By Ali Teske
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Roger Ebert's reviews are hardly a dull read, whether scathing or praising. The Chicago Sun-Times film critic boldly took aim at movies the general population adored while simultaneously leading the charge on the movies no one liked. For every greatest movie of all time, according to Ebert, there is a bad counterpart. The movies he deemed the worst of all time earned not even half a star, but rather a disappointing and generally warranted thumbs down. Some of his choices for the worst are titles that either kicked off a franchise that never earned positive reviews or ended one that began as an Oscar-winning monolith.
What made these movies so bad was a lack of awareness and inability to read the moviegoers in the room with premises that ranged from failures to wildly inappropriate. Ebert's choices are a blend of genres, including horror, thriller, comedy, and family adventure, proving that no category of films gets a pass for being terrible just because it's a "stupid comedy" or "mindless kids movie." For Ebert, movies served multiple purposes, but their most important one was to entertain with strategic narratives that included genre-specific tropes while remaining creatively original. The worst movies of all time fail to do that, in his opinion.
10 'Mad Dog Time' (1996)
Directed by Larry Bishop

A movie is truly bad when an acclaimed critic (and audiences) don't care to investigate the why and how, especially with a star-studded cast. The mafia drama Mad Dog Time is one of those movies. After a mob boss named Vic (Richard Dreyfuss) is institutionalized, his top associate Mickey (Jeff Goldblum) takes over the nightclub while a slew of rival criminals line up to disassemble the empire. When Vic returns, the entire operation falls into disarray under Mickey's watch. Even with an ensemble that includes Gabriel Byrne, Michael J. Pollard, Diane Lane, and more, Ebert gave a thumbs down to the movie that didn't get better as the runtime wore on.
"The actors perform their lines like condemned prisoners. The most ethical guy on the production must have been Norman Hollyn, the editor, because he didn’t cut anybody out, and there must have been people willing to do him big favors to get out of this movie."
Mad Dog Time is a cyclical-style story where each scene usually begins and ends the same with dry dialogue, shots fired, rinse, and repeat. Ebert believed the movie was so bad that the physical film should have been cut into ukelele picks to bring people more joy than watching it. Waiting for the convoluted movie to get good or to make any sense was like "waiting for the bus in a city where you're not sure they have a bus line."

Mad Dog Time
R
Drama
Action
Comedy
Crime
- Release Date
- November 8, 1996
- Director
- Larry Bishop
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9 'Rude Awakening' (1989)
Directed by David Greenwalt and Aaron Russo

Failing to provide meaningful commentary on the socio-political conflicts of the 1960s, Rude Awakening received zero-star commentary from Ebert. Cheech Marin and Eric Roberts star as two hippies who flee to the Central American jungle for two decades to avoid the mandatory Vietnam War draft, only returning to New York to publicize top-secret plans to invade their former home. Ebert's thumbs-down review deemed the "excruciatingly bad comedy" a shallow miss.
"No one in this movie has an adequate intelligence level. The dialogue of the characters is half-witted, their actions are inexplicable, and to the degree that they possess personalities, they are boring, self-important clods."
In Rude Awakening's attempt to portray the abandoned ideals of the late 60s, but to Ebert, the awkward screenplay and performances were an "insult to whatever beliefs it dimly thinks it upholds." The narrative of the yuppie versus the hippie failed to land, making Ebert's choice for one of the worst movies of all time.

