Amid the gems that sparkle with critical acclaim and audience adoration, there exists a giant shadowy corner on Netflix that is inhabited by the cinematic misfires. These movies not only fail to dazzle but would leave you scratching your head as to why they were even made in the first place.
First on our unfortunate journey is Naked, a film that finds itself draped in the ignominy of a 0 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on critic reviews that awarded it with one or half stars because it was so terrible. Starring Marlon Wayans and directed by Michael Tiddes, this comedy attempted a Groundhog Day-esque time loop premise. However, its execution garnered more groans than laughs.
Next, we have The Ridiculous 6, another member of the zero per cent club on the review aggregator site. Directed by Frank Coraci and boasting a cast including Adam Sandler, Terry Crews, and Taylor Lautner, this Western comedy attempted a parody of The Hateful Eight but with bewildering results.
However, no other film on our list has received as much ridicule as Morbius. The superhero film failed to soar despite its Marvel Comics origins. Directed by Daniel Espinosa and starring Jared Leto in the titular role, Morbius was bad on all fronts, from the shoddy writing to the lacklustre visual effects. The sheer amount of memes and social media reactions mocking Morbius somehow convinced Sony to go for a second theatrical release. The result? Morbius became a two-time box office failure.
Morbius isn’t the only superhero film that makes it to our list. Thunder Force is yet another superhero flick, a comedy this time that failed to electrify audiences. Starring Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer, this film had awful writing. The Bubble also attempted to find humour in the chaos of pandemic-induced isolation. Directed by Judd Apatow and featuring an ensemble cast including Karen Gillan and Pedro Pascal, The Bubble is terribly ham-fisted. However, it is very close to becoming one of those ‘so bad it’s good fun’ kinda films.
Moving into the realm of adaptations, we found the 2017 adaptation of Death Note, a live-action take on the popular manga series which terribly whitewashed the story in addition to stripping it much of its originality. Directed by Adam Wingard, this film delivered a disjointed mess instead.
Next on our list is a double bonanza of bad. Directed by Zack Snyder Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire and its sequel Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver have been epic space opera disasters. They might keep raking up the numbers on Netflix, but when it comes to good storytelling, Snyder continues to leave us high and dry. He has already promised a ‘Snyder cut’ — which has become a gimmick at this point. Perhaps he should focus on getting us the goods as he intended on his first tries.
Rounding out our journey through cinematic disappointment are The Out-Laws and Heart of Stone, two terribly insipid originals from the house of Netflix. Whether it’s the mind-numbingly dull performances or the uninspired stories, these mindless and forgettable films serve as a reminder that sometimes fan outrage over the untimely cancellation of good shows is justified.
Here are Netflix’s worst-rated films, ranked from bad to truly horrible, and their Rotten Tomatoes ratings would approve.
The worst-rated films on Netflix:
- Heart of Stone (2023) – 30 per cent
- Thunder Force (2021) – 23 per cent
- Death Note (2017) – 23 per cent
- The Bubble (2022) – 21 per cent
- Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire (2023) – 21 per cent
- The Out-Laws (2023) – 21 per cent
- Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver (2024) – 17 per cent
- Morbius (2022) – 15 per cent
- Naked (2017) – 0 per cent
- The Ridiculous 6 (2015) – 0 per cent
