Doc Savage – The Man of Bronze (1975)
The final film from legendary 1950s SF producer George Pal, an adaptation of the celebrated 1930s pulp hero Doc Savage. Alas, this is given the campy unserious tone of tv’s Batman, which utterly wrecks the show
Doghouse (2009)
A film about a bunch of boorish lads gleefully eliminating zombie women. A comedy this may well be but doesn’t disguise the fact the film’s sympathies are clearly with the guys making crude innuendos and feeling downtrodden by women
Doman Seman (2009)
Bizarre and entirely incomprehensible Japanese urban fantasy. I reached the end with no idea what this film’s string of strange happenings was about at all
Donovan’s Brain (1953)
The second film version of the multiply filmed novel by Curt Siodmak about a malevolent brain in a tank. Its greatest distinction is featuring later to be First Lady Nancy Davis Reagan as the heroine
Don’t Breathe 2 (2021)
Don’t Breathe was a surprise hit with its story of kids invading a home only to be hunted by blind man Stephen Lang. This is a sequel that bafflingly reverses all the sympathies
Don’t Fuck in the Woods 2 (2022)
Don’t Fuck in the Woods was a reasonably smart slasher film that came with an attention-grabbing title. This is a sequel that introduces body-snatching parasites to the mix
Don’t Go in the Woods (1981)
One of the ‘don’t __’- titled entries in the 1980s slasher cycle with a hulking manic stalking trampers in the backwoods
Don’t Go Near the Park (1979)
Bizarre bad movie about teenage runaways in L.A.’s Griffith Park falling prey to flesh-eating immortals
Don’t Look Away (2023)
Horror film from Canadian genre director Micheal Bafaro about a group of friends who enact a curse where they are pursued and killed by a mannequin
Don’t Look Up (2009)
Fruit Chan conducts another clunker English-language remake of an Asian horror film. A confused and hokey effort only centred around the provision of schlock effects
Don’t Speak (2015)
Spanish film that prefigures the subsequent A Quiet Place concerning an island where anybody who makes a noise is killed. This alas fails to use its premise in any interesting way.
Doom (2005)
Heavily disappointing film version of the videogame that defined the term First Person Shooter. The film version seems to either miss or water down the principal appeals of the game, although you do get Dwayne Johnson (still billed as The Rock) as the bad guy
Dorian (2003)
A modernised version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray where a male model transfers his image to a photograph that ages while he remains immortal
Dorian Gray as Reflected in the Popular Press (1984)
Long and baffling German surrealist film that makes much reference to German silent cinema. Lots of avant garde set ups without any real point
Double Dragon (1994)
Disappointingly poor adaptation of the arcade videogame. The game is premised on mindless martial arts action scenes but the film pitches everything down to pre-teen audiences and make the two brother protagonists into dorks
Double Exposure (1981)
Psychic thriller that draws much from Eyes of Laura Mars as photographer Michael Callan has visions of his models being killed before they are in reality
Dr Dolittle (1998)
Complete and utter bastardisation of Hugh Lofting’s charming Doctor Dolittle stories, which are turned into a modern comedy with Eddie Murphy and talking animals doing lots of pee and poop jokes
Dr Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965)
Very silly AIP comedy that parodies the massively popular James Bond films of the era, as well as features Vincent Price as the villain spoofing his appearances in the studio’s Edgar Allan Poe films
Dr M (1990)
Claude Chabrol updates Fritz Lang super-villain Dr Mabuse to a millennial West Berlin where Alan Bates masterminds a mass suicide cult via advertising
Dr Terror’s Gallery of Horrors (1967)
UK’s Amicus Films had a reasonable hit with their horror anthology Dr Terror’s House of Horrors. In what was surely the first ever mockbuster, director/producer David L. Hewitt jumped in with a copy with a soundalike title produced on a poverty row budget
Dr Who and the Daleks (1965)
This was the first of two Doctor Who movies produced during the height of Dalekmania during the 1960s. Alas a comedy element in the form of the asinine buffoonery of Roy Castle is allowed to dominate and kills the show off
Dracula (2009)
Interestingly odd attempt to update and relocate Dracula to present-day Hollywood. This has promise despite a low-budget but eventually flounders amid a non-linear story and an entirely confused ending
Dracula (2012)
Hard to describe what an utter disappointment Dario Argento’s take on the oft-filmed Bram Stoker work is. Argento seems to have entirely lost the mojo and visual flair that made him a cult name. Thomas Kretschmann makes for the screen’s mellowest Dracula
Dracula 3000 (2004)
There is undeniable intrigue to the idea of Dracula in the future but all we get is a standard Alien copy and placed Count Dracula on a spaceship. The acting and dialogue frequently enters into the absurd
Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)
Mel Brooks had a huge hit with Young Frankenstein, his affectionate spoof of the Universal Frankenstein films. Two decades on he returns to do the same for the Dracula film but with far more scattershot results.
Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein (1972)
One of several Dracula against Frankenstein crossover films that came out in the early 1970s. This version comes from cult exploitation director Jesus Franco but squanders the opportunities of a great title match
Dracula Untold (2014)
Dracula gets an origin story and the same fate as when the magnificently evil Darth Vader became the pouty Anakin Skywalker in the the Star Wars prequels. To add insult, Vlad the Impaler, one of the greatest tyrants of history, gets rewritten as an honourable warrior and decent family man
Dracula’s Widow (1988)
Christopher Coppola is worlds apart in talent from his uncle Francis. Here directing a weak vampire film with Sylvia Kristel in the title role and transformation effects that look datedly cheesy today
DragonHeart: A New Beginning (2000)
A shabby video-released sequel to DragonHeart (the first of several). Although this is quite clearly not being made with the services of Industrial Light and Magic this time
Dream House (2011)
Maybe one of the worst cases of a trailer ruining the film by giving away the big mid-film surprise. The film itself is an absurdly contrived Shutter Island copy that has nothing else up its sleeve beyond its big surprise
The Dreaming (1988)
Australian film about an Aborigine bracelet taken from an archaeological dig exerting supernatural retribution in the present for a mass murder in the past
Dudes & Dragons (2015)
This sets out to parody the Lord of the Rings fantasy. Or at least you think that is what it is trying to do. All suspension of disbelief is killed by a series of grating and anachronistic quips
The Dungeonmaster (1984)
An anthology film produced by Charles Band where assorted directors turn in seven episodes all centred around a videogame warrior put through a series of tests by The Devil
The Dunwich Horror (2009)
An adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft short story. While more faithful to the story than the earlier 1969 adaptation, the film is very cheaply made and collapses into the frequently ridiculous
Earth vs the Spider (1958)
Rather tatty effort in the 1950s giant bug cycle from director Bert I. Gordon who spent most of this era making similar films about big and small creatures and people
Earthsea (2004)
This TV mini-series adaptation of the Ursula Le Guin books is an insult. This was quickly mounted on the back of the success of The Lord of the Rings films but feels like tv filler that has zero affinity for Le Guin’s richly cultured world
Earthtastrophe (2016)
Syfy Channel disaster movie where Earth is suddenly transported into another Solar System and an improbable time travel is sought to reverse this
Edge of Darkness (2010)
A film remake of one of the great tv series of the 1980s. A complete betrayal by the original’s director Martin Campbell that strips all the politics and simply makes it into a Mel Gibson revenge film
The Electronic Monster (1960)
The very first dreamscape film, prefiguring many other films that have taken up the theme, most notably Inception. By contrast this is a dull affair that lets most of the possibilities slip through its hands.
Eli (2019)
This starts out with an intriguing set up involving a child with an autoimmune condition that makes him allergic to everyday air and his journey to a sinister medical institute, before a completely WTF twist
Embryo (1976)
Scientist Rock Hudson brings an unborn embryo to life as beautiful emotionless Barbara Carrera. Though it uses the trappings of modern science, this still has its feet in the creaky old mad scientist film
Emmanuelle in Space: First Contact (1994)
The original Emmanuelle was a supposedly autobiographical memoir about the sexual dalliances of a bored wife in Thailand. Here Emmanuelle is now abducted by aliens for further encounters
Emmanuelle the Private Collection: Emmanuelle vs Dracula (2004)
One of the long-running series of softcore Emmanuelle films based on an erotic memoir. Here the originally true-life character of Emmanuelle encounters Count Dracula
The Emperor’s New Groove 2: Kronk’s New Groove (2005)
Another cheap made-for-video Disney animated sequel trying to get by on association with its predecessor’s name
The Empty Mirror (1997)
A bizarre film that features Adolf Hitler sitting around in the afterlife joined by Sigmund Freud and others as he reflects on his image
Encounter with the Unknown (1973)
A variant on the horror anthology film that manages to let the potential in its three stories fall through its hands. The sole note of distinction is that it is narrated by Rod Serling, creator of tv’s classic anthology series The Twilight Zone, who must’ve needed the money
End of Days (1999)
Arnold Schwarzenegger takes on The Devil on the eve of the millennium. This is essentially The Omen having been reworked as a big-budget action movie
Enough (2002)
Thriller about an abused wife standing up to take the law into her own hands against her husband. This has its credibility shot out by being made as a Jennifer Lopez film who does not seem to want taint the glamour of her image by seeming battered
Entrapment (1999)
Caper thriller with the gimmick of being set on the turning of the millennium, this is otherwise an empty-headed exercise where slick marketing triumphs over credible scripting over even connection between the leads
Eragon (2006)
A dragon fantasy adapted from a popular book series that has Lord of the Rings wannabe stamped all over it and only unimaginatively follows in Peter Jackson’s footsteps
Erik the Viking (1989)
Terry Jones of Monty Python fame makes a comedy with Tim Robbins as a non-violent Viking on a quest to bring about Ragnarok. A film that seems to think it is funnier than it ends up being
Erotic Ghost Story – Perfect Match (1997)
Film posing as a sequel in the Hong Kong-made Erotic Ghost Story series, this consists of random sexual encounters and comic interludes without much connecting plot
The Erotic Misadventures of the Invisible Man (2003)