Rude Awakening
R
Comedy
- Release Date
- August 16, 1989
- Director
- Aaron Russo
- Cast
- Cheech Marin, Eric Roberts, Julie Hagerty, Robert Carradine, Louise Lasser, Buck Henry, Andrea Martin, Cindy Williams, Cliff DeYoung, Dion Anderson, Peter Boyden, Nicholas Wyman, Michael Luciano, Amy Glass, Becky Glass, Ed Fry, Aaron Russo, Patrick John Hurley, Daniel Chapman, Greg Rex, Timothy Leary, Jerry Rubin, Bobby Seale, Rosanna Iversen, Michael Louden
8 'Last Rites' (1988)
Directed by Donald P. Bellisario
Last Rites Ebert deemed not only the worst thriller of all time but the worst movie of 1988, making a clear choice for one of the worst movies of all time. Tom Berenger stars as Father Michael Pace, a New York priest who learns of a deadly affair when a woman confides in him during confessional that she's killed her husband. While learning of her sins, Father Pace realizes that he's entered into a relationship with the dead husband's lover. Premiering in the last six weeks of 1988, Ebert gave the "shocking exploitation of the religious material" a zero-star, thumbs-down review.
"It is not only bad filmmaking, but it is offensive as well – offensive to my intelligence. Many films are bad. Only a few declare themselves the work of people deficient in taste, judgment, reason, tact, morality and common sense."
Devoid of all plausibility, instead sending viewers on "a feverish scavenger hunt through lurid melodrama," Ebert speculated that Last Rites wouldn't have been financed had every temptation been resisted by Father Pace, who director Donald P. Bellisario argues is facing a "moral crisis." With too many faults to count, including poor scripting infused with twists and reversals that take the entire runtime to put together, Bellisario's attempt at a religious thriller remains a last choice for viewers.

Last Rites
R
Romance
Thriller
Horror
Crime
Mystery
Drama
- Release Date
- November 18, 1988
- Director
- Donald P. Bellisario
- Cast
- Daphne Zuniga, Tom Berenger, Chick Vennera, Anne Twomey, Dane Clark, Paul Dooley, Vassili Lambrinos, Adrian Paul, Deborah Pratt, Tony DiBenedetto, Troian Bellisario, Christine Poor, Al Rodrigo, Jack Hallett, Louis Gigante, Ibi Kaufman, Frank Patton III, Maurizio Benazzo, Roberto Corbo, Leslie Arnett, Tony Lip, Damien Leake
7 'Jaws: The Revenge' (1987)
Directed by Joseph Sargent

One of Ebert's most notorious horror movie reviews earned zero stars and a thumbs down from Ebert, and not much more from remaining viewers. Jaws: The Revenge is the fourth installment in the iconic shark franchise centering on Chief Brody's widow, Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gary). After years of sharks plaguing and killing her family, she pleads with her remaining son Michael (Lance Guest), a marine biologist in the Bahamas, to stay out of the water; however, a great white arrives to spill blood into the water. The franchise's legacy as a creature feature shifted to a full-on slasher with the same shark stalking Ellen from the States to the Bahamas.
"[It] is not simply a bad movie, but also a stupid and incompetent one – a ripoff. And that’s a surprise, because the film is the fourth in a series that has served Universal Pictures long and well...Wasn’t there someone in charge of assuring that the film was at least a passable thriller, however bad? I guess not."
Ebert called the narrative a "series of meaningless episodes of human behavior, punctuated by shark attacks." This installment is one of the prime examples of how franchises can go south. From the dream-within-a-dream shark attacks and the low-budget animatronics to what the critic called an incompetent final sequence, Jaws: The Revenge is one of Ebert's most hated horror movies.

Jaws: The Revenge
PG-13
Adventure
Thriller
Horror
Where to Watch
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- rent
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Not available
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US
- Release Date
- July 17, 1987
- Director
- Joseph Sargent
- Cast
- Lorraine Gary, Michael Caine, Mario Van Peebles, Lance Guest, Karen Young, Judith Barsi, Lynn Whitfield, Mitchell Anderson
6 'Sour Grapes' (1998)
Directed by Larry David

A film Ebert enjoyed even less than his most scathing review of North (see further down). Sour Grapes left a sour taste in Ebert's cinematic mouth, winding up on his most hated list with zero stars. This alleged comedy by Larry David is about two best friends and the fracture of their relationship when one wins a fortune with the other's money in Atlantic City. Ebert called the movie an unintentional car crash, describing it as "tone-deaf" and "cringe-inducing."
"This material is impossible to begin with. What makes it worse is the lack of lightness from the performers, who slog glumly through their dialogue as if they know what an aromatic turkey they’re stuck in."
An automatic thumbs down for Ebert, Sour Grapes is a spoiled mark on the comedic career of Larry David. He compared the movie to Crash, "an erotic thriller about things no one finds erotic." Sour Grapes is a comedy about things no one finds funny, according to Ebert: "cancer, accidental castration, racial stereotypes and bitter family feuds."
Sour Grapes
R
Comedy
- Release Date
- April 17, 1998
- Director
- Larry David
- Cast
- Craig Bierko, Steven Weber, Matt Keeslar, Karen Sillas, Viola Harris, Robyn Peterman, Orlando Jones, Richard Gant, James MacDonald, Jack Burns, Scott Erik, Michael Resnick, Jennifer Leigh Warren, Anthony Parziale, Abraham Kessler, Fred Goehner, Amy Hohn, Denise Bessette, Angelo Tiffe, Bari K. Willerford, Alan Wilder, Hiram Kasten, Kari Coleman, Rosanna Huffman, Philip Baker Hall
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5 'I Spit on Your Grave' (1978)
Directed by Mer Zarchai

