As 2015 comes to a close, we've had a chance to champion our Top 5 Favorite Movies of 2015 - celebrating our favorite cinematic experiences of the year. However, every year, we also take a moment to reflect on the films that elicited the opposite feeling - specifically the Worst Movies of 2015.
Film is a subjective medium, so choosing the worst movies in any year is a crude task. Every outlet has a different approach to defining "Worst of the Year" and many focus their picks on the biggest misfires and disappointments - films that failed to make use of sizable budgets, talented actors, and intriguing scripts (example: Jupiter Ascending).
However, at Screen Rant, we populate our "Worst of the Year" list with films that we genuinely believe were the worst mainstream releases of the year - the intolerable bores that failed to deliver on even the most basic levels. These are the unfunny comedies, the not-very-scary horror movies, the superficial dramas, and the snooze-inducing actioners.
Our picks are certainly not all-inclusive. So, once you've read our choices, share your own selections in the comments! NOTE: Films are listed in order of release - and not in order of terribleness.
20. The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death
Release Date: January 2, 2015
Stars: Phoebe Fox and Jeremy Irvine; Director: Tom Harper
From our Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death review: The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death is yet another example that not all successful horror movies have what it takes to become successful horror franchises.
Overview: Thanks to a quality post-Harry Potter performance from Daniel Radcliffe and a spooky setup, the original Woman in Black was a solid entry among 2012's horror offerings. However, its sequel sacrificed clever scares and a good story in favor of trying to connect a new installment to an otherwise standalone tale. On it's own, the WWII setting depicted in Angel of Death could have been fertile ground for a fresh horror movie; instead, Tom Harper only delivered bland jump-scares while, at the same time, convoluting The Woman in Black's mythology.
19. Taken 3
Release Date: January 9, 2015
Stars: Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace; Director: Olivier Megaton
From our Taken 3 review: Taken 3 takes the franchise past the point of absurdity – purely for the sake of selling a third series installment.
Overview: While Taken remains a great action-thriller experience, Taken 2 attempted to stretch an otherwise standalone story into a franchise - a thin premise that became increasingly strained in Taken 3. Abandoning the series' reliance on kidnapping as a central plot point, Taken 3 tried to close-out the Mills family saga but strained to connect the dots - while falling short with the series' biggest draw: memorable action.
18. Blackhat
Release Date: January 16, 2015
Stars: Chris Hemsworth; Director: Michael Mann
From our Blackhat review: Blackhat is a boring and visually-disappointing entry from Michael Mann, and a film perfectly suited for the January dumping ground
Overview: From the talented director of Collateral, Ali, Heat, and Last of the Mohicans, Blackhat not only stumbled as a starring vehicle for Chris Hemsworth outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Michael Mann's latest was a surprisingly cliche tale of modern cyber terrorism. Full of nonsensical computer babble and downright dubious technological logistics (especially for a film about hackers), Mann's movie was so milquetoast that audiences largely ignored its release (earning the film only $1.7 million opening weekend).
17. Mortdecai
Release Date: January 23, 2015
Director:
Stars: Johnny Depp, Ewan McGregor, and Gwyneth Paltrow; Director: David Koepp
From our Mortdecai review: Mortdecai lacks the wit and charm that would’ve been necessary for this farcical pastiche to work, resulting in another disappointment from Johnny Depp
Overview: Eccentric characters have been Johnny Depp's speciality for most of his career, though his offbeat performances of late have attracted more criticism than praise (see: Dark Shadows, The Lone Ranger). Director David Koepp's film adaptation of Kyril Bonfiglioli's Mortdecai novels features Depp as yet another over the top caricature, but the movie's attempt to recapture the zany spirit of movies like The Pink Panther rings as hollow as its star's comical turn. Mortdecai ends up being a rather (painfully?) boring comical caper, as a result.
16. Fifty Shades of Grey
Release Date: February 13, 2015
Stars: Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan; Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson
From our Fifty Shades of Grey review: Unfortunately for the Fifty Shades of Grey movie, a solid cast, good director and unique premise only help to expose the inherent weaknesses of the source novel – leaving this film (like its central romance) doomed from the start.