Most classic monsters have undergone an adult movie interpretation at some point – here it is the turn of The Invisible Man
Erotic Possessions (1999)
An erotic film in which Shauna O’Brien is possessed by the spirit of an actress from the 1940s to win the big role
Escape from Planet Earth (2013)
This is fake SF, an animated film that has no interest in its concept, one that exists solely as a series of pop culture jokes, cutsie supporting characters, thrills and feelgood epiphanies
Eternal Revenge (1999)
A bland Canadian thriller with detective Alexandra Paul investigating a woman who is killing the men who bullied and harassed her
Eulogy for a Vampire (2009)
A gay vampire film set in a monastery. This suffers from a vague and confusing narrative and feels like a film that should have been more interesting than it is
Evan Almighty (2007)
Sequel to Bruce Almighty in which Steve Carell is transformed into a modern-day Noah. This was pitched to the Christian audiences but feels like a series of lame gags playing on Noah and the Ark devoid of any biblical context
Eve of Destruction (1991)
Blatant copy of The Terminator lacking in basic plausibility featuring Renee Soutendijk as an android with an atomic bomb in her chest that goes rogue while on downtown military maneuvers
Everywhen (2013)
A feature film shot by a 17 year-old from Norway. This has more conceptual ambition – mysterious mass disappearances, doppelgangers from alternate timelines – than it seems capable of coherently relaying
Exit 14 (2015)
Friends on Springbreak break down after taking a detour where they encounter creepy towtruck driver Tom Sizemore and drunkenly summon the spirit of a murdered woman
Exit 33 (2011)
Dull and routine film with Kane Hodder as a psycho backwoods gas station owner. The film miscasts the hulking Hodder in trying to make him look like an ordinary guy
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
This became a big sensation with its claims to be on the true account of an exorcism even if director Scott Derrickson alters what actually happened to the point of complete fiction. The rest is just rehashes cliches from The Exorcist
The Exorcist: Believer (2023)
In much the same way as they did with Halloween, Blumhouse and director David Gordon Green offer up a sequel to The Exorcist on the original’s fiftieth anniversary. The results are a bizarre scratch of the head
Exorcist: House of Evil (2016)
The possession and exorcism genre has been recycling the same cliches ever since The Exorcist in 1973. Even this film’s entirely bogus claim to be filmed in the house where the true-life event that inspired The Exorcist took place fails to make this stand out
The Expert (1995)
Rather ridiculous action film where Jeff Speakman breaks into a prison to take revenge against a serial killer because he received too liberal a treatment from the justice system
The Extraordinary Adventures of the Mouse and His Child (1977)
Based on a popular children’s book, this is a simplistic animated film for very young children about a toy mouse that goes on a quest to find freedom
Eye of the Beholder (1999)
A strange thriller in the Basic Instinct-mold with surveillance expert Ewan McGregor obsessed with tracking serial killer Ashley Judd, while haunted by the imaginary companion of his daughter
The Factory (2012)
Dark Horse Entertainment film that traipses through a tired serial killer plot that comes out resembling a weak episode of CSI before a frankly unbelievable twist ending
Fahrenheit 451 (2018)
This had one simple job – adapt a book by one of the great SF writers. Instead, we go from a work set in a book-burning future to The Firemen on reality tv shows competing for Likes on social media and how fake news led to this world
The Family Complete (2010)
Controversial Japanese film about a virus that causes members of a family to engage in gay incest. This is perhaps the dullest taboo-breaking film I have ever sat through
Fangs of the Living Dead (1969)
The first film from Spanish director Amando de Ossorio, later known for the Blind Dead series. A Euro vampire film starring Anita Ekberg, this proves dreary on all counts
The Fantastic Water Babes (2010)
Hong Kong cinema specialises in a type of frenetic, high-energy slapstick. This – a romance set around a swimming competition in which the girl thinks she has been blessed by a water god – is not one of the more inspired
Far Cry (2008)
One of the worst of Uwe Boll’s videogame adaptations, this has the feel of action sequences being slung together with random indifference, slapdash production values and badly mismatched casting
Fast & Furious 9 (2021)
The Fast and the Furious series has escalated from films about illegal street racing to essentially superhero films involving ridiculous stunt work that defies the laws of physics. This takes the characters into orbit
Fat Albert (2004)
One of a spate of films of the 90s/00s that adapted animated tv series in live-action – in this case Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. Here all we get is the animated characters emerging into the real world for slapstick inanity
Faust: Love of the Damned (2000)
Brian Yuzna’s adaptation of the cult comic-book is a disappointment that has tamed down any of the censorship-pushing controversy the original had and emerges as no more than a standard dark avenging superhero film
The Fear (1994)
Rather confused film about people on a therapy retreat to confront their fears who then have to deal with a wooden dummy that has maybe come to life
Fear Runs Silent (1999)
Backwoods horror that starts well, keeping its menace ambiguous but collapses into a mishmash of pretensions and amateurish symbolism
Fear Street 1666 (2021)
The third of the Fear Street films, this takes the story back to a 17th Century filled with absurdly modern attitudes and offers an explanation that ties everything together
FeardotCom (2002)
Internet horror film that rehashes Ring with a haunted website instead of a tv broadcast. This suffers from a muddled concept where it is not at all clear what is happening.
