When it comes to cinema, the ‘80s were quite an unforgettable decade. There are dozens of examples of incredible films that came out that decade, with each genre of cinema getting several notable additions to the point where many helped shaped the current cinematic landscape. The 1980s were especially good for Science Fiction movies. Movies like Blade Runner, Back to the Future, The Terminator, and The Thing all came out in the ‘80s, but there are even more films that were released under the Sci-Fi genre.
Movies from the ‘80s are not only still talked about to this day, but some of the film series are even still going. For example, the newest Terminator is due to come out this year, and the sequel Blade Runner 2049 was released in 2017.
Many of these films are hard to forget, but Sci-Fi also had its fair share of duds in the ‘80s. The genre will never forget titles like Robo Vampire or Howard the Duck. These films, and many others are notoriously bad films, but there are some films that are so bad that they actually turned out to be sort of good. Here are 20 Notoriously Bad ‘80s Sci-Fi Movies (And 5 So Bad They Were Good.)
Notoriously Bad: Superman IV: The Quest For Peace
Superman is no doubt one of the most recognizable superheroes in existence. The Man of Steel first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938, but since then he has appeared in a number of TV shows, movies, video games, and of course comic books. Henry Cavill is the latest actor to play Superman, but Christopher Reeve played the character for several years starting in 1978.
A total of four Superman movies starred Christopher Reeve. Not only is Superman IV: The Quest for Peace often referred to as one of the worst Superman movies, but it has also gone done in history as being one of the worst superhero movies ever.
Notoriously Bad: Howard The Duck
Lucasfilm is known for pumping out some incredible films; however, Howard the Duck was not one of them. Howard was based on a Marvel comic book character, although his adaption to a live-action film wasn’t very well received. In fact, the film was pretty much panned by most critics.
There weren’t a lot of high points in Howard the Duck, except for maybe the stop-motion animation sequence near the end of the film. The film was nominated for seven Golden Raspberry Awards in its heyday and the film’s reputation has only gotten worse over the years.
Notoriously Bad: Piranha II: The Spawning
Over the years there have been a few different films centered on crazed piranhas. The first film that started this craze was Piranha in 1978, but a sequel called Piranha II: The Spawning was released a few years later. Piranha itself didn’t get great reviews, but reviews for Piranha II were even worse.
The main complaint of the film is the horrible special effects, but there isn’t a whole lot of positives for the movie either. While most people consider The Terminator to be James Cameron’s directorial debut, Piranha II: The Spawning was actually his first feature-length film.
Notoriously Bad: Roller Blade
Some people might the 1975 film Rollerball starring James Caan, but not very many people have even heard of the 1986 film Roller Blade directed by Donald G. Jackson. The film takes place in a future where people rebel against a fascist state with the help of roller-skating nuns.
If that doesn’t sound weird enough, then just watch the film for yourself. Even though Roller Blade didn’t go over great with critics, the film did get four sequels; all of which were directed by Jackson and were equally as bad, if not worse.
Notoriously Bad: Robo Vampire
RoboCop from Peter Verhoeven’s Sci-Fi classic RoboCop? Yeah, that’s not him in the picture above. Robo Vampire was a 1988 Sci-Fi film that was released in Hong Kong that is a clear rip-off of RoboCop. The story is about a narcotics officer who is turned into an android after he is fatally wounded on the job.
The synopsis is almost identical to RoboCop, except the main character goes on a mission to rescue his coworker from a warlord and a vampire. Needless to say, the film isn’t ed fondly and even makes the RoboCop sequels look good.
Notoriously Bad: Heartbeeps
Heartbeeps is a romantic Sci-Fi flick from 1981 that showed two robots falling in love. The film starred Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters, with Allan Arkush directing. Upon the film’s release, Heartbeeps was panned by critics and did rather poorly at the box office.
While the film is known for being a horrible movie, the film did get nominated for an Academy Award due to Stan Winston’s work on the characters' makeup. Needless to say, the film didn’t do well in the ‘80s and it looks like people’s opinions haven’t changed, with the film having a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes.
So Bad It’s Good: Maximum Overdrive
The 1986 film Maximum Overdrive is unique for a few reasons. The film is based on Stephen King’s short story “Trucks,” but the film was also directed by King himself. Even though many movies are based on King’s work, Maximum Overdrive stands as King’s only directing gig.
The film revolves around machines coming to life and attacking humans. Even though the film can be silly at times, Maximum Overdrive is still a fun film to experience. The soundtrack for the movie is also memorable since it consists of several different songs off of AC/DC’s Who Made Who album.
Notoriously Bad: Solarbabies
Solarbabies was one of the two films directed by Alan Johnson, who is more known for his work with choreography. The film is set in a post-apocalyptic future where teenagers find a magical orb that can bring rain and water back to Earth.
Most reviews for Solarbabies were very bad and author Joe Kane went as far as to call the film, “A pathetic Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome rip-off, working from a script which must have been scrawled in Crayola.” His review might sound harsh, but most people who saw Solarbabies would agree that the film was just plain bad.
Notoriously Bad: DeepStar Six
With more popular underwater monster movies like Leviathan and The Abyss, it’s easy to forget about DeepStar Six. This film was about the crew of a deep-sea Naval facility, called DeepStar Six, who discover a frightening sea monster.
DeepStar Six was released in 1989 and directed by Sean S. Cunningham, who is mostly known for his work on the Friday the 13th franchise. The design of the sea creature may be the highlight of DeepStar Six, but otherwise, the film fell flat for a lot of people.
Notoriously Bad: Alien From L.A.
There are dozens of successful Sci-Fi movies about aliens, but Alien from L.A. isn’t one of them. Alien from L.A. stars Kathy Ireland as Wanda Saknussemm, a teenager who ventures to find her missing father in Atlantis. Ireland would continue to act after 1988, although she Is mostly ed for Alien from L.A. because of how bad the film was.
Surprisingly, the film got a sequel called Journey to the Center of the Earth in 1988, which performed equally as bad as Alien from L.A. Like many films on this list, Alien from L.A. has earned a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes.
