the country’s defining artists. What’s remarkable about Scorsese is his consistency, but that doesn’t mean he’s never been wrong. The early crime drama Wagon Bertha endures as what many agree is the director’s weakest effort – a badly dated, exploitation picture that doesn’t betray much of what would make Scorsese such an idiosyncratic director.

Steven Spielberg – 1941 (1979)

For all his varied strengths behind the camera, Spielberg never found comedy to be his forte. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that his worst film is a darkly tongue-in-cheek farce set around the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. This is a testimony to Jawsthe revolutionary box office power of four years earlier and the prodigious talent of Spielberg that the failure of 1941 managed to roll off his back; in lesser hands, this would be a dud that a promising director could take to the grave with him.

Washowski – Matrix reloaded (2003)

While the first two Matrix sequels have always had their ardent defenders, there’s no denying that most people don’t feel the same way. Following The matrix – a blockbuster that literally changed the very fabric of Hollywood – was always going to be a tall order. But audiences just weren’t prepared for the serious and nerdy plot, the rubbery CGI, and the general air of self-indulgence. Recharged made a decent amount of money, but went down in history as a disastrous sequel for the ages.

Robert Zemeckis – Christmas song (2009)

Back to the Future director Zemeckis has had more than his share of lows alongside the mighty highs of his career. 2004 Polar Express often considered the pinnacle of the uncanny “uncanny valley” in Western CG animation, but even this film eclipses his 2009 take on Charles Dickens Christmas song. Starring a digitized Jim Carrey as Scrooge, it was a joyless, joyless spoof.