Festival of the Living Dead (2024)
The Soska Sisters made a splash on the genre scene a few years ago. Here they make a tribute/follow-up to Night of the Living Dead but produce an utterly safe work that is the antithesis of the edginess that gained them a name
The Fifth Element (1997)
A big-budget space opera from Luc Besson. This offers a dazzlingly designed future but the plot is an inane hodgepodge of bad SF elements with a tone that flails between action and camp
Final Approach (1991)
A film that mostly consists of amnesiac Air Force pilot James B. Sikking being questioned by psychologist Hector Elizondo. The film constantly hints at a big revelation before setting for one of the corniest twist endings
Final Combination (1994)
Thriller with Michael Madsen as a detective searching boxing clubs for a serial killer. This has one of the most inanely ridiculous scripts one has seen in some time
The Final Destination (2009)
The fourth in the series of films about a series of deaths for survivors after premonition of disaster at a speedway. This is shot in 3D but the novelty death set-pieces have become preposterous
Firebird 2015 AD (1980)
Canadian film set in a dystopian future where private use of cars has been banned and aging car aficionados race custom cars in defiance of the authorities
Firequake (2014)
A Syfy Channel disaster movie that follows the formula with little variation about a geo-engineering project to tap clean energy from the Earth that goes amok creating firequakes
Firestarter Rekindled (2002)
TV mini-series sequel to Stephen King’s Firestarter that now sees Charlie McGee in her twenties played by Marguerite Moreau. The story feels under-plotted and over-padded
The First Deadly Sin (1980)
Dreary police procedural with middle-aged detective Frank Sinatra hunting a serial killer. The film seems to be about getting old and the thriller aspect is developed with almost minimal interest
First Light (1992)
Dreary action film with Michael Paré as a soldier with the army’s psychic warfare unit who is sent on a mission to rescue a girl from the hands of terrorists
A Fish (2012)
Willfully cryptic and baffling South Korean film that only ends up being dull and confusing. Disappointingly, the big denouement reveals that all we have is another copy of The Sixth Sense with pretensions to meaningfulness
Flatliners (2017)
Another remake we never asked for to a film hardly anybody regarded as a classic. Considering that this had the entire CGI revolution to conceive of the afterlife journey and merely has to top Joel Schumacher, it is amazing how dull and uninteresting this emerges as
Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond (2014)
TV mini-series biopic of James Bond creator Ian Fleming that substantially embellishes details of Fleming’s biography into its own story. Dominic Cooper is absurdly miscast as Fleming, playing the part with a boyish smirk
Flight of Fury (2007)
A blatant copy of the Clint Eastwood film Firefox where Steven Seagal is sent to retrieve a hi-tech stealth bomber that has been stolen by a rogue colonel
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000)
Sequel to the live-action The Flintstones film. Whether we asked for it or not, this offers up a Flintstones origin story where we see familiar pieces of the series fall into place
Flowers in the Attic (2014)
Lifetime TV movie remake of Virginia Andrews’ best-selling Gothic melodrama about children imprisoned in an attic. Even if more faithful to the book, this is no better than the 1987 film. The story feels stuffed, mounted and enacted by mannequins
The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
Westernised homage to Wu Xia and the Shaw Brothers film with an American teen transported back to Ancient China, this has all the thrill of junior-grade martial arts tournament
Forest Warrior (1996)
Near laughable film in which Chuck Norris is cast as the guardian spirit of a forest preaching eco-friendly attitudes to kids and inspiring them to stand up against loggers
Francis (1950)
This was the first in a series of excruciating comedies that pairs hapless Donald O’Connor with Francis, a talking mule. Six sequels followed