The modern remake and franchise creation just proves that you can't always fix a broken premise. I Spit on Your Grave is one of the worst horror movies for Ebert, and one of the worst of all time. Not only did he give the movie a thumbs down, but also the moviegoers attending who took pleasure in witnessing the acts of violence depicted onscreen. The original I Spit on Your Grave depicts the repeated brutal assaults on a young woman, Jennifer (Camille Keaton), by a group of local men after she arrives in a remote town for a solo getaway. The narrative shifts to a revenge story when some weeks later, a somewhat recovered Jennifer reimerges to exact her violent revenge on the men. For Ebert, I Spit on Your Grave was disgustingly defined by the moviegoers who seemingly identified with the perpetrators and their acts of onscreen violence.
"This movie is an expression of the most diseased and perverted darker human natures, Because it is made artlessly, It flaunts its motives: There is no reason to see this movie except to be entertained by the sight of sadism and suffering."
Violence onscreen for the sake of violence and geek show entertainment is a method of filmmaking Ebert vehemently condemned. The critic was appalled that a film like this was screened in respectable theaters, and his watching and reviewing it was one of the most dejecting experiences of his life. He exits his review much like how he describes exiting the theater that day in Chicago, "feeling unclean, ashamed and depressed."

I Spit On Your Grave
R
- Release Date
- November 22, 1979
- Director
- Meir Zarchi
- Cast
- Camille Keaton, Eron Tabor, Richard Pace, Anthony Nichols
- Main Genre
- Horror
I Spit on Your Grave is not currently available for streaming in the U.S.
4 'North' (1994)
Directed by Rob Reiner

This movie made multiple appearances on Ebert's worst of lists, including family movies, comedy movies, and his most hated. North is the story of the titular young boy (Elijah Wood) on the search for new, better parents than his inattentive biological ones (Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jason Alexander). North becomes a media sensation after taking his parents to court, causing a domino effect of other children emancipating themselves. Ebert's thumbs-down review is one of his most memorable reviews showcasing his disgust for a PG movie, using the word "hate" 10 times in one paragraph.
"'North' is a bad film – one of the worst movies ever made. But it is not by a bad filmmaker, and must represent some sort of lapse from which Reiner will recover – possibly sooner than I will."
To Ebert, North lacks the emotional intelligence to be entertaining, making a mockery of parenting and the beautifully innocent imaginations of children. The critic's scathing review took issue with the false narratives the movie insinuated about what "bad parents" really look like, Ebert calling it "manipulative" to impressionable young viewers.

North
PG
Comedy
Family
Fantasy
- Release Date
- July 22, 1994
- Director
- Rob Reiner
- Cast
- Bruce Willis, Elijah Wood, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jon Lovitz, Alan Arkin, Dan Aykroyd, Kathy Bates, Graham Greene, Faith Ford, Robert Costanzo, Matthew McCurley, Reba McEntire, John Ritter, Lauren Tom, Abe Vigoda, Keone Young, Marc Shaiman, Jussie Smollett, Taylor Fry, Alana Austin, Peg Shirley, Chuck Cooper, Alan Zweibel, Donavon Dietz
3 'Deuce Bigalow European Gigolo' (2005)
Directed by Mike Bigelow

