One of the best things I've stumbled upon this year is the podcast
How Did This Get Made? Presented by
Paul Scheer,
Jason Mantzoukas and
June Diane Raphael, every fortnight they watch a film that's so bad it's amazing and then discuss the various plot holes, bad acting and general oddball film-making techniques. The best way, I find, to listen to it is to watch the film first.
It's through this show that I've discovered some eye-popping films that I wouldn't have bothered to watch otherwise. Some highlights include
Birdemic: Shock and Terror, Gymkatta, a film which sends a gymnast trained in a blend of karate and gymnastics on a secret mission behind enemy lines, and Steven Seagal wrecking a restaurant in The Glimmer Man. Birdemic in particular is a gem of a bad movie. There's so many things wrong with it that make it hilarious to watch, from the baffling plot to the wooden leading man to the awful special effects. The
whole movie is available to view on YouTube. I rewound it that much I practically doubled the running time.
The show also covers films which aren't so much badly made but really just crazy.
Crank 2 firmly falls into the latter camp. It's like the
Kentucky Fried Movie of action films, it veers off course so much. One film that manages to straddle both badly made and plain crazy is
Sleepaway Camp. Made in 1983 it tells the tale of two children sent away to summer camp. A series of brutal, if improbable, killings take place. It's worth watching for the genuinely shocking ending, but there's also some belting performances that will have you reaching for the rewind button. The performance below I must have wound back about five times it just seemed so off the wall. When the ending arrives it becomes apparent that this was probably an acting choice and not just a terrible performance. The
whole movie is also available to watch on YouTube.
So if you enjoy a good bad movie give How Did This Get Made? a try.
