**This list is solely based on the films watched by our writers before the time of writing. Any reviews hyperlinked into this ranking are meant as a supplement to the article and are not a direct reflection of what was written for this list.**
With the end of 2024 right around the corner, it’s that time of year again for The Daily Illini to select our top 10 worst films of this year.
- “Night Swim”
The kind of less-than-nothing January dump that could only ever be a James Wan production, “Night Swim” is the latest in a long line of “haunted gimmick” horror films. The infamous pool is oddly absent for most of the film’s runtime, with more time dedicated to a confounding subplot about a washed-up baseball player with multiple sclerosis.
This grab bag of narrative devices makes for an easily forgettable, if not slightly silly, horror flick that’s admittedly a robust and necessary evil for a healthy box office.
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“Night Swim” is about as shallow as they come and a rueful waste of a genuinely impressive cast and crew.
- “Salem’s Lot”
The 2024 adaptation of horror fiction maestro Stephen King’s novel of the same name, “Salem’s Lot” is a supremely unsuccessful movie, one hamstrung by an excruciating two-hour runtime.
There’s an argument to be made that the last great King adaptation was released in the ’00s or even the ’90s, and “Salem’s Lot” does nothing to disprove that. Up-and-comer Lewis Pullman manages a respectable performance from an underwritten character, but the mismanaged script and questionable direction don’t lend him any favors.
This low-energy trudge through a jungle of exposition is a frustrating watch, only reaffirming that “Salem’s Lot” is a fantastic novel and nothing more.
- “It Ends with Us”
Putting aside any controversy with “It Ends with Us,” ranging from the ongoing lawsuit towards director and actor Justin Baldoni to the perplexing press tour, this movie is nothing but a shallow mess that attempts to tell a meaningful message in the worst way possible.
The film is an absolute slog to sit through, full of abhorrent writing, questionable decisions and cringe-worthy acting, which begs the question of why these actors even agreed to be a part of it.
Legendary “Apocalypse Now” and “The Godfather” director Francis Ford Coppola’s white whale, “Megalopolis,” is an uneven mishmash of overeager visual effects and bizarre performances from a truly deranged selection of actors.
Potentially the most potent distillation of Coppola’s directorial ethos, “Megalopolis” tends to read more as the rambling of a madman than as the self-lionizing utopian vision that Coppola envisions for himself through Adam Driver’s character.
A circus of supporting characters ranging from Hamilton Crassus III (Jon Voight) to Aubrey Plaza’s Wow Platinum make for great punchlines. However, the grand vision behind “Megalopolis” is lost in the mess, even as freakishly entertaining as it is.
Seemingly going for a weird vibe for “weird’s sake,” “The Front Room” feels like a culmination of every stereotype regarding film production and distribution company A24, cobbled together in a 95-minute film in the worst way possible.
The story relies on pure shock value instead of proper storytelling beats, making it a nightmare to watch. There’s nothing of value in this film except for Kathryn Hunter’s performance as the film’s antagonist, Solange, who cranks it up to 11 with her character.
As for everyone else, they act as if they didn’t want to be there, and after seeing the final product, you can’t blame them.
If “Kraven the Hunter” has anything going for it, it’s probably the funniest film of the year for all the wrong reasons. It’s almost a shame that this is reportedly the last film in Sony’s Spider-Man-less villain spinoff universe, as it truly gave viewers a unique experience.
There’s nothing worth watching in this movie, as every scene has the most questionable writing and acting that besmirches the legacy of this classic Marvel villain.
To give some credit where credit is due, this made “Kraven the Hunter” a blast to watch with friends as everyone takes a jab at this laughing stock of a film.
In concept, “Argylle” is a movie that should’ve played out lightyears better than it did once the credits began to roll. Especially coming from Matthew Vaughn, director of all three “Kingsman” films, “Argylle” seemed like it would be another modern classic action film, but it ultimately fell flat in every aspect.
Instead, what came out was a bore of a movie that was nowhere near as captivating as Vaughn’s previous films. It focused more on style over substance, with no real payout by the end of it.
- “Kinds of Kindness”
The three-part follow-up to 2023 below-the-line Oscars sweetheart “Poor Things,” Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness” is an exhausting exercise in performative cynicism, a selection of underbaked and overstyled modern fairy tales that seem to relish in its poor taste.
Returning collaborator Emma Stone and actor Jesse Plemons are but a few of the sorely misused players in this painfully unfunny and self-insistent slog, an exercise in bad-faith filmmaking that clocks in at almost three hours.
Lanthimos is capable of much more interesting direction and has properly earned his flowers for previous works like “Poor Things” or “The Favourite.” The problem lies with screenwriter Efthymis Filippou’s tone-deaf and obnoxious script work, a beyond unbearable blatant waste of directorial and performative talent and a low point for both director and writer.
What else is there to say about “Madame Web” that hasn’t been said by most of the internet since its release? If you somehow haven’t heard of this movie until now, just know this film was an affront to filmmaking as a profession.
Why this film got greenlit by Sony is beyond anyone’s guess, but if anything was proven with this release, it’s that whatever is happening behind the scenes at Sony should cease immediately to stop this sinking ship from dying even more.
Todd Phillips’ 2019 supervillain drama “Joker” debuted to a degree of box office and critical success that almost nobody saw coming, least of all Phillips or titular Joker Joaquin Phoenix. A sequel seemed as close to “free money” as any studio could hope to get its hands on, so Phillips was quickly tapped for “Joker: Folie à Deux.”
At a (calculated) risk of hyperbole, “Folie à Deux” is arguably the worst comic book movie ever made and maybe one of the worst movies ever made, to begin with. “Folie à Deux” is so poorly plotted and hilariously structured that one has to wonder if it’s less of a movie and more of a practical joke.
If that is the case, it’s hard to deny the setup, as Grammy and Oscar-winner Lady Gaga plays opposite Phoenix in the $200 million sequel. Phillips’ insistence on the musical format is a curious choice on its own, but his subsequent choice to recycle mid-century show tunes instead of an original soundtrack is frankly baffling.
To discuss “Folie à Deux” is its own pitfall. It’s a movie so bewildering that it simply needs to be seen to be believed but to see it is to burn two and a half hours that could have been spent anywhere else. More comedy than tragedy and more surrealist nonsense than comedy, “Folie à Deux” is a complete and utter joke.