In the review that started a fight with the film's star, Rob Schneider, Ebert took aim at Schneider's inability to accept criticism of the sequel from not only Ebert but Los Angeles Times writer, Patrick Goldstein. A thumbs-down comedy, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo features the titular male prostitute (Schneider) as he explores Amsterdam while a killer is on the loose targeting men like him. Ebert's zero-star review poked fun at Schneider's Razzie nomination for the movie and how he lost to Ahmed Best, the voice of Jar Jar Binks.
"'Deuce Bigalow' is aggressively bad, as if it wants to cause suffering to the audience. The best thing about it is that it runs for only 75 minutes."
Ebert's review took much more pleasure in pointing out that "Schneider can dish it out but he can’t take it. Then I found he’s not so good at dishing it out, either," referring to Schneider's comment that Patrick Goldstein had never won a press award (he had). While the feud between Schneider and Ebert eventually resolved, there was no reversal of including Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo on Ebert's most hated movie list.

Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
R
Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US
- Release Date
- August 12, 2005
- Director
- Mike Bigelow
- Cast
- Rob Schneider, Eddie Griffin, Jeroen Krabbé, Til Schweiger, Douglas Sills, Carlos Ponce
- Main Genre
- Comedy
2 'Freddy Got Fingered' (2001)
Directed by Tom Green

A movie he called "a vomitorium," Freddy Got Fingered was an inevitable comedy after movies like Joe Dirt, See Spot Run, and Monkeybone came before it. Ebert wasn't surprised at its release and named it one of the worst comedy movies with his 0-star rating. Directed by, co-written by, and starring Tom Green, the comedy features failing cartoonist Gord (Green) as he spreads a false rumor of sexual abuse about his father as payback for wanting to throw him out of the house. From the poor taste in title and premise that disparages assault, Ebert knew from the opening scene this would be a thumbs down, unfunny "comedy," winding up on his most hated list.
"This movie doesn’t scrape the bottom of the barrel. This movie isn’t the bottom of the barrel. This movie isn’t below the bottom of the barrel. This movie doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence with barrels."
Bulldozing over the boundaries of comedy, Freddy Got Fingered barely captured an audience, with a majority of viewers and critics balking at the audacity and unapologetic identity the movie assumes. Ebert was certain that there would never be a time or place where this movie is considered funny.

Freddy Got Fingered
R
- Release Date
- April 20, 2001
- Director
- Tom Green
- Cast
- Tom Green, Rip Torn, Marisa Coughlan, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Harland Williams, Anthony Michael Hall, Julie Hagerty, Jackson Davies, Connor Widdows, John R. Taylor, Bob Osborne, Fiona Hogan, George Gordon, Ron Selmour, Drew Barrymore, David Neale, Scott Heindl, Wendy Chmelauskas, R. Nelson Brown, Lorena Gale, Simon Longmore, Giacomo Baessato, Eric Keenleyside, Shaquille O'Neal, Rick Tae, Noel Fisher
- Main Genre
- Comedy
1 'Caligula' (1979)
Directed by Tinto Brass

Not only is this movie Ebert's choice for the worst drama movie of all time, but Caligula is Ebert's most hated movie and "the worst film [he's] ever seen." The erotic period drama depicted the rise and reign of Roman Emperor Caligula (Malcolm McDowell), featuring X-rated content from decapitation to bestiality and necrophilia to rape. This is the most notorious example of Ebert walking out of the theater, giving the movie zero stars and two thumbs down.
"All I can say is that the makers of “Caligula” have long since lost touch with any possible common erotic denominator, and that they suggest by the contents of this film that they are jaded, perverse and cruel human beings."
Caligula has been deemed one of the worst movies ever made, a movie Ebert described as "sickening, utterly worthless, shameful trash." It's a film lacking any joy or pleasure, instead a sickening dive into violent fantasies. Ebert knew his review would still encourage people to see Caligula and if it was really as bad as he said it was. Don't believe him, just ask Ebert's fellow moviegoer, who said, "This movie is the worst piece of sh*t I have ever seen."

Caligula: The Ultimate Cut
Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US
- Release Date
- May 15, 2023
- Director
- Tinto Brass
- Cast
- Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Teresa Ann Savoy, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, John Steiner, Guido Mannari, Paolo Bonacelli
- Main Genre
- Drama
NEXT: 10 Fan-Favorite Classic Movies That Roger Ebert Hated
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- Roger Ebert
- Jaws: The Revenge
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