Overview: Fifty Shades of Grey is packed with talent (stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, as well as director Sam Taylor-Johnson); yet, the thin source material was too unruly for the assembled crew - resulting in a finished product that was more awkward than it was tantalizing. The adaptation even struggled to please many Fifty Shades of Grey book fans, while failing to intrigue viewers outside of the book's established audience. Instead, the movie proved that Twilight fan-fiction turned erotic romance novels may be better experienced as guilty pleasure reading.
15. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
Release Date: April 17, 2015
Stars: Kevin James, Raini Rodriguez, and Neal McDonough; Director: Andy Fickman
From our Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 review: Die-hard Kevin James fans will get additional mileage from it, but Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 is a pretty easy for everyone else.
Overview: Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 hit theaters six years after its predecessor, and yet the Kevin James action/comedy (unsurprisingly) was still as slapdash and lazily thrown together as you would've expected had the sequel been released back in 2010, instead. Director Andy Fickman and his screenwriters (which include James) double-down on the uninspired mean spirited humor and slapstick in the Paul Blart sequel too, resulting in yet another Happy Madison Productions release that barely even reaches the low bar for brainless laughs that it originally set for itself.
14. Hot Pursuit
Release Date: May 8, 2015
Stars: Reese Witherspoon and Sofía Vergara; Director: Anne Fletcher
From our Hot Pursuit review: Hot Pursuit will provide some moviegoers with a few easy laughs, but others are likely to find it just boring and unfunny.
Overview: Hot Pursuit stars Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara as a mismatched duo on the run, and the pair do seem to be having fun acting together in the movie. It's too bad then that watching Witherspoon and Vergara crack bad jokes - while director Anne Fletcher serves up one tired comical scenario after another - is nowhere near as much fun. The final result is a piece of lazy action/comedy filmmaking that fails to deliver on what it promised to do: make the audience laugh, not just its stars.
13. The Gallows
Release Date: July 10, 2015
Stars: Jason Blum and Guymon Casady; Directors: Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing
From our Gallows review: No review available.
Overview: Packed with found-footage movie cliches and uninventive jump scares, The Gallows was another low-risk, low-reward release from Blumhouse Productions - who has made a fortune on small-budget horror movies (including the Paranormal Activity series, among others). Despite contrived high school melodrama, one-note teen stereotypes, and a second-rate supernatural baddie, The Gallows still managed to earn $42 million for the studio on a $100,000 budget.
12. Pixels
Release Date: July 16, 2015
Stars: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, and Peter Dinklage; Director: Chris Columbus
From our Pixels review: Despite a solid premise and talented ing cast, Pixels is another shallow addition to Adam Sandler’s product line
Overview: Fans of Patrick Jean's 2010 short film were cautious when it was announced that Sandler would be adapting the clever premise (also featured on Futurama) into a feature film. Sadly, in spite of slick 8-Bit effects, Sandler framed his movie as the next half-baked Happy Madison product (the second of the year), squandering the potential of Jean's setup with unfunny gags and cheesy performances. Instead of celebrating 8-bit culture with fun for kids and nostalgic-parents alike, Pixels is little more than a big and dumb cash garb - and one of 2015's biggest missed opportunities.
11. The Vatican Tapes
Release Date: July 23, 2015
Stars: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Kathleen Robertson, and Michael Peña; Director: Mark Neveldine
From our Vatican Tapes review: No review available.
Overview: The next installment in a steady stream of stale exorcism movies, The Vatican Tapes features a number or recognizable names - including one-half of directing duo Neveldine/Taylor as well as ing parts for Michael Peña, Djimon Hounsou, and Doughy Scott. Still, the supernatural horror movie does little to differentiate itself from superior tales of demonic possession on film, in both theme and visual spectacle - undermining any effort to thrill or scare with overly-familiar ideas and visuals that have been done before (and done better).
