Some films are bad for obvious reasons: the story makes no sense, the acting bad, studio interference, etc.. And then there are some that bad, but for less apparent reasons. Some more insidious reasons for a bad movie may go undetected upon initial viewing, but feel glaring and obvious once they are identified.
A movie with bad editing is like a diamond that was only 45% refined; there truly is some quality amidst the raw material, if only that extra step was taken to bring it to its utmost luster! Here are 10 examples of movies with truly horrible editing to be seen to appreciate why the Oscars were CRAZY to consider pulling the Film Editing category in the 91st annual Academy Awards.
The Brown Bunny
The plot is non-existent, the pacing is slow, but in terms of editing, it is a veritable wet dream to anyone that enjoys long uneventful shots of the main character driving from point A to point B for some indeterminate reason.
The movie culminates with a pre-Me too era Chloe Sevigny performing a real onscreen sex act on Vincent Gallo, a clunky nonsensical ending, and an angry moviegoer who questions why they had bothered to waste their time on this hubris of a nothing of an indie film.
Birdemic: Shock and Terror
Debatably one of the worst movies conceived in the 21st century, Birdemic: Shock and Terror is a heavy-handed eco-terror horror flick about a group of people escaping murderous mutated birds caused by climate change and is bereft of any sort of technical skill from any of the people involved.
Scenes go on for far too long, the acting is amateur hour, and questionable audio production makes the awfulness of the film go from pretty bad to just downright legendary. The film was so bad it was covered by popular Youtuber Jontron and has since gone viral.
The Room
The movie so bad that it’s good, The Room is infamous for its many, many questionable choices at the hands of its director, the enigmatic Tommy Wiseau. Editing is only one of The Room’s problems, with poor acting, plot inconsistencies, characters being swapped out midway through the movie; it’s a mess, but a surprisingly enjoyable mess that makes the circuit at midnight screenings.
One of the most baffling issues with the film is the long, sprawling, unnecessary shots of San Francisco that pad out the movie but literally do nothing else.
Ghostbusters (2016)
There was much hullabaloo about the all-female Ghostbusters remake when it was released in 2016. Whether or not fans agree on if the movie deserved all the hate and backlash doled upon it, one editing choice cannot be defended. There is a part in the movie that looks like it is setting up for a grand dance sequence a la The Mask, only to cut immediately into the next scene.
As it turns out, there was a dance scene filmed, but it was inexplicably removed and tacked into the closing credits. If they were going to show the scene anyway, why put it at the end when most audience goers would have walked out and missed it? An egregious case of bad editing.
Super Mario Bros.
Thank goodness Nintendo has lifted the moratorium on films of their properties, as a new Super Mario film is slated for release in 2022. It’s not hard to see why the video game company was gun-shy with doling out their property after the abomination that was the poorly managed Super Mario Bros. movie.
No amount of tint on the nostalgic rose-colored glasses could forgive some of the truly movie-breaking scenes brought about by bad editing. For example, Sammy Gonzales from the podcast Double Toasted points out a flaw in the movie’s editing where the jump shoes are inexplicably gone in one scene only to reappear when convenient during the film’s finale.
Popeye: The Quest For Popeye (FOX version)
This one may be a bit of a deep cut, but for anyone that had seen both versions of this CGI-animated movie knows the injustice that went down went down. Created by Mainframe Entertainment, the people behind Reboot, the original movie is 90 minutes long including commercials.
FOX got ahold of the property and aired it on their network, but in a 30-minute movie block INCLUDING commercials. Obviously, many songs and key plot points were removed from the FOX version, leaving The Quest For Popeye to be a big incoherent mess. Perhaps someday Genndy Tartakovsky will finally get a chance to do his version.
The Snowman
Not even Oscar-nominated Michael Fassbender and Let the Right One In director Tomas Alfredson could save this Swedish crime drama from having audiences give it the cold shoulder. In an attempt to cash in on the success of The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo trilogy, The Snowman was rushed out prematurely.
According to Alfredson, the production schedule was woefully short and as a result, several integral scenes that were to take place in Norway were not shot. The Snowman was released by Universal Pictures, and critically panned for essentially being an unfinished product.
The Thief and the Cobbler
The Thief and the Cobbler was supposed to be the late Richard Williams’ magnum opus. Unfortunately, it was ripped away from him prematurely, presented in its mangled, unfinished form and renamed Arabian Knight in some markets.
The stunning visuals of this film are overshadowed by an ongoing inner monologue by Johnathan Winters; ironically, the two main characters are supposed to be predominantly silent, with the cobbler Tack only speaking at the very end of the movie. For those who want a more complete version of Richard Williams’ vision, there is The Thief and the Cobbler: The Recobbled Cut available on Youtube.
Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge is a decent enough movie, combining stunning, colorful set pieces with contemporary musical hits sung by Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. Where the film falters is in its spastic editing; Baz Luhrmann’s creation is a visual spectacle but also the cinematic version of being afflicted with vertigo.
Camera cuts are quick and disorienting, and take away from some of the slower, more intense scenes like when the movie covers the song “Roxanne.” While the movie was generally well-received by critics, less enthusiastic camera work could have elevated this musical movie so much more.
Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad is what happens when a studio has no faith in their final product. After Dawn of Justice: Batman v Superman failed to enthrall audiences, Warner Bros. decided to pivot and add reshoots to Suicide Squad, and what was once sold as a gloomy endeavor became repackaged as a fun-filled romp.
Moviegoers were not swayed however, and the changes made in the 11th hour did little to benefit the movies box office earnings. There are two new films being made—one is a Harley Quinn spinoff vehicle, the other essentially a reboot by James Gunn sans Will Smith as Deadshot—hopefully Warner Bros. has learned from their mistakes.
