We’ve all watched a movie trailer or the opening credits and knew that the movie was going to be a dud. If you are watching the opening credits, there’s nothing you can do as you’ve already shelled out your hard-earned cash.
In an online forum, people shared sure signs a movie is going to be horrible. Here are ten common indications.
Table of Contents
The Ads Are In the Theater Lobby
If all the ads for an upcoming movie are filmed in the theater lobby, you might want to pass. One commenter said, “All the ads for it are fans in the theater lobbies saying how great it is.”
Someone replied, “Or they are generic quotes from no-name websites and local Fox TV stations.”
The Trailer Is the Movie
It’s disappointing to watch a movie only to realize that you already saw all of the good stuff in the movie trailer.
One person said, “The trailers reveal most of the plot.” Someone else said, “In comedies when the trailer shows every actual funny part of the movie and when you watch it the rest isn’t.”
Multiple Film Studios
When the movie begins and studio after studio is listed as part of the production, it might not be worth the watch. One man said, “When there are 20 film studios advertised at the start, you know it’s going to be a clunker.”
Someone replied, “This is really the best answer and I can’t ever recall an instance where it wasn’t true.”
Product Placement
When products are prominently placed throughout a movie, it seems more like a long commercial than a movie.
One woman said, “‘Contains Product Placement’ – Shown in the warnings where you would see “Adult Language, Violence” etc. I saw this when I watched Haunted Mansion on Disney+ and the movie certainly lived up to it. There was almost a dozen of blatant brand-name shout outs annoyingly included in the dialogue.”
Bad Lighting
Good lighting is one of the most important parts of a good movie. Bad lighting can make it unwatchable. One commenter said, “If the lighting is bad it nearly always ruins a movie.”
Someone else said, “This right here, is the achilles heel of stage craft”.
Sequel With a New Cast
If you are making a sequel to a movie that was good, why would you want a new cast playing old characters? One person said, “It’s a sequel but they have new cast members playing the lead roles = stinker.”
Bad Score
A terrible score can make even a good movie seem bad. One commenter said, “As someone who will suffer through a bad movie, especially a bad horror movie, a major tell is when the opening score is alternative rock and poorly edited into the film. It kind of sounds like someone is playing a radio inside of a snare drum.”
Live-Action Adaptation
Live-action adaptations of animated films are nearly always bad. One woman said, “Live action adaptation of beloved old animated film make me cry.”
Someone else replied, “Especially when the people making it seem to hate everything about what made the animated film so beautiful.”
Remake Of an Old Movie
What is with all of the remakes of good, old movies? Is it really that hard to come up with new ideas?
One person said, “Stop with all the remakes. We need something original.” Someone replied, “HBO is apparently going to produce a Harry Potter remake.” It’s not exactly a remake though, it’s a Harry Potter TV show, but it’s close enough.
Showing Skin In the Opening
There’s nothing wrong with showing some skin in movies, but if you have to pull out the nudity in the opening credits, you can probably just skip the movie.
One man said, “Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t bother me, but when they have to front load a movie so hard, you know it’s bad from minute one.” Another man said, “Yeah, you can always tell when the producer/director didn’t think a movie was great when they throw tons of nudity your way like ‘sorry guys, it’s horrible.'”
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This thread inspired this post.
I’m Nicole Schmoll – a master’s-educated professional writer, mompreneur, and co-founder of Frugal Rules.
As a freelance copywriter in Omaha, I still believe that writing is an artistic expression. Every time I strike the keys, I intend to evoke a response from my listeners. I left my full-time career as a senior copywriter for an insurance agency to start my own freelance writing business.
I love watching and writing about TV (and how to stream it!)
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